f30 shaft seal

Engines, Drive trains, Propellers, Steering, Ground Tackle and other mechanical system
User avatar
mike cunningham
Posts: 489
Joined: Sat Dec 20, 2008 11:21 am
Location: Jacqueline, F30 #3, Discovery Bay, California

f30 shaft seal

Post by mike cunningham »

I wanted to mention for the FYI record I have replaced my syntron with a lasdrop (lip seal design vs face seal). Fit in the tight space on the Mull 30, simple as dirt, fairly inexpensive and seems to be pretty good at keeping the water out. No leaks, no drips.

The guys at Lasdrop are helpful and a human answers the phone.

Now if I can get my prop strut bolts to stop leaking my shaft well will finally be dry.
Mike Cunningham
Freedom 30 (Mull) Hull #3
Build date...June, 1986 . Freedom Yachts USA, sloop, shoal keel
Gun Mount and pole retrofitted (purchased from a Hoyt Freedom 32)
Yanmar 2gm20F , 1600 hrs fixed two blade prop
e-rud and ocean racing equipment

SunnyIsleMark
Posts: 60
Joined: Sun Oct 17, 2021 8:42 am

Re: f30 shaft seal

Post by SunnyIsleMark »

Sounds interesting Mike! I know those original Syntron seals seemed to cause trouble for some folks due to the tight space. I think I saw the Lasdrop folks at the last Annapolis boat show but they were too busy to chat much.
Any chance you have some installed photos and part numbers you could share?
thanks much,
Mark

MarcHudgins
Posts: 19
Joined: Sun May 01, 2022 9:26 am

Re: f30 shaft seal

Post by MarcHudgins »

Tangentially related question: I need to hunt down my prop strut bolts -can you point me to the right place? I am suspecting under the quarter berth behind the gas tank?

SunnyIsleMark
Posts: 60
Joined: Sun Oct 17, 2021 8:42 am

Re: f30 shaft seal

Post by SunnyIsleMark »

I’m mostly curious about the water cooling injection ports, something the original seals did not require. I found my brochure from the boat show but it did not really say much about the injection, such as pump, water source, circulation, etc.
Attachments
25138C63-C560-4D03-B031-322CFCA5E954.jpeg
25138C63-C560-4D03-B031-322CFCA5E954.jpeg (2.54 MiB) Viewed 2454 times

MrD2021
Posts: 1
Joined: Wed Jun 16, 2021 1:14 pm

Re: f30 shaft seal

Post by MrD2021 »

Hi All,
has anyone got experience of how to set up stern gland system on freedom 35 ?
Attachments
3B31D621-DEE0-4712-9D2B-B69187B3774C.jpeg
3B31D621-DEE0-4712-9D2B-B69187B3774C.jpeg (3.67 MiB) Viewed 2416 times

User avatar
mike cunningham
Posts: 489
Joined: Sat Dec 20, 2008 11:21 am
Location: Jacqueline, F30 #3, Discovery Bay, California

Re: f30 shaft seal

Post by mike cunningham »

SunnyIsleMark wrote:
Thu Apr 13, 2023 12:56 pm
I’m mostly curious about the water cooling injection ports, something the original seals did not require. I found my brochure from the boat show but it did not really say much about the injection, such as pump, water source, circulation, etc.
Sorry about late reply, was oseas with terrible internet BW.

The picture in your post shows the Lasdrop face seal. I have the lip seal fitted in my boat. There was not enough room for the face seal. Here's a link to the seal I am referring to.

https://lasdrop.com/index.php/dryseal/

With regard to fitment... Our F30 application requires seal "venting" only owing to the the low shaft speed at max engine RPM. Consequently my seal was shipped with a single barb. This was plumbed with a robust tube to a location above the waterline (next to the exhaust vented loop valve in my case). Very simple tubing run on my boat. Seal stays cool as a cucumber.

This seal is dead simple, it is also dry. After about three years of heavy use it began to drip and after five years needed to be replaced. It would have lasted longer if I had a shaft lock in place. I put about 7000 NM on the seal altogether. Long story re locking the shaft if anyone is interested. It is a hard thing to do offshore when engine charging while racing long distance where you are not allowed to engage the transmission under power.

