Cutlass Bearing Removal on H34

[Amante34]

Looking for a little input on a cutlass bearing removal and replacement for H34.

So I bought a 83 H34 not running but in could condition and after replacing my diesel and putting under power for a few hours I notice a noise in the prop which got progressively worse with adding rpm. Sure enough after getting back to the dock I dove down and had 1/4 movement on the shaft. The cutlass had play and needed to be replaced.

With the only haul out being 10hrs away using the ICW I'm having to do this in the water. First attempt went kind of sideways... Using 6 plastic 55gal drums filled with water on the bow I was able to lift the stern just high enough to clear the prop shaft out of the water. I made a tool similar to the ones at strut-pro with emt used for the collet, this is where things went sideways.

I thought all was going well until the collet came out the otherside without the bearing, the emt actually filled the gap where the rubber is inside the bearing.

After that I was able to push the emt partly back through the shroud but could not get it out. I retreated as the day was getting long. Plan now is to find SS pipe or something stronger than emt and press it all back out. And yes, set screws were removed.

My question are;
Has anyone replaced a cutlass on the H34, if so was it in the water and how did go?

Also has anyone used the plastic cutlass over the brass, what are the +or-

Any useful input would be great!

 

[Richard Bryer]

I have replaced mine a couple of times but always on the hard. If you have 1/4 inch of play, you probably have very little to none of the hard rubber inside the bearing left. You will need a tool that fits EXACTLY inside the strut tube so that it can catch the brass sleeve which must be basically all that is left of your bearing. Sounds like your appraoch in going to steel is right- make sure it is exactly the right size, you may have to get it machined.

Good luck

 

[rardiH36]

Amante34:

I suspect that you have moved on from this thread with you own solutions.

But just in case not, I had some bad cutlass-bearing and strut experiences very recently.

First of all. Congrats on the innovative method you used to expose the strut/bearing while the boat was still in the water! Must have been a tremendous amount of work though.

Presumably your H34 is of the mid 1980's vintage? If so, not much younger than my 1980 Hunter 36. At my most recent DIY haulout two weeks ago, I and the helpful yard manager concluded that it was time for a new cutlass bearing. I decided to have the yard staff with their experience and specifically dedicated hydraulic tools remove the prop, press out the old bearing, and press in a new one. Expected cost: Two hours labor and ~$80 for the new bearing.

However, before they came over, I decided to really clean the strut. And I noticed some pink bronze = it was probably a goner. Sure enough, at only 1/4" press-out of the bearing, the strut metal cracked. (See the below referenced thread for pictures and more info about my experience.)

I told them to stop at this point (which they agreed was a good idea to minimize the damage to my bank account). I then managed to get the strut bolt nuts undone from the inside. Then drove out the bolts, broke free the strut from the hull, and slid the strut (with bearing still in) off the end of the shaft.

That night at home, I found a deep length socket that was just the right diameter to allow me to drive the bearing out of the cracked strut (on my vice using a hand sledge).

Upon removal, the condition of the bearing was shocking. The bronze "tube" also had gone pink. It was incredibly thin. And it also had electrolysis holes in it.

I have always kept my boat zinc'd. So the galvanic damage to strut and bearing was either due to some PO not keeping up the zinc regimen, or just due to way too many years in the water.

I thought to recount for you to consider that a similar condition on your boat is what has prevented the cutlass bearing from being pressed out as expected.

Here is the link to the above mentioned thread:

http://forums.hunter.sailboatowners.com/showthread.php?t=162817