Would like to thank all the great guys who posted fantastic advice and comments on the subject... I have decided to simply temporarily put a face flannel under the prop shaft inboard and remove it after sailing to wring out. Also prior to sailing grease both ends a lot to limit ingress... A model boat shop has offered to fix it but until finances, time and travel allow me to take her there, this shall have to suffice....To all of you, Thank You..

Ok shall send soon as I get back from work.

Gary, I figured under the aft hatch is where the receiver and rudder servo is located. Please send us all a photo of the area with hatch open.

Generally, a rudder is removable after removing a set screw of the control arm that connects to the servo.

Send us a couple photos so we can walk you through the simple procedure and by doing so, you will be greasing the rudder shaft too.

Ron

Thank You so much for that great advice.. Gonna go for it and keep you posted.

It would seem that the use of araldite on the propeller and u-joint doesn’t give you many options. The suggestion of using some form of sealant on the wood in and around the area where water seeps in is a good one, but water will find its way into anywhere.
It’s a real shame and it looks a good boat from the pictures provided.
The only suggestion I could make would be
- undo the grub screw at the motor end (if not glued) of the u joint
- undo the screws holding the motor to the engine mount and remove the motor
- the brass collar and red plastic part of the u joint could now be removed leaving just the brass collar attached to the prop shaft
- put a spanner or grips on the brass collar and put some protection over the propellor and put mole grips or something similar over it. Then carefully try the break the glue hold by twisting the brass collar clockwise and the prop end anti clockwise then the opposite - small turns at a time
- a couple of things could happen here either the prop will come loose - bonus as now more surface to grip direct onto shaft. Or the shaft will turn inside the brass collar and can then be set up to reduce the clearance issue have at prop end - even better
- the down side could be the outer shaft tube could rotate and break the glue seal that goes through the hull 🙄
- if the shaft moves and comes away from the brass collar just buy a new u joint from e bay
- hopefully the shaft and propellor have survived and can be reused. If not then more spending or I may have a spare shaft that may fit and would happily send it you
- then it’s just setting up the propellor clearance to the outer shaft tube to achieve a minimum clearance of 5thou and this will then stop water ingress

It may sound daunting but I removed my entire outer shaft tube and refitted it with the help and guidance of people on this forum. I like you don’t have a clue but these guys give you the confidence to give it a go 👍
Also you’ve given me the bug to restart my 10 year ongoing project 😆

Gary,
Your u-joint is held on with an Allen head screw. I'm not sure if it is metric, probably, or SAE, ut an Allen wench should take it out. You should be able to remove the joint then. If you can then another possible remidy would be to fit a shug fitting o-ring over the shaft and then fit a nylon washer, you could fit washers on both sides of the o-ring, if tere is room to do so. Replace t he u-joint and leakage should be signoficantly reduced.
If you can not do any of the sugesttions so far, then I would allow the boat to dry out completely and then epoxy coat the areas subject to collecting water. Then I would buy a syringe, about a foot of tubing to fit the syringe and aybe a piece of brass tubing to fit the end. Then you can draw out any water quickly and easily.
Cheers

Hello the hatch covers the radio and rudder assembly and is separate from the propulsion system..I am at work now so shall post pic later.

Hi garyp
After your comment "there isnt one around where I live.. I dont have the tools, expertise or time to attempt this myself." I believe you should follow your own advice and just sail and drain once a week. You have not said where you sail your model but if it is with a model boat club they may be able to help. I'm sure we all wish to help but you need some local hands on experience. I hope you enjoy sailing your model in the meantime.
Good sailing
dave976

I see a small wing nut on the rear hatch. Are you able to open the rear hatch? If so take a photo and post it please.

Locktite can be released by the application of gentle heat to the joint. Usual precautions apply.

Pictures of boat and propulsion system

Gary, it's your model so you have to decide, but if any water gets into the wood structure of the model it will deteriorate and ruin it.
Please post pictures of the boat, interior and exterior so we can better understand the problem.
There are many modellers on here that can and will help solve your problem.
Cheers Colin.

Interior view . .Thanks so much for your help so far away

Hi Colin I may have to take her to a shop but there isnt one around where I live.. I dont have the tools, expertise or time to attempt this myself. Also the prop was loktited onto the shaft and the same again inboard.. She runs beautifully so maybe I should just run her one a week then drain the water out afterwards. It is minimal anyway...What do you think?

Gary that's what modelling is all about we learn as we go. I have been modelling for 60+ years and I am still learning.
So you should try and join a local club where you will find the help and advice you need.
Don't give up, cheers Colin.

Unfortunantly both the propellor onto the shaft and the shaft was locktited onto the U joint inboard so I have another hurdle...Maybe due to the fact that I only sail her once a week due to work and the ingress is minimal due to the propulsion I should just grease the prop shaft outboard and just empty the water out after sailing.I really do not have the tools, time and most importantly the expertise to strip this all down....Any advice? Thanks to all of you for your great help so far..

Thanks for the great reply...Unfortunantly that all seems a bit expert for me ,maybe it would be better done by a pro or someone with more experience.

