Caring for your boat is a real necessity – it is a valuable asset that floats on salt water and is constantly exposed to the elements, such as sun, rain, and hard partying at Palmilla (ha-ha!). Therefore, ensuring that your vessel is in top-knotch condition is crucial to its life.
In these series of articles, I will be going over various maintenace tips and practices to care for your boat.
Tip #5: Engine Alignment and Shaft Bearing Inspection
When it comes to yacht maintenance, one of the least understood and most overlooked systems that require maintenance, engine and shaft alignment probably heads the list. Several problems can arise from incorrect alignment and poor or worn out engine mounts, such as rapid bearing wear, bent or broken shafts, drive system vibrations, and ultimately transmission failure caused by increased stress on the rear output shaft bearings and gears. Therefore, it is important to check the shaft bearings for stress, and to align your engines at least once a year.
A. Inside part of a shaft bearing. The coating around the tube is what protects the transmission shafts, and what eventually wears out with time. Once the protective coating is worn out, boaters experience vibration while their engines are underway, and potentially causing damage to the shaft.
B. Outside view of a shaft bearing.
This series of articles is contributed by Eduardo Hernandez, Business Development Manager at ERH Marine. ERH Marine is the DR’s leading yacht distributor, with a wide portfolio of brands that satisfy all boating needs, be it fish or cruise.
Dominican Yacht Management Service (DYMS – ERH Marine’s sister company), offers services to manage and care for your boat in its entirety. This is particularly useful if you don’t live in the DR, but maintain a vessel at the Marina. All these tips (and those still to come) have been taken from the DYMS Care program, and are performed regularly on the boats under our management.
RH Marine also has a fleat of premium Tiara Yachts available to rent for trips from the Marina Casa de Campo to Palmilla or Isla Catalina. Below are photos of the available yachts, for more info click here.
Inglés
