The nut holding the coupling onto the spline did indeed come loose, but doesn't appear to have damaged anything other than the seal, which probably just needs to be reset. However, that means all the fluid leaked out, and since the gears are always meshed and turn when the engine's running, I really can't run it like this -- so this might be my last post for a while due to low power. Also, the shaft doesn't slide back far enough for me to work on it in place, although I will give it that old college try.
So, it looks more and more like I'll need to pull the transmission. As I mentioned before, my changes to the deck drain hoses, seacocks, and water lift placement should give me enough room to get her out, but since I've never tried it, I'm not really sure. Remember too that removing the transmission also means removing the rear engine mounts -- not my most favorite thing, especially in the water. At least everything is clean and freshly painted. It should come out much quicker this time too.
Alternatively, I could pull the prop under water and slide the shaft back as far as I want -- even completely out if I wanted, but things might get a bit wet inside if I did that. The coupling on the shaft will keep it from going all the way out, but I'd need to keep the rudder locked to one side so it wouldn't rub and bend it.
A third option, the one most sane people might choose, would be to pull the boat and do it on land. That's also the most expensive. I'll give Coneys a call to see how much, and if they could even do it, but I'd still prefer to do it here.
Actually, I've got nothing to loose by trying to pull the transmission while she's in the water. I'd have to do that on land anyway. However, if I need to pull the prop to slide the shaft back, that's more of an issue. But I guess I might need to know how to do that someday too, so who knows. It's better this way, right?
One good thing is that this anchorage is nice and calm. There may be one or two small fishing boats that go by, but for the most part, no one comes over here. We've got great weather right now too, and the water's about 70 degrees.
Other than the transmission, everything is back to where it was before the storm -- actually better. Incidentally, if I wanted to sail right now, even without using the engine, I'd need to secure the shaft forward so the prop wouldn't interfere with the rudder. I might also want to rig something up like this anyway, just in case. You wouldn't want a problem like this to disable the boat at the wrong time or place.
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