Invader skiff

[screwit]

Well after the last quick run l had last week after looking at alterations to the rudder and trying to find the solution to the vibration through the steering l found the cav plate deformed and several splits around the rudder shaft.
So to day lm making a new one to put back on and modifications to the rudder will be made for the weekend along with a trial with some 3 blade propellers .
We will see what happens!!!

[WoodRay]

Fingers crossed it goes well. I'm sure you will sort it out.

[RightyO]

Ross I had a similar problem with B.Pee it had a slight vibration and broke the bolts in the car plate that held the rudder bush .I fitted a 3blade 113/4dia 16 deg pitch prop and the problem solved .I lost some revs but the boat still preforms well, as it's racing days are long gone I think preserving the hull is important so the less vibration the better .

[screwit]

All most done . Front edge of the rudder has been built up on the rh side and ground on the left hand side to deflect water force of the rudder to hopefully help to take out the strain on the steering and balance the effort on the wheel.
The strain on the cable and pulls must have been massive.
Haven't decided witch prop l will pick yet.

[Darren]

Good bit of detective work Ross, discovering those things early can save major failures.
It would be good to diagnose that steering strain.
The skiff handles brilliantly, but you certainly have to "lean" on the steering.
It's a strange one for me, as it still steers well both ways, even when you let off the strain at at high speed it doesn't hook in

[Greg]

How did all the modifications go Ross?

[screwit]

After running the grinder down the front edge of the rudder and trying the 12 x 15 prop the vibration was almost gone and the steering is much better but the roll was worse at 4500 rpm and up to 5500 at this point it was chine walking. But speed was still there at lower rpm.

[Bob Vic]

Bugger - it seems that the Lewis skiffs with that narrow rounded transom shape all have a tendancy to roll. Various props alleviate or accentuate it to various degrees, but never completely fix the problem roll. Unfortunately.

[screwit]

Tryed the cut down prop - now 11.25 x 16 and results were good but still had a vibration and will need to be looked at.
Changed the prop to a chopper prop that l bought that had a light bulb mounted in it . It is a Ryan with 10 A D stamped on it .If anyone has information on this prop let me know. This changed the boat completely with better control.
Trying to keep the RPM down to 6000 to 6500 and short
bursts to just over 7000 was a little concerning.

[screwit]

After having staring problems at Narrandera on our last day we came home and l checked out the starter, it was ok so while it was off l checked most of the connections and found out that the 60 amp fues between the battery/ starter in the charge lead was blown . So l figured that the 55 amp alternator must of gone wild on me .
I have got a replacement for it and have replaced the holden size pully for a larger one to slow it down . I think reving the engine at 6000 + for long runs has done some damage to the alternator as l have not had any problem before we we could run up to 7s so easy.
Now waiting on a day to test it .