November 28, 2003 - Struts & Shafting
This is the final update before the deck is placed on the boat. Hence, this section features a detailed look at the hull as of November 28, 2003. Because of the level of detail, this update has been organized by general categories, and sub-divided by specific categories.
When the Miss Bardahl originally ran, there was one long prop shaft that ran from the gear box to the the propeller. To trailer fire the boat, the prop shaft had to be disengaged at the gear box, which meant undoing the six bolts in the coupling that was directly under the firewall. This was very awkward and time consuming. Further, to change propellers required lapping and fitting the propeller each time.
To ease in maintenance and further safety, we have adopted a practice used in modern boat racing. We will have one long shaft that is coupled to the gear box and runs to a bullet coupling just forward of the rear strut. We will then have a short shaft that runs from this coupling back through the rear strut and has the prop mounted on it. The short shaft is approximately 3 feet long.
The short shaft can be removed by simply taking out four easy to reach bolts on the bullet coupling. Then, the boat can safely and easily be trailer fired. Further, we will have multiple short shafts, such that we can have multiple propellers mounted up at one time. This means that all that is required to change a propeller is removing one short shaft and replacing it with another. This will cut the propeller changing time in more than half.
Read MoreWhen the Miss Bardahl originally ran, there was one long prop shaft that ran from the gear box to the the propeller. To trailer fire the boat, the prop shaft had to be disengaged at the gear box, which meant undoing the six bolts in the coupling that was directly under the firewall. This was very awkward and time consuming. Further, to change propellers required lapping and fitting the propeller each time.
To ease in maintenance and further safety, we have adopted a practice used in modern boat racing. We will have one long shaft that is coupled to the gear box and runs to a bullet coupling just forward of the rear strut. We will then have a short shaft that runs from this coupling back through the rear strut and has the prop mounted on it. The short shaft is approximately 3 feet long.
The short shaft can be removed by simply taking out four easy to reach bolts on the bullet coupling. Then, the boat can safely and easily be trailer fired. Further, we will have multiple short shafts, such that we can have multiple propellers mounted up at one time. This means that all that is required to change a propeller is removing one short shaft and replacing it with another. This will cut the propeller changing time in more than half.
