jimcleary
James M. Cleary
I have a new event going on this season. My 1978 382, hull #53, has the Yanmar 3QM30 with about 6400 hours on it. The transmission is the original and has never been repaired or overhauled. I have always allowed the prop to freewheel whenever we are under sail. From the cockpit we could always hear a very low steady hum of the prop spinning while under sail. This year, for the first time, we are hearing a distinct ticking sound from the prop at slow sailing speeds. The frequency of the ticking increases as the boat speed increases until about around 3.5 kts when the sound disappears. If I put the transmission into reverse to stop the freewheeling the ticking stops. The sound drives Bonnie crazy. Is this telling me that the transmission is in need of a little TLC?
Jim
Jim