I’m curious about the propeller shaft covers - are they now fitted for safety reasons and insulated to suppress guard vibrations? Or has the whole thing been fitted to suppress the noise of the plummer blocks?
The casing was provided at the last refit, and has since been cut back to allow free access to the drive shafts, to be honest I did not ask about the reason for its installation or removal, but, as can be seen, the casing was insulated simply with sound deadening quilt, and the system now allows access for greasing. I have some pictures of the last refit.
It never used to be usual to cover the propeller shaft; however there must have been a valid reason to fit these. If the ‘handing’ was right an old trick was to tie coconut mats at intervals along the handrails running by the length of the shaft – there purpose was to drag on the rotating steel to keep a shine on it. They worked well until an astern movement, after which they would have to be thrown back over
