Between the Pirate Ship’s engine and its hydraulic pump is a device called a “spider coupler” There is a rubber element (that looks like a 6 legged spider) that connects the two shafts of the motor and pump. The spider takes out vibration and miss alignment between the pump and the engine. When we designed the drive system we sized the coupler for a 30 horse power engine (we have a 27hp engine in the ship). What we didn’t know was that the horse power ratting was for a electric engine, and that you need to cut the hp ratting nearly in half for a gas engine. We were wearing out the elements and then on our test drive we wore out the coupler. This was not going to work on the Playa. We needed something better…
The fastest solution was to order a new coupler that fit the custom machined tapered shaft adapter. This new coupler will give us 4-5 times the capacity of the one that almost worked. This is much stronger than we needed but we save a lot of time by not having to make a new tapered shaft adapter.
On the left you can see the chewed up old coupler and then the new one on the right. Bigger is Better.
We cut a new key into the motor. It was easier to put the engine on the mill to cut the key way for the new adapter that to try to get the old adapter off (loctite on a lapped taper shaft is a force of nature). (you can see the teeth on the old coupler before they were milled off)
With the new key cut we needed a new bell adapter. Two pieces of 8x8x1/2 plate and two pieces 4x7x3/4 cold rolled bar were welded then machined square to make the adapter.
Then there were 8 very precise holes to drill and bore, and two counter-bored holes to line the two shafts up (withen 1 thou of a inch concentricity between the pump and engine).
Finished bell housing.
Mounted to the engine:
Back into the ship ready to roll
