Freeman 33 Sport - Mutual Admiration

Hi
I'm a new member and have owned my 33 sport for over 12 years. 9 years ago I replaced the glands with PSS seals brought from a.s.a.p. and have never seen a drop of water from them since. No maintenance to do either.

Hi Thomas, welcome to the forum, we are a friendly bunch.

  With your experience of 12 years there will be loads of knowledge you can enlighten us all with ! The replacement of the original log hose with PSS seals is a good start, photos are much appreciated as would be your mooring and cruising area.

We have meets organised for the  Thames and the Norfolk Broads during the summer which you would be welcome to come along to, (assuming you are in one of these areas.) See events section.

If you havn't found us yet, we have a Facebook page.  https://m.facebook.com/groups/36807066957. The heading picture is the Salhouse Broads Meet last year.

Best wishes, Derek, Freeman 23 Flittermouse.

Welcome Thomas...

I too would be interested in your experience with the PSS glands....  I hope to fit them to my 32 sometime soon.... if I ever get a month with money left at the end!!!!

Hi Thomas,
                 thanks for the tip on the glands. Didn't know what a s a p was until I just looked it up. Shall have to get some seals from there ready to replace when my boat comes out the water just before the season gets underway.

One question you might be able to answer - there is a pipe going into the gland and someone told me it was for grease but where does this pipe go to? I should imagine somewhere near the engine is a bottle or such like which I have to refill with stern tube grease?

Hi Mark & Co,
                   I'm a 33 Sedan owner. I'm currently drawing up a list of jobs that I want to get done before the season starts.
I have two Tilt & Slide sunroofs (Farmont F600's) fitted over the helm and navigators seat. They are fairly old and not in good condition. One leaks and the rotary handle is broken on the other. I have found very little info online but one website reports that no parts are available. They measure 500mm x 824mm. Does anyone know of a decent alternative?

Also, I'm going to strip down my decks and repaint them. I think the best option is to remove all the fender cleats and reseal them. I was thinking of using epoxy filler and re-drilling all the holes. Is this the best option?

Hi Guy's
Glad to help. The pipe to which Russ refers is for cooling water and is normally plumbed into the raw water entering the exhaust. It is only needed for running speeds above 12 knots and as I run slower I have not fitted it to the exhaust water supply but fixed it vertically to the bulkhead and plugged the end. Its a flexible hose so it's easy to route. The end needs to be above outside water level. I just remove the plugs for a few seconds when the boat gets launched to bleed off trapped air and then refit them.  I've put around 1000 hours on these seals so far without any leaks. They come with full instructions in the box.

A bit of confusion I think... The pipe Russ is referring to is the same as mine. It is a remote greaser for the gland. It runs to the bulkhead under the rear steps on mine. It then ends in a grease nipple. There should be an access hatch under the bottom step. The step thread slides out?

The pipe Thomas is referring to is for the new seals and is a coolant pipe and should run to the engine.

My solution for the sunroofs was to get a cover made up for the whole roof. Sunroofs are still there but leak like sieves!

Thanks Mark. I didn't waste my money on the huge tin of grease I got at the boat jumble in Newark last week
I must be quite lucky because my sunroofs are watertight it's the rest of the windows in the cockpit which leaks like sieves.

agreed. Mine had the grease pipes before I changed to PSS seals. I Should have mentioned to anyone fitting these seal never to put grease or oil on them as it ruins the carbon thrust.

Russ / Thomas - it's great to finally find some other owners of the sport as they have a few unique features! I'm sure I'll be back to both of you with requests for pictures etc

Mark

Hi
apologies to Derek and Deano. I'm pretty hopeless with finding my way around the forum at the moment, never done anything like this before, and missed both your welcoming messages. Many thanks to all. I keep the boat on the Thames at the Thames and Kennet marina near Reading. My cruising area is from there anywhere upstream for the peace and tranquillity if offers.

Welcome to the forum Thomas

Hopefully we'll see you at the Thames meet then  [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

We overnight in T&K a couple of times a year, what's the name of your boat?

Hi Prof
Hope to be at the Thames meet but I never plan anything in advance as plans always go wrong for me. My boat is named Water magic. I have posted a picture in the owners gallery.

Ah, we met last year.
I'm the guy with the 23 you showed around your boat in August

I remember. Small world.

I'm sure the other owners would be interested to see a pic of your boat ready to pass under Osney bridge (7'6" for those that don't know it)

That's a definite yes please to photos.  Pat told me about meeting you and having a tour of your boat last year. Welcome to the forum and looking forward to meeting you. We are tempted to try to get our 24 under Osney and must pluck up the courage soon as it is lovely beyond Oxford.

don't have any photo's of her at osney bridge but have uploaded a video clip on youtube. enter "water magic at osney" in the youtube search box. For us this bridge is easy, much more difficult is Godstow bridge a couple of miles further up.

The twist as you go through makes Godstow interesting in a larger boat, hence all the battle scars that can only be seen from the water  

Above mentioned clip

Fffffffff ... liping heck..... thats tight!!!!

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so I've found out where the grease is fed from into the packing gland it looks like they are remote greasers just under the stairs to the rear cabin.
 I'm not sure how these work so is it a case of filling them up and then turning the screw once in a while to push the grease through? The screw is fully up at the moment so im not sure if there's any grease in there. Should I disconnect the connection to the packing gland, turn the screw fully down to see if there is any grease in or just to remove the old grease if there is any in. Question is how do I fill them up again?

I have a single remote but the principle would be similar. I unscrewed the connection at the gland and pumped some grease through to check by turning the handwheel down .
Undo the greaser body by unscrewing the whole body from the base , best then to push out the old grease with the handwheel. Unscrew the top cap with the handwheel, and suck up new grease from the can (use the special thin grease SM supply or similar). Reassemble the body,/cap and screw down until the new grease appears, reconnect to the gland. 
Probably easier to do than explain, but a messy job !    Good luck !!

 Thanks Derek. That's my job for next weekend sorted 

I have the same...... I give it a turn before I go out .

I have the same and give the handle a turn until there is reasonable resistance at the end of a days cruising. I also tend to check each morning as part of visual checks prior to staring up. I agree repacking is messy; I remove the barrel from the base, unscrew the top and remove the plunger. I then push the barrel into the grease and then reassemble. Do use the thin grease if it is to work properly. Hope that helps.