I wanted to mention for the FYI record I have replaced my syntron with a lasdrop (lip seal design vs face seal). Fit in the tight space on the Mull 30, simple as dirt, fairly inexpensive and seems to be pretty good at keeping the water out. No leaks, no drips.
The guys at Lasdrop are helpful and a human answers the phone.
Now if I can get my prop strut bolts to stop leaking my shaft well will finally be dry.
Sounds interesting Mike! I know those original Syntron seals seemed to cause trouble for some folks due to the tight space. I think I saw the Lasdrop folks at the last Annapolis boat show but they were too busy to chat much.
Any chance you have some installed photos and part numbers you could share?
thanks much,
Mark
Tangentially related question: I need to hunt down my prop strut bolts -can you point me to the right place? I am suspecting under the quarter berth behind the gas tank?
I’m mostly curious about the water cooling injection ports, something the original seals did not require. I found my brochure from the boat show but it did not really say much about the injection, such as pump, water source, circulation, etc.
Hi All,
has anyone got experience of how to set up stern gland system on freedom 35 ?
[quote=SunnyIsleMark post_id=55359 time=1681405002 user_id=6331]
I’m mostly curious about the water cooling injection ports, something the original seals did not require. I found my brochure from the boat show but it did not really say much about the injection, such as pump, water source, circulation, etc.
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Sorry about late reply, was oseas with terrible internet BW.
The picture in your post shows the Lasdrop face seal. I have the lip seal fitted in my boat. There was not enough room for the face seal. Here’s a link to the seal I am referring to.
https://lasdrop.com/index.php/dryseal/
With regard to fitment… Our F30 application requires seal “venting” only owing to the the low shaft speed at max engine RPM. Consequently my seal was shipped with a single barb. This was plumbed with a robust tube to a location above the waterline (next to the exhaust vented loop valve in my case). Very simple tubing run on my boat. Seal stays cool as a cucumber.
This seal is dead simple, it is also dry. After about three years of heavy use it began to drip and after five years needed to be replaced. It would have lasted longer if I had a shaft lock in place. I put about 7000 NM on the seal altogether. Long story re locking the shaft if anyone is interested. It is a hard thing to do offshore when engine charging while racing long distance where you are not allowed to engage the transmission under power.
The only thing that needs to be changed at replacement time is the removable lip seal itself which cost $32 as of now. I have two spares aboard, although, realistically, the boat has to come out to do the replacement. If you have enough room you can actually mount a spare seal on the shaft fwd of the housing where the spare will rotate with the shaft until replacement time (details how how to do this are in the literature at the Lasdrop site). Sadly I do not even have the room for that.
The other factor which remains a mystery is how much shaft wear figured into the leakage. I had a cranky, hot running Syntron in there for about 16 years. When I replaced the Syntron with the Lasdrop I did not do a close inspection of the shaft where it interfaces with the Syntron. I suspect there was some wear on the shaft which worked against me re lifetime of the new seal. I just replaced the shaft so we shall see how that impacts seal lifetime. My guess is improved lifetime on the replacement seal.
[quote=MarcHudgins post_id=55356 time=1681245218 user_id=6369]
Tangentially related question: I need to hunt down my prop strut bolts -can you point me to the right place? I am suspecting under the quarter berth behind the gas tank?
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They are located under fuel tank on my boat about 18 inches fwd of the aft end of the tank. I can just get my fingertips on them if I push my arm in there as far as it will squeeze.
I have an endoscope with which I can visually inspect the bolts, however the tank must be moved to do any mechanical/sealing work on them. I wold have to pull the tank on my boat.
BTW endoscopes are the bomb and cheap. I use mine all the time.
Thanks for the response and info Mike. It does appear that Lasdrop has come up with some decent options for our Freedoms. The “on line spare” concept is great if space allowed. I’m posting the brochure I have that describes things in a bit more detail for anyone interested.
One good thing. Lasdrop picks up the phone and will help with whatever re the seals. That’s my experience so far anyway.
Thanks for the tip on the prop strut bolt location. My immediate concern is inspecting to see if the strut is grounded properly, so maybe an endoscope is all I need -unless I have to do some work in there.
Hey Mike,
Your post on the shaft seal was excellent timing. My wife and I just bought a 1987 Freedom 30 and we’re working thru a host of issues.
Principle among them is a very leaky shaft seal. The boat is going to be hauled and painted middle of June, and I’d like to replace the shaft seal (along with the cutless bearing and a couple of seacocks) at that time.
Would you mind sharing the DrySeal part number (numbers?) you ordered?
While she’s out of the water, we’re going to remove and sandblast the Tx & prop flanges and do some engine work, including cleaning the compartment, also. (Nothing like buying a “good condition” used boat… 
)
Thanks for any help you can offer,
Grant
Grant, late evening here so I will get some info for you tomorrow. I will also take a few pics or maybe a video so you can see my set up which may or may not be the same as yours. I imagine it will be close.
What hull number is your boat? Mine is #3 so there were a lot of tweaks and mods after mine was built.
Here is a short video describing my installation
With regard to the exact parts
https://lasdrop.com/index.php/dryseal/
this is the type of seal I have installed, however, there is only one barb on my seal. This is per mfg. recommendation due to low shaft speed. It is a dead simple plumb job as described in the video.
Disclaimer: Some folks have had good luck with the tides marine seal as modified (cut down to reduce length) by Paul Dennis. I opted to go with the lasdrop after speaking directly to tides marine who were a little hesitant on the modification that Paul does. I just concluded I would like to have an unmodified seal on the boat.
Having said that, Paul Dennis is a respected Freedom Yachts expert so I doubt he would be selling anything that he did not think was reliable. The modified Tides seal deserves a look as you make your decision. Below find a link to the product. Paul apparently buys these and then does the mods in his shop.
Thanks for taking the time to video your setup Mike. It looks like a very clean and effective replacement. I will very likely replace mine at the end of this season when I haul out.
Thanks Mike.
I dropped a note to Paul to ask about his seal. Thanks also for the video and the links.
Here’s hoping I can get the seal before the boat goes back in the water. We’re in Puerto Vallarta and Shipping/Customs can be delayed.
Oh, we have hull #21. Not as early as yours, but early enough to make things, “interesting”.
Yes, the boats changed quite a bit as they came up with new/different fittings, etc. I look at some pics of later hulls and often think “why didn’t I get that cool thing”.
They did not seem to make much progress on opening up space for shaft seals though. Another two inches would make a big difference.