Drydocking New Jersey Priority Project: Propeller Shaft Seals

In the third episode of our series on drydocking Battleship New Jersey, we're looking at one of the most pressing reasons we need to go to drydock, the propeller shaft glad seals.

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[PhilGoldblum]

Props on. Once they are off - they will inevitably be lost or damaged over time. Bolted to the prop shaft - their condition and whereabouts will always be known.

[williamfrench]

As a veteran please keep her whole She has earned it and she deserves to be all in one piece.

[greentriumph]

I worked on high pressure marine equipment. Since the shaft are not turning a static seal like an omega seal can be welded on. It has enough flex to accommodate small thermal and flex changes. 100 percent water tight.

[phillipbouchard]

In my opinion replace the shaft seals but retain the props in place as this is the way the Navy mothballed all four Iowa class ships and for many years did not degrade either shafts or props as they found out when all four were reactivated in the 1980's.

[toms]

I hope you keep the propellers in place and maintain the Big J intact. Socking down the gland seals have proven effective thus far. Replace them and do the same, and you're good for another 20 years or more. Also, I tend to think that if you distribute the propellers around the state, they will ultimately languish and eventually get scrapped.

[mathewb]

Unless it is critical for the preservation of the ship as a whole, I think they should stay on. You’ve spent so much time adding equipment back to make her whole it would be a shame to loose them.

[vburke]

Well, you already know that cranking the gland seals down tight (since you're not actually running the props) is a reliable way to be leak free. I'd be surprised if the weight of the prop put an appreciable load on the gland seal since the shaft is supported by the bearings. The situation with Midway grounding out on her props and rudders is an engineering failure of her berth/mooring plan. Removing the props and rudders is a bandaid and duct tape fix for a problem that shouldn't have happened in the first place. Stick with what long experience shows you works.

[kennethwise]

I've removed those shafts and props before. Pretty good job. Probably a 5 day job with all of the interference removed from the engine room. A Hytorc is your best friend on that inboard coupling. We typically autographed the machined surface once its exposed. Hopefully others have autographed yours. I guess we'll see.

[robsmith]

One thing Ryan didn't mention was that if the propellers were removed the ship wold have to be re-trimmed which would mean adding ballast. There are several ways of adding said ballast including filling trim tanks, pouring concrete, large lumps of metal - each of these has its advantages and disadvantages, but none is without risk.

[major__kong]

As someone who does project management for a living, the right answer is wait until she's out of the water and that area can be inspected to make a decision but have all the plans in place ready to execute. If you don't have funding for one or more of the plans at that point, decisions are easier.

[Bpilot]

When I was a marine engineer, we would often times have our plain steel salt water mains coated in an epoxy rubber coating. Since the shaft seals don’t rotate, you could coat the external shaft penetration and shaft area with an expoxy rubber coating on the sea side. It will fail eventually but will keep your stern tube dry for a long time.

[ProfessorMAG]

You should try to keep all the props mounted and in place. One of the attractions is the fantasy of the Iowas being able to be re-activated. In reality we all know they won't but, in the back of everyone's mind is the fantasy desire to see them back in service again. Maintaining the props and even promoting the fact they are still in place would (IMO) be a great draw for future visitors.

[donbenson]

AS a ship yard worker you can change or add a turn of packing without a dry dock. a diver seals off the prop and the rope guard. you will still get a little wet.

[crazyguy]

I'd go for option 3. Install a blanking ring around the shaft on the outside of the gland, welded to both the shaft and the hull. You now have a solid, waterproof steel covering that is impervious to the effects of crushing and settling. In the interest of galvanic reaction it may be possible to mitigate that by covering the props and their connection to the shafts with a layer of epoxy, if you can prevent the electolyte (water) from reaching the less reactive metal then there is no electron exchange and no corrosion. So, for the record, I'm a props on supporter.

[chrismaverick]

If there is one thing I've learned from yours and Drach's videos is that warships are infinitely more complex than just guns on a floating, self-powered hull. You look at the crew requirements of a ship and ask why so many people needed, and then you get into the depths of the workings and realize that, baring a few things that have become less manpower-heavy, that real live people are absolutely needed to keep these things going from target A to target B. Props to those who lived and maintained these beauties in the active days, and all our hopes and well-wishes to you who keep them alive in their retirement years.

[darrengladstone]

Corrosion should definitely be the drinking game word on this channel. 🍻

[alanrogers]

I would try my best to keep the propellers in place. As Ryan stated, they are a major piece of the ship and should stay on. A cool thing would be to build a glass-bottomed observation deck that folks could see them in place. This would obscure the stern somewhat, at least how I envision it, but would be a "must see" on any tour of the "Big J".

[aserta]

5:09 on the subject of the anodes, i make a strong case to develop a mounting system that allows a diver to periodically change these anodes without the need of welding them on the boat. On commercial boats, there's several variants of this. They aren't as effective (as the tab and weld type), and would require maintenance, but i've personally thought that something that can easily be maintained is better than something that requires complicated action on behalf of the maintainer.

[NeneExists]

I'm keen to see the propellers stay on the ship, I think the benefits of keeping them attached outweigh the costs

[steveschulte]

You can spin the shaft with the shaft jacking gear back by the reduction gears. It is customary to jack the shaft when in port on an active ship. It will reduce the tendency to bend the shaft under the weight of the shaft aft of those last bearings,