Public Discussion Forum

We have a 2005 57 Selene. We have had to change the shaft due to pitting and have changed our shaft seal and more recently replaced engine mounts. We suddenly started leaking salt water into the boat below the base plate the shaft goes through into the rear tunnel. Waiting to get the boat hauled. Wondering if anyone else has ever experienced this? Boat yard is talking about having to cut out the entire tunnel and re fiberglass it!!

Hi Erika:

There's a great presentation created by the owner of one of the early Selene 57's about fixing a leak in the shaft tunnel and into the keel. I'll alert him to your question and connect you two.

On a side note: I'm curious as to why you posted your question as a visitor? It appears you have a member account. I'd encourage you to login to your member account (or submit your postings via email if that's easier).

If you're having trouble logging in, try the "Forgot My Username and Password" button on the login screen. You'll just need the email address associated with your account.

Mark Tilden

Selene 60 "Koinonia"

I was having difficulty signing on. I will try again.

Erika

Erika Lombardi
(360)220-5689

Hello Mark,

My name is Richard Houston.

I am a member of the Selene forum and have been following the discussion concerning the leak at the shaft tunnel.

I own a 2005 Selene Archer 40 and I am experiencing what I think is the same problem.

You mentioned to Erika and another Selene owner has a write up concerning this problem.

I was wondering if you could also send me the information about a possible fix?

Thank you for any and/or all information.

Richard Houston

The Journey

40' Selene Archer

Currently in the process of replacing the shaft seal on my 2011 58. On my boat there is a "inner fiberglass tube" that houses the shaft and fits inside the shaft tunnel. It has two Clamp Seals on the outside of each end that seals it to the shaft tunnel to prevent water leakage. If your boat has that "inner tube" then the clamp seals should be checked and/or replaced when replacing the shaft seal. It could also be leaking if the shaft bearings weren't changed when the shaft was reinstalled.

The boat has an Axiseal by Amartech. It took a significant amount of time to receive a replacement from the Netherlands based company (Blokland), including a delay in customs.

However, the main problem that caused the entire boating season to be lost was that once the seal was replaced, water continued to leak from behind the seal. It was later determined that the "inner fiberglass tube" that holds the shaft was modified to fit the boat by someone other than Blokland and that modification (extension) is totally out-of-round and probably the cause of the leak. Blokland is currently in the process of manufacturing a new tube at the proper length and we hope to receive it sometime in October. Unfortunately, it has turned into a very expensive 6 month project. Insurance will cover a portion over the deductible as it appears to be a latent defect.

We are currently having our keel leak issues repaired.

We removed the shaft, rear bearing holder, forward shaft flange and forward bearing. What we found was that the stern tube (ours is bronze vs fiberglass) was leaking at the joint where the tube screws into the shaft flange on both the forward end and the aft end.

Upon removal of the rear bearing holder we also found that 2 of the mount studs were loose and somewhat corroded. We believe that they were either dislodged at removal or were leaking also.

Our solution will most likely be to have the shaft tube lined with a reinforced epoxy designed and used for lining industrial pipelines. We plan to treat the length of the shaft tube although during pressure tests it was determined that only the joints at each end of the tube were leaking. We are also cutting in an access port just ahead of shaft flange in the engine room.

To address the loose studs at the stern flange we will need to cut access large enough to get a hand into on each side of the keel to replace the studs. While I’m not thrilled with the idea of cutting into the keel, it will be a necessity.

To remove and refit a new stern tube will be a very expensive job and likely unnecessary if the stern tube is otherwise in serviceable condition. The keel leaks I’m familiar with from conversations with other owners and in speaking with a few yards that have done this work on other Selene’s were remedied without replacing the stern tube

I hope I'm not out of line for making this suggestion....