I had a strange incident over the weekend. We were pulling into a marina 20 miles south of our home port and the engine started to vibrate abnormally. We were in a very narrow area with rocks on both sides, so we could not stop for a diagnosis just then. We slowed down to idle and the vibration stopped after a few minutes, and we docked without incident. I thought the prop had caught something in the water, but it turned out that a bolt on the prop shaft above the stuffing box inside the boat had caught on a flexible hose and wound the wire frame from it around the stuffing box. It took the better part of an hour to get it all untangled (My ribs and shoulder still hurt from lying in the berth with my arm down into the engine compartment!). I evidently lost several feet of the hose before the wire broke, stopping the vibration.
The hose seems to lead from a forward facing vent in the back corner of the boat on the starboard side. It comes through the cabin on the wall of the starboard rear berth, then into the engine compartment. I can't remember now if it was just lying in the engine compartment or if it was actually connected to something. The bilge blower hose is next to it, so it is not that one. I don't see anything obvious that it would connect to, but want to be sure I am not creating a hazard of some sort. The boat is a 1979 traditional layout with the Atomic 4 if it makes a difference. Thanks! Jim Reinardy C27 #4223 "Irie" Milwaukee, WI
