1st Haul/Bottom Job/Cutlass Bearing - Any gotchas?

Apr 2, 2021
404
Hunter 38 On the move
I'm hoping to do my first haul out (since the short haul for the survey) in the next few weeks. Among other things I need to:
  • Replace cutlass bearing in the strut
  • Repack stuffing box
  • Recondition the prop (hunk out of blade)
  • Strip hull, prime, barrier coat, hard bottom paint
  • Replace 1 seacock
  • Clean/lubricate remaining seacocks
What else should I plan on doing while out before splashing and heading south?

What are the gotchas or things to look out for on these (all will be DIY except the painting and prep)?

Will the cutlass bearing listed here on the site fit properly? It looks like a simple job assuming things fit correctly.

I hope to have parts and tools in hand to make sure my stay on the hard is as short as possible.

Thanks
 
Jun 1, 2009
1,737
Hunter 49 toronto
Ok, a few things
Pity in a dripless stern tube: either PYI or Lasdrop: get rid of your standard stuffing box
Replacing the cutlass bearing:
You must use the specialty tool “strutpro”
Don’t even think about doing this any other way: you’ll just make a mess out of it:
With the strutpro it’s less than an hour, and couldn’t be easier. Most reputable mechanics have one of these in their truck:
 
  • Like
Likes: pa391as
Jan 7, 2011
4,726
Oday 322 East Chicago, IN
Lots of opposing views on dripless vs standard stuffing box...I like the idea of no water in the bilge, but ifnthere Is a failure of the bellows in the PSS system, you take on a lot of water. A traditional stuffing box is tried and true IMHO.
But saying that, I am planning to replace my traditional stuffing box to a Volvo Dripless lip seal this winter. I have packed my stuffing box with GFO packing and she doesn’t leak much, but will try the Volvo I think.

For the cutlass bearing, I had my brother in law make me some pieces of tooling that worked well. And we fabricated something similar for the guy that bought my old boat. Yes, the Strut Pro is great, but expensive for something you use once every 5 years or so. if you know someone who ones one and you can borrow it, that is a good option.

Here is my “tool” in use…


Other things to check while out of the water:
1) Check rudder for damage, signs of water ingress, and bearing wear
2) Speed log and any other instruments in the hull
3) Check above the water-line thru hulls…I replaced 8 on my 30 year old boat this winter as the plastic fittings were very brittle and some had some cracks in them.


Have fun,

Greg
 
Oct 19, 2020
2
Hunter 34 VA
It might be a good time to replace any transducers or boat speed sending unit if you plan on updating any of the associated electronics on board.
 

kbgunn

.
Sep 19, 2017
210
2005 Hunter 33 Lake Lewisville, TX
+1 on the rudder bearings. The rudder is the primary lifting foil on our boats and gets subjected to a lot of force. You don't want it to have any slop.
My rudder had osmosis/blisters, but the hull was clear. You might want a contingency for rudder osmosis treatment.
Stuffing box can be done in the water if you run short on time.
It's a good time to compound and wax the hull if you care about that sort of thing. :)
It's also a good time to change any vinyl lettering/decals if the boat name or hailing port changed with the new ownership.

I had to back into the lifting basin for the travel lift. The headstay was binding on the gantry as the boat was lifted and we can't release the headstay on our B&R rigs.

You should have stickers under the rub rail to place the straps at the proper lifting points.
***** Note: the manual recommends using 4x4 blocking between the strap and the hull so that the rub rail isn't damaged.
The yard won't provide the blocking. I temporarily taped the blocks in place and painted a yellow 'X' on the block for strap location.
Pic below from Hunter 38 owner's manual.
Screen Shot 2021-09-14 at 5.52.52 AM.png
 
Jan 19, 2010
1,169
Catalina 34 Casco Bay
Not stated was if YOU were doing all of the items on your list, or having a yard do it. I saw your list as a " is there anything I've left out" not a tell me how to do this....
 
Apr 2, 2021
404
Hunter 38 On the move
Thanks everyone.

I had thought about doing the stuffing box in the water but am nervous about getting it apart and not being able to get it back together again :)

@sailme88 I'll be doing everything except the stripping (chemical peel), priming, and bottom painting
 
Feb 21, 2013
4,638
Hunter 46 Point Richmond, CA
........Strip hull, prime, barrier coat, hard bottom paint...........
Consider that there generally is no reason to strip the hull and reapply barrier coat (5-7 coats) unless the barrier coat has been failed. If you do need to consider using a paint stripper, then sanding, then scraping, then soda ash blasting (OR better yet, if available, CO2 blasting wihout ash residue)
 
Last edited:
Apr 2, 2021
404
Hunter 38 On the move
Consider that there generally is no reason to strip the hull and reapply barrier coat (5-7 coats) unless the barrier coat has been failed. If you do need to consider using a paint stripper, then sanding, then scraping, then soda ash blasting (OR better yet, if available, CO2 blasting wihout ash residue)
there's one or two layers of old cheap ablative paint on there now with gelcoat showing through. It may never have been barrier coated, I'm not sure but it all needs to come off to put hard paint on.
 

kbgunn

.
Sep 19, 2017
210
2005 Hunter 33 Lake Lewisville, TX
Thought of another item: sacrificial anode. Good time to change the shaft anode while you are on stands.

BTW....a cutlass bearing is not something you want to go cheap on. It's mission critical.

Johnson Duramax is a respected manufacturer. Johnson Cutless Water-Lubricated Sleeve and Flanged Bearings

They put their name and batch numbers on the product which means they have confidence in what they sell. It might be worth waiting until the old one is removed and taking the appropriate measurements to be sure you get the right part. The shaft is 1-1/4" (32mm) which would be your ID, but the rest of the info you need is OD and jacket thickness. All of the 1-1/4" bearings look to be standard 5" long. I don't see the OD or jacket thickness dimensions listed anywhere in the manual or elsewhere.

manual reference for shaft diameter below:
Screen Shot 2021-09-14 at 5.19.15 PM.png
 
Apr 2, 2021
404
Hunter 38 On the move
Thanks for the info. I hope to have parts in hand to minimize downtime and costs while out of the water.
I think I’m going to go under the boat this weekend and measure as well as yank the prop and send it out for recondition.
 
Feb 21, 2013
4,638
Hunter 46 Point Richmond, CA
If you are seeing gelcoat the boat may never had a barrier coat do good plan to remove all the paint to gelcoat and the keel as well, if it never had a barrier coat and apply new.