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Barnacle encrusted Gori propeller on the Wing Engine.

Barnacle encrusted Gori propeller on the Wing Engine.

We all make mistakes from time to time and my Stupid Owner Trick this year was not using my Wing Engine enough. DOH!!

After reading the James Knight interview on Pendana’s blog, his answer to the question, “if there was one thing Nordhavn owners should check religiously and don’t what would that be?”, really hit home. Yep, it’s the Wing Engine, specifically, exercising the Gori folding prop. I put my dive gear on to check mine, and sure enough, it was a mass of barnacles and muscles, so fully encrusted that it was stuck in the open position. Damn It Scott! Thirty minutes of chipping away at the growth underwater didn’t rectify the situation, so it was time to pull the boat.

Nordhavn 47, Sea Eagle, on the hard at Swantown Boatworks.

Nordhavn 47, Sea Eagle, on the hard at Swantown Boatworks.

Swantown Boatworks was pretty busy, but they squeezed me in (literally) right in front of their office. Once the boat was up in the slings, I was impressed to see that my underwater work had allowed the folding prop to fold-up, but it still wasn’t really functional. Compare that to the main propeller (see photo above), which had been coated with Barnacle Buster last year. I had mistakenly left the Gori prop bare and you can see that the marine growth LOVED it!

They pressure washed the hull and running gear for me, then set the boat on the hard about one foot from the front door of their office. It was rather funny to watch the yard workers ducking under the swim step in order to get to the restrooms.

All cleaned up and ready to launch.

All cleaned up and ready to launch.

I spent the next few days chipping, grinding, sanding and eventually painting the Gori Folding propeller with outdrive paint. It was a bit of a miserable job, with air temperatures around 40° F and rain squalls every hour or so. Once the prop was good to go, I lubed up the mechanism and then went to work cleaning the keel coolers, replacing zincs and touching up a few spots of bottom paint that were bare.

Prior to putting Sea Eagle back in the water, I pulled and replaced the 7/16″ packing on the main shaft and inspected the shaft/bearings/etc., finding it all to be in excellent condition.

Launching Sea Eagle back into the water.

Launching Sea Eagle back into the water.

For those that didn’t see James Knight’s interview, here was his advice on what Nordhavn owners should check relegiously: “I would say that placing their wing engine into and out of gear while its running is something most are guilty of not doing. When we pull boats from the water we often see that the wing engine propeller is jammed i.e. the propeller doesn’t fold / unfold correctly.” Busted!

Clean and functional Gori Prop, like it should be.

Clean and functional Gori Prop, like it should be.