ALIGNMENT
The alignment of your engine is one of the most critical adjustments
made on the boat and should only be carried out by experienced service
personnel.
A poorly aligned engine will cause excessive vibration, worn stern
bearing, leaking throughout the stern tube/stuffing box assembly as well
as possible damage to mechanical parts within the engine and generator
box.
Cape Dory ships all boats with the engine and propshaft couplings
disconnected and it is part of the responsibility of the dealer during
the commissioning process to properly align the engine.
After stepping the spar and tensioning the rigging, the engine and
propshaft may be aligned.
Generally, the procedure for aligning the engine and shaft is as
follows:
Using a feeler gauge, check the gap between the engine and shaft
coupling flanges. If the gap exceeds at any point .002", then the engine
must be adjusted using the motor mounts as levelers so that the flanges
meet evenly along the entire mating surfaces.
Holding the propshaft stationary, rotate the engine coupling 360 degrees
to see that the gap remains constant. If not, adjustments must
continue.
Check the alignment again a week or two after the initial alignment and
make further corrections if necessary.
Never align an engine out of water.
It should be noted that sometimes vibration can occur when the balance
of a propeller does not match that of the shaft coupling assembly. In
this case, merely rotating the propeller shaft coupling to another
setting on the engine coupling should reduce or eliminate it.
The stuffing box assembly connects to the fiberglass stern bearing tube
with a 4-1/2" long section of 1-1/2" ID hose double clamped at both
ends. The stuffing box is packed with lubricated flax stuffing material
which when compressed by tightening down on the stuffing box nut forms a
self-lubricating water seal on the shaft through which an adjusted
amount of water is allowed to flow.
Water should drip from the end of the stuffing box at the rate of about
two drops per minute. Once this rate is established, lock the pack nut
in place with the smaller check nut and frequently check the set up
after that.
To replace the packing, disassemble the nuts from the stuffing box and
clean out the old packing material. Wrap a 10-1/2" length of packing on
www.capedory.org - 26 -
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