The plans make no mention of how to lubricate the propshafts. So I am going to use a method I have successfully used on several models and which is simplicity itself. I fashion some brass tube (for each shaft) that is long enough to reach from the propshaft to just below deck level. These will be soldered to the propshafts (after a small hole is drilled in them), to allow grease to be pumped in using a syringe. The access to these tubes will be via the aft store.

As every Imara will be different, measurements may vary. But for the record, the tubes I made are 50mm long and 6mm diameter (the syringe nozzles fit nicely).

Anyhow, having cut them to length it was time to make one end of each tube concave to suit the profile of the propshafts. Now this is easily done with hand files but I used my Dremel because I am lazy, however I always tidy with a hand file to finish.  The video below may make more sense of what I am trying to describe, as it is really a simple thing to make. 

And don’t forget to tidy up by hand.

Some newcomers to this hobby may ask why the need to lubricate shafts running on brass bearings, as you can get good endurance this way. I would like to say that in my opinion that this is mainly true for low use and smaller models. I intend to use my Imara a good deal and the fact that large props are being turned by powerful motors will always cause more wear. Also, the problem is exasperated on the Imara due to small diameter shafts being used to keep a scale appearance (4BA instead of my preferred 2BA for this prop size). The final reason is that with the correct grease the ingress of water (even when the shafts are worn) can be kept to a minimum.

Some small updates to the site. Added some pictures by Brian Roberts of his Imara build to the “Showcase” and “Resources” area tabs.

Ok, so I was looking around my local DIY store when I came across these little beauties. They were only a couple of quid each so I purchased three of each size. You can never have enough of useful little tools like these. The part Numbers and capacities are listed below should you need them.

       Stock No’   Capacity   Throat Depth

65351        30mm        37mm

65352        40mm        48mm

65353        60mm        58mm

65354        100mm      90mm

Hi, it’s a whole new year! So lets go mad and risk upgrading to the latest version of wordpress. As you can see it has all gone well and I would recommend that any of you who are using an older version to upgrade now. The options and interface are so much better in V2.7 and it will make the administration of a blog so easy.

Happy New Year to all my family, friends and bloggee’s. But most of all to my wife who has been simply amazing. I hope we all have a better year in 2009 and put 2008 firmly behind us.

Enjoy the London fireworks display below