Leak through P-bracket joint after line in prop

[jeroen]

I would like to share my P-bracket joint repair after my prop caught a 10mm line.

The line got ripped in two pieces by the forces propagated by the propellor, I had no rope cutter installed.
As a result, the epoxy 'block' surrounding the P-bracket lost it's bond with the hull (cracks).
Only when the engine was running, due to the vibration, seawater came in.

In my opinion the method of fixing the P-bracket to the hull as applied by Jeanneau on my SO 45 DS is a bit low-cost, see the below picture right after the impact:

The fix: P-bracket sandwiched between two hardwood supports, glued together using two component Thixotrope Epoxy.

Here below a picture of the fix (before fibreglassing):

Lesson learnt: don't leave your berth without a rope cutter installed, the repair took 2 days and that does not include the cleanup of both aft cabins which were full of dust (due to removing a square from the inner hull).

[vasko]

That's really surprising for me...

I have been so far on multiple occasions and boats when the prop managed to caught a line on:

Bene 43.4
Bav 40
Bav 34
Jean Sun Liberty 34

and in all cases the effect was the same - just the engine stopped and to undo the line we needed  to dive and  undo it or juts turn backwards the prop ( on starter and reverse couple of bursts) and pull the line.

I'm really surprise that a line in the prop incident can actually damage the stricture of the boat  and lead to potential sinking from P-bracket leaking...

my personal thinking is that this look more like a production fault and non well attached P-Bracket originally..  as strictly speaking there is no guaranty that a rope cutter will actually cut the line wrapped around the prop...

[jeroen]

When the line snapped, I could see the wind indicator in the top of the mast vibrating from my position, I could feel how the force shook the whole boat. It happened when going from neutral to forward during a berthing manoever, the engine was throttled to somewhere in between 800 RPM and 1200 RPM. The other end of the line was attached to the starboard front cleat :/

[vasko]

the only really viable rope-cutter that I have come a long and had installed on my previous boat is : www.ropestripper.com/index.php

( there are versions for shaft and saildrive - all more expensive then regular rope cutters but actually doing the job) 

the other styles are generally not very reliable and also generate  a drag on my folding ptop...

[sailbleu]

Jeroen , join the family.

www.jeanneau-owners.com/hintsandtips/Pbracketrepair.html


Regards


EDIT:

Btw , I have had 2 similar incidents after that one , but because of the repair the fix is much stronger and my engine just stopped because of frinction due to the rope getting caught between the junk ropecutter and the P-bracket.
It took me nearly an hour each time to cu the rope away.
No scubatanks on board and you're dead in the water.

[Zanshin]

A couple of years ago I came to the aid of a chartered SO36i which had wrapped the dinghy painter from the side and torn the P-Strut. Had we not had a lot of help from other boaters in the Grand Case anchorage the boat would have sunk! I was surprised at the construction and mounting of the P-strut and would have thought that it was designed to break away without compromising the hull.

The story, and some pictures of the tear from above and below the water, can be found by clicking on this line.

[fakinx]

All right guys, I just joined the club.
Last night we picked up a big rope from just below the sea while anchoring in a bay. Engine stalled but P bracket cracked the hull.
We were taking in manigable amount of see but were dead in the water. If I tried just a bit of power, water ingress was much bigger.
We got hauled to nearest port at night and out of the water in the morning. Don’t ask about the cost... 😳
Really really intense situation but thankfully not to far from shore if the whole bracket would snap off.
Now I’ll need to figure out best way to repair...
😬

[MalcolmP]

Jul 22, 2018 12:30:19 GMT fakinx said:

All right guys, I just joined the club.
Last night we picked up a big rope from just below the sea while anchoring in a bay. Engine stalled but P bracket cracked the hull.
We were taking in manigable amount of see but were dead in the water. If I tried just a bit of power, water ingress was much bigger.
We got hauled to nearest port at night and out of the water in the morning. Don’t ask about the cost... 😳
Really really intense situation but thankfully not to far from shore if the whole bracket would snap off.
Now I’ll need to figure out best way to repair...
😬

Sounds really stressful, glad you and boat are all safe.

This guide may well be a useful starting point
www.jeanneau-owners.com/hintsandtips/Pbracketrepair.html

[fakinx]

Stressful indeed! Especially when there are kids onboard.
But there was no panicking. We were prepared to abandon ship in less than 5 minutes when we realized we could run out of electricity during night and actually go down without help. Good crew!!!
I have insurance so it’s not up to me to do repairs. I’m just gathering knowledge not to be just sucker with💰💰💰. I need proper repair since it’s on insurance budget...
It’s just sad to end holiday like this! (and just sitting on a deck waiting for Monday). We are (obviously) not see worthy and need an irregular inspection also before we can sail again. Regulations...

[jeroen]

I'm the original poster of this thread, one piece of advice: once the old epoxy block is removed, the P-bracket will come loose.

Be aware that the P-bracket can move fore/aft, left/right but also pitch foreward/aft (assuming the cutlass bearing lost maybe a mm. or more of its soft inner material).

You have to assure the strut goes back in the exact same spot in relation to the hull and secondly, it did not pitch forward/aft the slightest (not an issue if the cutlass is new and a tight fit).

The day will come that the (worn) cutlass will be replaced by a new one, I know that can be done without removing the shaft, but let's say you want to combine that with a dripless seal replacement.

If there was a mistake done, the shaft, which will fit tightly in the strut, will not be alligned with the hole where it enters the hull, the new cutlass bearing won't allow for any correction. In theory, you would have to get rid of some of the inner soft material of your brand new cutlass bearing in order to get the shaft end back to the engine in a smooth way. In practice you would have to apply mechanical pressure to the strut and therefore bend your hull somewhat to get the shaft back in... and for a permanent solution, redo the repair.

For that reason, replace the cuttlass with a new one (and assure shaft in place) before starting this job.

[fakinx]

Thanks for your input jeroen.
New cutlass bearing and volvo seal. Only 18h on motor from service. I wonder what went wrong this time.
We had caught ropes before but without any (visual) damage.
This spring after change there were some strange vibrations so I installed Sigma Drive. Only 12h on that!
Imagine my frustration...