Hi folks,
We are on the hard stand and I started the job of replacing the C-Drive lower seals since my C-Drive oil has gone a little like a chocolate milkshake.
When we came ashore, I noticed a trickle of oil down the keel which implied the lower seals were leaking oil.
 
This afternoon I removed the autoprop and the Spurs linecutter which I installed last year to get at the V-bolt in order to drain the oil.  After removing these it became clear that the source of the leakage is the V-bolt, and not the C-Drive shaft seals, which do not show any form of leakage.

The rubber O-seal on the V bolt appears to have perished and allowed water in and oil out of the C-Drive. I’m fairly sure the O-seal was provided by Amel when I ordered the V bolt last year. The V bolt itself was rather loose today, and I needed to rotate it an additional 35-45degrees clockwise in order to be fully tight.  In this position, the V-bolt does not align with the line-cutter, so that is a problem.

The solution would appear to be to fit a new seal under the V-bolt. However, it’s a concern that the previous O-seal perished in 6 months in the water.

Have others found this problem, and is there a better solution than simply replacing the seal?

I have a general philosophy of not fixing stuff that’s not broken, so I’m now considering leaving the shaft seals (lip seals) intact. The oil was perfect before I installed the line cutter in April, and close inspection shows no visible leakage from the shaft seals.

Thought ?

Dean
SY Stella
A54-154

<E1358E97-42C4-4B5E-AD2D-1BE660280E18.jpeg>

On 4 Sep 2019, at 16:19, SY STELLA <stella@...> wrote:

Hi folks,
We are on the hard stand and I started the job of replacing the C-Drive lower seals since my C-Drive oil has gone a little like a chocolate milkshake.
When we came ashore, I noticed a trickle of oil down the keel which implied the lower seals were leaking oil.
 
This afternoon I removed the autoprop and the Spurs linecutter which I installed last year to get at the V-bolt in order to drain the oil.  After removing these it became clear that the source of the leakage is the V-bolt, and not the C-Drive shaft seals, which do not show any form of leakage.

The rubber O-seal on the V bolt appears to have perished and allowed water in and oil out of the C-Drive. I’m fairly sure the O-seal was provided by Amel when I ordered the V bolt last year. The V bolt itself was rather loose today, and I needed to rotate it an additional 35-45degrees clockwise in order to be fully tight.  In this position, the V-bolt does not align with the line-cutter, so that is a problem.

The solution would appear to be to fit a new seal under the V-bolt. However, it’s a concern that the previous O-seal perished in 6 months in the water.

Have others found this problem, and is there a better solution than simply replacing the seal?

I have a general philosophy of not fixing stuff that’s not broken, so I’m now considering leaving the shaft seals (lip seals) intact. The oil was perfect before I installed the line cutter in April, and close inspection shows no visible leakage from the shaft seals.

Thought ?

Dean
SY Stella
A54-154










<E1358E97-42C4-4B5E-AD2D-1BE660280E18.jpeg>

Hi J....

 When you fitted the Speedisleeve did you remove the flange ?

 Ian and Judy, Pen Azen, SM 302 Greece

---

From: main@AmelYachtOwners.groups.io <main@AmelYachtOwners.groups.io> on behalf of jlm@... <jlm@...>
Sent: 03 September 2019 20:13
To: main@AmelYachtOwners.groups.io <main@AmelYachtOwners.groups.io>
Subject: Re: [AmelYachtOwners] [Amel Yacht Owners] New size for Bow Thruster seal

 

Hello Mark,

I used 10 years ago SKF Speedi-Sleeve, I posted photos ... it is wonderful .... never change it ! ....I can recommand you this

JL Mertz

CottonBay

---

Le 03/09/2019 à 21:30, Mike Ondra via Groups.Io a écrit :

Mark, indeed there were some scratches on the plastic shaft. Will gently sand them out, measure, and go with the 29mm seal.

Thanks for the insight!

Seems like a Amel mini-rendezvous may be happening at the Annapolis Boat Show. Might you be coming up? We plan on being there Thursday and Friday. Would be great to meet.

Mike Ondra

Aletes SM#240

Rock Hall, MD

 

From: main@AmelYachtOwners.groups.io <main@AmelYachtOwners.groups.io> On Behalf Of Mark McGovern
Sent: Sunday, September 1, 2019 4:26 PM
To: main@AmelYachtOwners.groups.io
Subject: Re: [AmelYachtOwners] [Amel Yacht Owners] New size for Bow Thruster seal

 

Mike,

I did my first bowthruster service this past winter and used a 29x42x8 seal.  It was a tight fit but it works.  The seal I replaced was also a 29mm ID seal.  There was no oil leaking from the seal while the boat was sitting on the hard after the service and the oil is still clear - not the "cafe creme" looking mixture of oil and water.  However, when I disassembled the unit to replace the bearings (preventatively) I could feel a small groove in the shaft where the previous seal sat.  The shaft was also discolored with a brown-ish stain at that point:



I consulted with Olivier Beaute and he told me that if I felt any kind of groove that I should try to gently sand it out with 600 grit sandpaper and water.  He also said that if I could NOT feel anything that I should NOT sand it but just clean it as sanding the shaft comes with it's own risks.  I measured the shaft OD at the point in the shaft where the oil seal sits with calipers and found that it was about 29.5mm so there was plenty of "meat" on the shaft for a 29mm ID oil seal so I wet-sanded the shaft smooth, re-assembled everything and so far, so good.  However, a 30mm ID seal would have likely resulting in a static oil leak like you have and certainly would have allowed water to enter the bowthruster during use  Consider taking the entire bowthruster shaft apart, measure the shaft OD and inspect it for any damage where the oil seal sits.  Also check the OD for any damage as well. 

