Cutlass bearing in stern tube of First 35s5?

[Ben Jammin]

Does anyone know if this belongs in the end of the stern tube of a Beneteau First 35s5? When I removed the PSS shaft seal this was inside the bellows. This boat has a strut with a normal cutlass bearing near the prop, so I was surprised to find a second bearing in the stern tube. My guess is that someone cut up a cutlass bearing to use to center the shaft during coupling alignment, and forgot to take it out.

 

[dmax]

That is a "reducer" that comes with PSS seal - it is used when your stern tube is one size smaller than the bellows I.D. to fill the gap (e.g. 1 1/2" vs. 1 1/4"). Obviously, you could use a new one.