I second following PYI’s recommendations for maintenance and winterizing.
I replaced Calypso’s bellows and carbon rotor after 8 years. The SS rotor was fine with a little cleaning. I had the PYI instruction sheet in hand as I set the bellows compression and tightened the SS rotor in place. For the past 29 years of owning boats with PYI Shaft Seals installed I have not de-commissioned the shaft seal over winter. We often use the boat all year, but only once or twice a month between December and March. (This year we will run the engine in place as the deck restoration work shelter is still in place.) After a long lay up, I would certainly inspect the bellows and rotors, burp the bellows and rotate by hand the seal interface (to be sure the rotors have not been bonded together), and check the tightness of the hose clamps. I do rinse the bellows and rotor with fresh water from time to time to prevent salt build up. The one major failure of a bellows that I have read about was caused by lack of maintenance and use. IIRC the boat had sat idle for year(s?) and the rotors bonded together. When the engine was put in gear the shaft rotation was fully transmitted to the bellows resulting in a tear. Martin Calypso 1971 C&C 43 Seattle [Description: cid:D1BF9853-22F7-47FB-86F2-4115CE0BAF2F] From: CnC-List [mailto:cnc-list-boun...@cnc-list.com] On Behalf Of Joel Aronson via CnC-List Sent: Friday, October 17, 2014 10:29 AM To: Hoyt, Mike; cnc-list@cnc-list.com Subject: Re: Stus-List winterizing the PYI shaft seal I'd call or email Fred at PYI. He also has a lot of YouTube videos. Joel On Fri, Oct 17, 2014 at 1:24 PM, Hoyt, Mike via CnC-List <cnc-list@cnc-list.com<mailto:cnc-list@cnc-list.com>> wrote: Sounds like a lot of work just to get access to it. -----Original Message----- From: CnC-List [mailto:cnc-list-boun...@cnc-list.com<mailto:cnc-list-boun...@cnc-list.com>] On Behalf Of Eric Frank via CnC-List Sent: Friday, October 17, 2014 2:22 PM To: cnc-list@cnc-list.com<mailto:cnc-list@cnc-list.com> Subject: Stus-List winterizing the PYI shaft seal Practical Sailor recently posted a suggestion for winterizing the Dripless PYI shaft seal. PS said to unclamp the SS rotor from the prop shaft so the bellows could expand to its uncompressed state. I have never done this, and with the recent discussion about the set screws holding the rotor in place on the prop shaft, I wonder if it is worth it. Would be interested in what other PYI users do. I did replace the entire unit last winter; at full engine RPM I had noticed water spraying out between the rotor and the carbon flange, perhaps because the thrust of the prop pushed the shaft forward until the rotor did not make good contact with the flange. When I unclamped the rotor and slid it forward to inspect, the bellows was very stiff and there were some small pits in the carbon and the rotor surfaces. PYI recommended replacing the entire unit, which I did, and it has worked fine this summer. But it had worked flawlessly for the 8 years I owned the boat, and looked like it had been installed well before that, without doing anything to winterize it - just checking to make sure it was not leaking at the beginning of each season. So what's the feeling about following PS's suggestion? Eric Frank Cat's Paw C&C 35 Mk II Mattapoisett, MA _______________________________________________ This List is provided by the C&C Photo Album Email address: CnC-List@cnc-list.com<mailto:CnC-List@cnc-list.com> To change your list preferences, including unsubscribing -- go bottom of page at: http://cnc-list.com/mailman/listinfo/cnc-list_cnc-list.com _______________________________________________ This List is provided by the C&C Photo Album Email address: CnC-List@cnc-list.com<mailto:CnC-List@cnc-list.com> To change your list preferences, including unsubscribing -- go bottom of page at: http://cnc-list.com/mailman/listinfo/cnc-list_cnc-list.com -- Joel 301 541 8551
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