-- 
Mark McGoverntly 
SM #440 Cara
Deale, MD USA

Garanti sans virus. www.avast.com

Thanks very much, Scott.  Excellent write-up.  I have a few questions and comments.

1.  The A55 comes with a switch that in the "on" position, turns on the generator automatically if the SOC goes below 60%.  Amel cautions owners, however, that it may not be a good idea to have this switch on since the generator will then run for 2 hours and all kinds of things can happen if you happen to be not on the boat while this is happening.  I've never had it "on" but I've certainly had the "low water" alarm come on because there was some issue with the saltwater intake.    If I had not been on the boat, I might have destroyed my generator. 
2.  Does your 5KW charger get hot when it is charging the batteries?  Where is it installed - in the engine room?  I'm asking because I was on another boat with Lithium batteries and they had very powerful cooling fans for the chargers even though charging was limited to 20% of battery capacity.  The fans were very noisy which for me, sleeping in the cabin next to the chargers, was a problem.  This was in late 2017, the system was designed by Mastervolt engineers and the boat was new then.  Do you have a limit on the charging current?
3.  On the A55, I cannot use my 2.5KW inverter for high current things like the water heater, AC, water maker.  This is done by Amel to protect  the gel batteries, I'm sure, through the wiring of the 230V switchboard.  I was surprised that you didn't mention this in your writeup - presumably the A54 has the same setup for the original switchboard but you are getting around this issue by not wiring your 5KW combi through the old switchboard?  I'm wondering how easy it would be to change the wiring on the switchboard and just add another inverter (in parallel) rather than starting from scratch.  
4.  When you leave your boat for extended periods, can't you just leave the batteries without charger?  If you start them at 100%, it should take many months before they're down to 25%, right?  

Scott, again many thanks for this.  My gel batteries may have another year in them or may not.  It's great to have someone as competent as you doing the major lifting on the choice of battery I will need to make soon! 

Joerg Esdorn
A55 #53
Kincsem, currently anchored by Gibraltar

On Sep 3, 2019, at 7:09 PM, Alexandre Uster von Baar via Groups.Io <uster@...> wrote:

Hello James,

Here are the dimension for the 8 + 1 battery configuration.
http://www.nikimat.com/battery_compartment_space.html

But I suspect your hull number has the 12 + 1 batteries.

Sincerely, Alexandre

On Tuesday, September 3, 2019, 4:04:31 PM CDT, James Cromie via Groups.Io <jamescromie@...> wrote:

To Amel Super Maramu owners: 
I am looking to replace my house batteries, and would like to ask if anyone can share with me the dimensions of the battery compartment, as I am not on our boat presently
I have Hull # 347. 

More specifically, has anyone used the Trojan T1275 flooded lead acid battery?   Dimensions of the battery are L 329mm x H 283mm x W 181mm.

Many Thanks,

James Cromie
Soteria SM2K
#347
Aruba

From: main@AmelYachtOwners.groups.io <main@AmelYachtOwners.groups.io> On Behalf Of Mark McGovern
Sent: Sunday, September 1, 2019 4:26 PM
To: main@AmelYachtOwners.groups.io
Subject: Re: [AmelYachtOwners] [Amel Yacht Owners] New size for Bow Thruster seal

Mike,

I did my first bowthruster service this past winter and used a 29x42x8 seal.  It was a tight fit but it works.  The seal I replaced was also a 29mm ID seal.  There was no oil leaking from the seal while the boat was sitting on the hard after the service and the oil is still clear - not the "cafe creme" looking mixture of oil and water.  However, when I disassembled the unit to replace the bearings (preventatively) I could feel a small groove in the shaft where the previous seal sat.  The shaft was also discolored with a brown-ish stain at that point:



I consulted with Olivier Beaute and he told me that if I felt any kind of groove that I should try to gently sand it out with 600 grit sandpaper and water.  He also said that if I could NOT feel anything that I should NOT sand it but just clean it as sanding the shaft comes with it's own risks.  I measured the shaft OD at the point in the shaft where the oil seal sits with calipers and found that it was about 29.5mm so there was plenty of "meat" on the shaft for a 29mm ID oil seal so I wet-sanded the shaft smooth, re-assembled everything and so far, so good.  However, a 30mm ID seal would have likely resulting in a static oil leak like you have and certainly would have allowed water to enter the bowthruster during use  Consider taking the entire bowthruster shaft apart, measure the shaft OD and inspect it for any damage where the oil seal sits.  Also check the OD for any damage as well. 

-- 
Mark McGoverntly 
SM #440 Cara
Deale, MD USA