Brazing or welding cracked bronze strut

rardiH36 · Sep 20, 2014

Kito:

The strut on my 1980 Cherubini Hunter 36 needed replacement this past summer when it cracked while the yard tried to press out the cutlass bearing. I was 75% expecting this outcome because before the project, I had previously noted that the bronze strut had "gone pink" in several spots. This is caused when zinc in the bronze alloy leaches out of the metal after to too many years in the water and probably unprotected at some point. Once the bronze has gone pink, the metal becomes brittle (virtually powdery) and weak.

Anyway, since you also have a 35 year old boat, just a suggestion that you sand/scrape the surface of your strut metal in several places. If your strut has gone pink, a successful repair is unlikely (or at best will have only very short term success since the unbroken part of the strut also has likely gone bad).

Here's a link to a discussion about "dezincification". I am sure an internet search will reveal more:

http://www.proboat.com/beware-the-brass.html

capta · Sep 20, 2014

Given that the bronze is in good condition, and I've seen 60+ year old bronze in great condition, you will not have any problem if it is repaired by braising. However, as this repair needs to be perfect, in alignment as well as the braising, I'd take it to an expert, not some cut rate shop. Positioning of the cutlass bearing is critical and you sure don't want to make up for a poorly done repair by reshaping the boat to fit the strut.

woodster · Sep 20, 2014

if the bronze is sound which i doubt at this point you could have it TIG welded with silicon bronze rod but you will not get the 85.5.5.5 composition of the original material...i just ordered an new one for my boat 3 years ago and it was about the price you were quoted ...i think it is better to be motoring along and not worrying about the prop and shaft comming through the bottom of the hull due to a repair job on something as critiacal as a shaft strut..after all this is why we mess with boats ...pieace of mind

Chris Patterson · Sep 20, 2014

That's right......bleed sailor, bleed. Welcome to the cult...

woodster · Sep 20, 2014

kito said:
New alternator, mixing elbow, vertical manifold, motor mounts, shaft log, prop shaft, coupling, cutless bearing and now a strut. I think I need a tourniquet...........

just to add gas to the fire ya may want to check the prop and see if it is sound and not going pink if the strut was pink then there is a good possibility that the prop is too

...i had to replace all mine from nut to engine and that was just the start of it even the stuffing box is new

woodster · Sep 20, 2014

thats a good way to do it lol

Claude L.-Auger · Sep 22, 2014

kito said:
Woodster, I believe you are right. This boat is 35 years old and would feel better will a new strut. I will just have to bite the bullet again and write a check for a new one. New ones come with cutless bearings installed. I wish I would have noticed this crack before I installed a new cutless bearing. At least I will have a spare (if I can get it out without damage)

Since the old strut will be out, it's a simple thing to use a press to get the cutless bearing out without damaging it. Don't forget to remove the set screws.

Claude L.-Auger · Sep 22, 2014

kito said:
New alternator, mixing elbow, vertical manifold, motor mounts, shaft log, prop shaft, coupling, cutless bearing and now a strut. I think I need a tourniquet...........

Now might be the proper time to remind yourself that BOAT is really the acronym for Bring Out Another Thousand.

Maine Sail · Sep 22, 2014

kito said:
New alternator, mixing elbow, vertical manifold, motor mounts, shaft log, prop shaft, coupling, cutless bearing and now a strut. I think I need a tourniquet...........

I think the key phrase here is:

kito said:
Well the bad news continues with my project boat.

Have you even gotten to sails, standing rigging, running rigging, chain plates, electrical system, plumbing system, deck core......... on and on and on.......

jibes138 · Sep 23, 2014

I have a hypothesis, take an old boat and spend 50% of the price of a new boat and you will have the equivalent of the new boat. I'm looking for someone to test this hypothesis and Kito might be well on his way. Of course DIY labor is not included in the 50% since no money is exchanging hands.

woodster · Sep 23, 2014

jibes138 said:
I have a hypothesis, take an old boat and spend 50% of the price of a new boat and you will have the equivalent of the new boat. I'm looking for someone to test this hypothesis and Kito might be well on his way. Of course DIY labor is not included in the 50% since no money is exchanging hands.

thats exactly what i have done in my s2 refit to date i have about 9k in the boat and parts including the electronics...auto p..vhf..chartplotter... everything has been replaced...oh and this is also with the help of a lot of good people..the most expensive thing is the interior cushions and covers they will be new and add another 1-1/2 k to the project.......

Maine Sail · Sep 23, 2014

jibes138 said:
I have a hypothesis, take an old boat and spend 50% of the price of a new boat and you will have the equivalent of the new boat. I'm looking for someone to test this hypothesis and Kito might be well on his way. Of course DIY labor is not included in the 50% since no money is exchanging hands.

I concur..

All boats are bottomless pits but a fixer upper is rarely a "deal", even if free... Spending a little more on a boat in good to pristine condition pays off in the long run in more ways than one. I have seen this repeated over, and over, and over, and over again...

One customer & first time "big boat" owner knew everything and refused to take mine or other friends sage advice. We tried to talk him into a very, very nice, & exceptionally well maintained, Sabre 34 MKI for a 33k asking price (read; bargain). This boat was absolutely pristine and had been indoor stored every winter with HEAT... The owner had been fastidious. The boat has been 97% trouble free, I know because another customer bought it without so much as even dickering on the price, and I work on both of them...!

When all was said and done he ignored our advice and chose the 27K asking, 25.5K buy Sabre 34 MKI (read; complete and utter piece of crap). He saved 7.5K up front and thought he was beating the system, the system beat him, right in the arse, with a Frat paddle....

The end of the story, even now, is nowhere in site and at this point, 30+ months later, he now has, at last count, 65K+ invested in a boat still worth, on a good day, 27k at best!

Here's what he's had to do so far:

New furler, new sails, new interior cushions, complete strip & refinish & varnish of all interior wood work (smelled like diesel due to a diesel leak that had been ignored), new running rigging, new chain plate knee, New holding tank and hoses, fixed mast step, paint entire hull & deck, recored parts of deck which led to repaint of deck, new chain plates (had been allowed to leak for far too long), new steering cable & chain, keel reset (hat hit a rock and was not disclosed) new exhaust hose, new exhaust manifold manifold & elbow, new water pump, new batteries, new wiring, new DC panel, new mast wiring, new standing rigging, new electronics package, (wind speed & depth DOA), new head, new plumbing, new running lights, motor mounts, new shaft, cutlass and prop, etc. etc. and on and on.

He's still going to require an engine rebuild or replacement at some point as the Westerbeke was very poorly maintained and has been a money pit (over the winter it needs an oil pan). By the time he finishes he will have well over 70k into a what is still really a 27K - 30K boat, on a good day.....

Cheap boats are no deal.... I have about ten stories nearly identical to this one a few even worse but this one is really an eye opener because I work on boat boats and have physically seen the hemorrhaging of money on the "fixer upper". That 7.5K savings, over the pristine versions, was gone in about three weeks...........