ninavizz
Propeller Shaft
The shaft is perfectly smoove, and then steps-up to a slightly thicker area that the bearings surround. Extra thickness is so it can be turned-down if/when bearings either sieze or groove the shaft. How smarty is that? :)
Bearings are made from some funky alloy with lead and tin, and they sieze at 200°F. That's crazy!
The super nice engineer guy who let me tag along with his lube-route, is pouring lube onto the bearings, thru a little hatch on the top. This has to be done around every 30 minutes. When the ships are running they'd drain the bearings into the bilge, but because it's now a retired & underfunded museum piece, each bearing unit has a little coffee-can with a wire hanger-handle on it, hanging from the drain spout. Really cute, to be perfectly honest. :)
So when the ship is operating, 1 guy's job is just walking around the whole engine room, lubing all the bearings on the shaft, engine, and other meeting points. Acne trainwreck waiting to happen...
Propeller Shaft
The shaft is perfectly smoove, and then steps-up to a slightly thicker area that the bearings surround. Extra thickness is so it can be turned-down if/when bearings either sieze or groove the shaft. How smarty is that? :)
Bearings are made from some funky alloy with lead and tin, and they sieze at 200°F. That's crazy!
The super nice engineer guy who let me tag along with his lube-route, is pouring lube onto the bearings, thru a little hatch on the top. This has to be done around every 30 minutes. When the ships are running they'd drain the bearings into the bilge, but because it's now a retired & underfunded museum piece, each bearing unit has a little coffee-can with a wire hanger-handle on it, hanging from the drain spout. Really cute, to be perfectly honest. :)
So when the ship is operating, 1 guy's job is just walking around the whole engine room, lubing all the bearings on the shaft, engine, and other meeting points. Acne trainwreck waiting to happen...