The only thing that needs to be changed at replacement time is the removable lip seal itself which cost $32 as of now. I have two spares aboard, although, realistically, the boat has to come out to do the replacement. If you have enough room you can actually mount a spare seal on the shaft fwd of the housing where the spare will rotate with the shaft until replacement time (details how how to do this are in the literature at the Lasdrop site). Sadly I do not even have the room for that.

The other factor which remains a mystery is how much shaft wear figured into the leakage. I had a cranky, hot running Syntron in there for about 16 years. When I replaced the Syntron with the Lasdrop I did not do a close inspection of the shaft where it interfaces with the Syntron. I suspect there was some wear on the shaft which worked against me re lifetime of the new seal. I just replaced the shaft so we shall see how that impacts seal lifetime. My guess is improved lifetime on the replacement seal.
Mike Cunningham
Freedom 30 (Mull) Hull #3
Build date...June, 1986 . Freedom Yachts USA, sloop, shoal keel
Gun Mount and pole retrofitted (purchased from a Hoyt Freedom 32)
Yanmar 2gm20F , 1600 hrs fixed two blade prop
e-rud and ocean racing equipment

User avatar
mike cunningham
Posts: 489
Joined: Sat Dec 20, 2008 11:21 am
Location: Jacqueline, F30 #3, Discovery Bay, California

Re: f30 shaft seal

Post by mike cunningham »

MarcHudgins wrote:
Tue Apr 11, 2023 4:33 pm
Tangentially related question: I need to hunt down my prop strut bolts -can you point me to the right place? I am suspecting under the quarter berth behind the gas tank?
They are located under fuel tank on my boat about 18 inches fwd of the aft end of the tank. I can just get my fingertips on them if I push my arm in there as far as it will squeeze.

I have an endoscope with which I can visually inspect the bolts, however the tank must be moved to do any mechanical/sealing work on them. I wold have to pull the tank on my boat.

BTW endoscopes are the bomb and cheap. I use mine all the time.
Mike Cunningham
Freedom 30 (Mull) Hull #3
Build date...June, 1986 . Freedom Yachts USA, sloop, shoal keel
Gun Mount and pole retrofitted (purchased from a Hoyt Freedom 32)
Yanmar 2gm20F , 1600 hrs fixed two blade prop
e-rud and ocean racing equipment

SunnyIsleMark
Posts: 60
Joined: Sun Oct 17, 2021 8:42 am

Re: f30 shaft seal

Post by SunnyIsleMark »

Thanks for the response and info Mike. It does appear that Lasdrop has come up with some decent options for our Freedoms. The “on line spare” concept is great if space allowed. I’m posting the brochure I have that describes things in a bit more detail for anyone interested.
Attachments
8DAAC92F-07F2-4BCE-8F01-6D8F29F82CAC.jpeg
8DAAC92F-07F2-4BCE-8F01-6D8F29F82CAC.jpeg (2.9 MiB) Viewed 2378 times
F5C4C05B-2826-41D9-B93D-A5CEFB7EC256.jpeg
F5C4C05B-2826-41D9-B93D-A5CEFB7EC256.jpeg (3.26 MiB) Viewed 2378 times

User avatar
mike cunningham
Posts: 489
Joined: Sat Dec 20, 2008 11:21 am
Location: Jacqueline, F30 #3, Discovery Bay, California

Re: f30 shaft seal

Post by mike cunningham »

One good thing. Lasdrop picks up the phone and will help with whatever re the seals. That's my experience so far anyway.
Mike Cunningham
Freedom 30 (Mull) Hull #3
Build date...June, 1986 . Freedom Yachts USA, sloop, shoal keel
Gun Mount and pole retrofitted (purchased from a Hoyt Freedom 32)
Yanmar 2gm20F , 1600 hrs fixed two blade prop
e-rud and ocean racing equipment

MarcHudgins
Posts: 19
Joined: Sun May 01, 2022 9:26 am

Re: f30 shaft seal

Post by MarcHudgins »

Thanks for the tip on the prop strut bolt location. My immediate concern is inspecting to see if the strut is grounded properly, so maybe an endoscope is all I need -unless I have to do some work in there.

Post Reply