44 DS shaft removal

[Rick486]

I have occasion to take out the propellor shaft on my 44DS for some maintenance. From a quick measurement, it appears that the distance from the aft end of the shaft strut to the leading edge of the rudder is less than the shaft length, indicating the shaft will foul the rudder when removing the shaft. However, it also appears that the shaft is on a slight angle to the centerline of the boat, i.e. to port, which maybe indicates that the shaft will slide by the port side of the rudder on removal. Is that a halucination on my part or is it so? Has anyone removed the shaft without removing the rudder?

Thanks

 

[Rick486]

Forgot to mention the word from Hunter is that the rudder probably has to be dropped. Tough job when on the real hard (asphalt).

 

[Claude L.-Auger]

I had the same problem a few years ago. You may consider removing the strut instead. On my 34 it was a much easier job as I had good inside access to the 2 nuts.
Good luck.

 

[robertsapp]

Pull the prop, unbolt the engine from the mounts, put a chainfall on it and lift it straight up a foot or so, and pull the shaft into the boat. Maybe?

 

[Rick486]

I had the same problem a few years ago. You may consider removing the strut instead. On my 34 it was a much easier job as I had good inside access to the 2 nuts.
Good luck.

Claude:
Yeah. I was down at the boat today with a tape measure and it works out just as you said. With the shaft as far out and aft as possible there would only be a foot or so forward of the strut. So removing the strut seems like the answer if the shaft won't sneak by the rudder. And it is easily accessible under the aft stateroom berth.
Thanks for your response.

 

[Rick486]

Pull the prop, unbolt the engine from the mounts, put a chainfall on it and lift it straight up a foot or so, and pull the shaft into the boat. Maybe?

Kinda sounds like shaking the stove to make popcorn to me. Thanks for the idea though.

 

[Brian L.20665]

44DS rudder removal

Forgot to mention the word from Hunter is that the rudder probably has to be dropped. Tough job when on the real hard (asphalt).

Rick, we've had the rudder pulled twice on our boat, a 2005 H41 - perhaps similar or same design as your 44. First time under warranty to fix an over-tight rudder bearing and the other time to fix a bent propshaft. Standard procedure when pulling the shaft, as Hunter told you, was to drop the rudder. The yard makes this look extremely easy/quick. It was not a big deal to unfasten it at the top end. They dropped the rudder out of the bottom while the boat was held high in the travel-lift slings. Then they put the boat on regular stands. After the repair was complete, raised the boat with the travel lift again, popped the rudder back in, fastened it and splashed the boat. Each time, the boat was in the travel lift for perhaps 30-45 minutes for the removal/reinstall. Certainly easier than digging a hole in asphalt!

I'd be very reluctant to remove the strut. It is probably embedded in 5200 and will be a bear to remove. More important, the alignment of the strut with the engine is critical and may be tough to reinstall at precisely the same angle/position.

 

[Claude L.-Auger]

Brian has a very valid point as far as the realignment. Mine was very simple as it had only 2 bolts fore & aft. You can actually get a product (forgot the name) that will loosen up 5200. I rebedded mine with 5200 after the job and have not had any vibrations at all.

If you have access to a travel lift, dropping the rudder is not hard. You have to take the quadrant off however and access is not always easy.

There is another way if you have room iunder the engine. 1) Remove prop first, 2) undo coupling at the tranny and remove coupling from shaft end. 3) Loosen up packing gland. 4) Then loosen up the SS clamps around the rubber hose and pull up from shaft casing to give the shaft freedom to be dropped a few inches. 5) Slide shaft forward under the engine until it clears off in front of the strut. 6)Once off the strut, with the rubber hose loose, it can be slid back out. It should then clear the strut and the rudder.

You reinstall reversing the steps.

Whichever way you go, good luck and keep us posted.

 

[Richard Bryer]

Don't dismiss Robertsapp too quickly. I went through the whole program a few years ago with our H34. First alternative was going to be dig the hole- found that "the hard" was certainly that and when I cam upon a big chunk of old concrete sidewalk about 8" down I gave that up. Alternative 2 was remove the strut- that thing was on there so hard- 5200 is VERY permanent. Alternative 3- lift the engine- used a short length of chain, my preventer as a block and tackle ( plan on removing and replacing the shaft and prop this year and I will use the mainsheet tackle as it is 8:1) annd a 4x4 over the companionway. Lift straight up, slip the shaft with coupling on and prop off out the front and set her back down on the mounting bolts. Shouldn't have to adjust much for the alignment and I found I could lift just high enough to get the shaft with coupling on out with out disconnecting anything. It was my best alternative and one I will use again

 

[robertsapp]

It takes all of two minutes to unbolt the four retaining nuts on the engine mounts. A chainfall at Harbor Freight is about 25 bucks, less if you use a coupon. If you're only lifting the engine a foot or so, you probably wouldn't even have to disconnect any lines or cables. Not that big a deal really, although I guess it could be a bit intimidating to someone who's never considered it. As for alignment, you're not actually disturbing the mounts any, and you're going to have to do an alignment anyway since you're pulling the shaft. Personally, I'd only pull the strut as a last option, since the strut to shaft log alignment is pretty critical.

 

[Rick486]

It takes all of two minutes to unbolt the four retaining nuts on the engine mounts. A chainfall at Harbor Freight is about 25 bucks, less if you use a coupon. If you're only lifting the engine a foot or so, you probably wouldn't even have to disconnect any lines or cables. Not that big a deal really, although I guess it could be a bit intimidating to someone who's never considered it. As for alignment, you're not actually disturbing the mounts any, and you're going to have to do an alignment anyway since you're pulling the shaft. Personally, I'd only pull the strut as a last option, since the strut to shaft log alignment is pretty critical.

Thanks Robert. What I'm going to do is have the yard do the job for me over the winter. When they get around to it they'll call me and we'll talk about ideas, including yours. I still think there is a slight chance that the shaft will sneak by the rudder to port, as it seems to the naked eye that the shaft does have a very slight offset angle to port. I'm planning to take a drive through the local Hunter dealer's yard and check out other boats to see if there is n offset on other boats.

 

[robertsapp]

Have you called Hunter and asked them? They should be able to tell you whether there's clearance past the rudder by design.

 

[Rick486]

Have you called Hunter and asked them? They should be able to tell you whether there's clearance past the rudder by design.

I did talk with Hunter and their take was it usually involves dropping the rudder. No real response on the shaft angle.