pritch

I have an Aquacraft Bristol Bay that has always had issues taking on water which I have tried to stop with grease etc. but over winter storage the inevitable seems to have happened and the motor is visibly rusted, and seized - can't turn the prop at all, or rather the prop won't turn the motor.

In my opinion the boat needs to be fully stripped down and rebuilt but I cannot get to anything because of its construction. I can't even get to the prop shaft screws because they have sized facing down. Here's the gallery on the website;

http://www.aquacraftmodels.com/boats...0-gallery.html

I would like to get the deck off completely for better access and to clean/replace everything, and so I can make a much better job of waterproofing. I really like this model and want to stick with it.

It looks to be glued in place so I figure I will have to cut the deck off in some way? Can anyone advise how I should go about this?

Thanks

mfr02

Can't help with deck removal problem, but a few drops of penetrating oil on the motor bearings, plus the same on the inner and outer prop shaft bearings and then left for a day or so to soak through might help unseize them.  Apply the oil with a brush or Q-tip, not from the can, though.  It might well need more than one application.  A bit of rust on the outside of a motor can, while not good, is not an instant end of life indicator.  Since everything is coupled together, it is difficult to tell exactly which bit is the guilty party until they are separated, and the problem is that you are not going to be able to tell until they can be turned enough to work on.

pritch

Thanks, trouble is with my biggish hands I can't even get to the motor properly to spray the WD-40 where I want it to go - I have applied it liberally to the motor shaft / outdrive but still no joy.

I doubt I'm able to get the motor out at all without the boat being taken apart somehow, as there's very little clearance for tools.

mfr02

WD40, while having many good points, is not as good at penetrating as the traditional thin runny stuff with graphite suspended in it.  Spraying is not really an option - even with the tube, placement is uncertain.  A brush or applying a drop from a wire (quote from a mentor many years ago "A drop is that pendant which can be suspended from a wire of your preferred weight") allows accurate placement, even down a confined space.  

pritch

Thanks, I will try my best to do that when I next get a chance to work on it, and report back. I will also try to take a pic or two of the situation.

Gee, the forum seems a lot quieter than when I first joined RCU?

*delete M i k e u p delete*

Oiling in hard to get to areas. You could use a straw and put finger over one after you dip straw in oil. I have a oiler used to oil furnaces which has an extention in oiler to reach those places