Spot On Tora👍👍👍
Trev

Well, if you let in enough water you will have a submarine...so...why not approach the problem from that direction. Can you disconnect the inboard end of the shaft from the u-joint? Can you access the shaft tube? If you can do the latter, you may be able to drill a hole on the tube to mount a grese tube to it. If not, try this. With the shaft disconnected from the u-joint. measure the outside diameter of the shaft tube. Now go to your hardware store and browse the brass tubing fittings. Compression fitting work best. Find one that either will fit snugly or that you can drill out to fit as such. But an O-ring that just baely matches the OD of the shaft. Epoxy the drilled out fitting to the shaft tube. When dry, apply the O-ring to the shaft and thread on the compression nut until it just barely drags on the shaft. The less the better. Put you hull in the water to test and re-assemble the drive line. Make sure that you scuff up the brass you need to epoxy. If you can solder it, all the better. The cat got skinned again😋

I love this mix. Thanks for sharing

Thanks for the pictures of the rudder and propeller area. Would you also show us the vessel and an interior view.

This is like doing surgery in a remote area, guide another on proceedings but with absence of photos. So we need those photos to guide you.

Gary, thanks for the pictures, the prop is removable by getting a small spanner on the lock nut and carefully grip the prop body with a good set of pliers so you can release it.
Once off you should be able to remove the nut and slide the propshaft inboard if you can remove the motor it would be fairly easy to do.
Cheers Colin.

Hi as far as vaseline goes for a lower powered motor it can be a drag.
I use a mixture of 1 part vaseline 1 part 3 in 1 oil and 1 part WD40. It mixes up to a stiff mix and when inside the prop tube has very little drag and keeps the water out. With luck you can insert it with a small syringe, failing that I pull the prop shaft out sucking the goo in from the motor end.
Use this on all my powered boats and it stays OK for years.
Hope this helps
Roy

Hi Gary
On a boat of this age and having looked at the prop and tube I think it is likely the bearings at each end of the prop shaft are worn ie you will feel movement between the prop/shaft and the prop tube. If this is the case no amount of oil/grease will stop the leak.
There are a few solutions you can try but all will involve removing the prop shaft and rudder if the shaft cannot be removed into the hull.
It is likely a boat of that age was not built with a view to ever have to remove the rudder so you may have to gain access by removing or cutting the deck above.
Once you have the shaft out you can inspect for signs of wear. If severe it and the bearings will need replacing.
You can buy stainless steel shafts and make new bearings but the easiest option is to remove the whole shaft and replace with a new one.
This may sound rather daunting but it can be done and you can repair any damage with body filler.
I hope you manage to fix your model and look forward to seeing it sailing
dave976

Prop shaft of

Prop shaft.

Images of prop

Hi Colin.. I cannot pull the shaft as rudder is permanently fixed.. It is just a case of trying to get grease inside the brass stuffing... Failing that try and catch the water at the inboard end.

Will do Ron.

Hi . It is the normal type of shaft.. The rudder is in the way and is fixed permanently...I did not build this boat as it was gifted to me by a venerable old gentleman who had it for 20 years and prior to that the original builder had it for 30!. She is beautifully made and sound.. The only problem is this water ingress.. I am loathe to destroy anything but it seems the tube is permanently fixed to the hull with the shaft inside...Somehow I need to get grease inside this tube..Failing that, add a water catcher at the inboard end.

If it comes to the point where you can't find any information and you need to move forward, take pencil to paper and layout everything. (Pardon my rough sketching.)

Locate the rudder on you side view of the hull and place the propeller forward of that leaving a gap. The prop shaft should be centered on the prop hub and would run back into the boat. Often the motor and mounting bracket height off the bottom inside of the hull will determine the angle of the shaft (like in the sketch). You don't have to put the motor far forward to keep the shaft horizontal unless the hull is a strange shape, ... and that is one unknown to us who are responding. Like one of the other responders mentioned, we need more information 🙄(photos?).

Once you get this right on paper then you can locate the sweet spot on the hull. This takes some work especially if you are drilling into a sloped surface. Perhaps not a drill but a Dremel type tool and fill in the gap with epoxy (or?). Don't forget some other shaft support either on the inside or outside or make the part of the hull extra thick where the shaft goes through it.

B.T.W., I use Vaseline for my prop shafts, more environmentally friendly⛵, works, and it lasts a long time.

As well as pulling the shaft out to grease ,also add a nylon washer at each end of the shaft and minimise the shaft end float to about 5 thou.
This should cure your problem. Also when the boat is going forwards the risk of water ingress is minimised by the thrust of the prop against the washer and stuffing tube.
Cheers Colin.

Hi can you show us a photo? Is it the usual type of prop tube and shaft? Will the prop and shaft pull out backwards so to speak?
How is the drive end connected?
Have you an oiling tube in the prop tube?
Did you build ths boat?
There were no replies posted when I wrote this!!!!!!

You have to give us all more to work on.
regards
Roy

Greasing the shaft is the only way I know.
Just make sure it is waterproof grease.
Trev

Gary is the propeller shaft able to be pulled out of the stuffing box? This is the brass tube your prop shaft is running inside.

Generally boat builders use Marine Grease, mine is blue, but others might be red or white. I have also used axle grease which is used to grease axle bearings on your camping trailer.

Could you post some photos of your boat and specifically the aft, rudder and prop area?

Ron

Sorry to hear of the problem.
Not sure if you are able to remove the rudder if so unhook the shaft from the motor and pull the shaft that way. Put in water proof grease and reinstall the shaft and rudder the grease should help to hold back the water.
Rick