Seaview

[trout]

Mark,
That is excellent sleuthing!
I wonder what the long term life of the Sorbothane? Great news anyways!
Peace,
tom

[greenman407]

Heres where we are at(me, myself, and I). The gearbox grease injection will work fine except that the hole that I purposely left open to get air out around the 1/8" shaft, lets air out just fine, as you pump in grease. Only problem is that it also lets grease out as the shaft rotates and water in. So I have two 3/16" shaft seals that Ill put on the bigger ones and the smaller 1/8" ones Ill need to order some for that.
As far as the Sorbothane goes, the results are promising. A big reduction in unwanted stern plane movement from vibration has been realized by using one layer of it.. I think I will try another layer of Sorbothane and see what happens. One thing that was causing extra vibration was the Dumas brass couplers. I had some 1/8" ones and I drilled them out to go on the 3/16" shafts. Well its hard to drill them perfectly . So you end up with some wobble on the shaft. Thats got to get picked up by your APC. So I put on some factory fresh, store bought(Caswell) ones and all wobble is gone.

[greenman407]

I got the Sorbathane installed and the APC to that. Now for testing.

[greenman407]

The gearbox/motor seals work is done, just need to test it. Last time I had a large amount of water in the rear dry space of the subdriver. No good. Ill put the subdriver in the bathtub to make sure that, that potentially devastating situation has been eliminated before I move on.
.

[greenman407]

I got the sorbothane sheet ordered. Does that count for anything? Ill have the new "greased" gearboxes in tomorrow and be ready for a "Kiddie pool test" on Sunday. Im going to have to make a new rudder tiller arm as the old white metal one wont hold anymore. Ill make it out of a small Dubro locking collar and add two set screws and solder on a brass arm for pushrod attachment. Thatll fix er. The rudder axle is 1/16" brass wire.

[greenman407]

Thank you sir! We are going to give it the old college try.

[trout]

Mark, I am not convinced that the jitters is from movement only (although, I have experienced it to), I also think that there is some interference or other environmental factors that may be at play here too! It could be motors, servos, or other electrical component.
So, I again say, I am looking forward to what you find.
You really are a problem solving kind of person and I like that!

[redboat219]

How about mounting the motors on isolation pads?

[greenman407]

I havent seen an APC yet that doesnt pick up motor vibrations. Every sub that I have, the stern planes jitter and move up and down when you operate the motors. ADF, ADF2, UPC, Subtek, Thor, they all do it. And this is set for low sensitivity on the APC. The UPC will do it when you move the rudder. It picks up the rudder servo vibrations. Single motor drives do it but its somewhat livable. Twin motors, its crazy.

[redboat219]

Any idea where the bad vibes are coming from?

[greenman407]

Thanks Tom , as usual, for all your help. If this works, Ill retrofit it into Seaview, Oscar, Albacore, Skipjack and the Type 23.

[trout]

Mark, I am amazed you understood my post, I just re-read it and either I was REALLY tired or the auto correct took over. Anyways, look forward to seeing what you find out.

[greenman407]

That also sounds like a good idea. Im going to order that sheet that Tom suggested and we can start from there. We might be on to sumpin.

[redboat219]

How about alternating it with felt for additional damping?

[greenman407]

Thanks a lot! I could cut three or four pieces about 2" x 3" and stack them on top of one another. Then put the APC on that. I wonder if it will work?