Interested in any tips on repairing a cutlass bearing support strut that has loosened at the hull and is allowing water into the fiberglass material around the area of the connection (no water inside the boat yet).
cutlass bearing support
- Thread starter Buzzy23209
- Start date
- Status
Exactly
Remove it, clean it and the hull, rebed and bolt it back on. My prop shop said the job is not hard as long as you have good access to the inside fasteners, and as always patience. Have to make sure it is in proper alignment as well........ Greg
Remove it, clean it and the hull, rebed and bolt it back on. My prop shop said the job is not hard as long as you have good access to the inside fasteners, and as always patience. Have to make sure it is in proper alignment as well........ Greg
Why??
Try to determine why your strut is loose: perhaps the prop is out of balance, the shaft bent, the engine mis-alligned or one or more engine mounts need replacement, etc. Find & correct the cause, or you'll wind up repeating yourself & wasting $$ in a short time if you don't. As to re-bedding the strut, the previous posts nailed it, except I would fill the existing holes ( for the fasteners) with thickened epoxy and re-drill them when the epoxy has cured. Make sure the bolts fastening the strut are adequately backed & coated with sealant ( 5200 or equiv.) before you re-install them and the nuts are tight enough etc. After everything is snug, fill any gaps between the strut base and the hull with an appropriate filler , sand and apply your favourite bottom paint.
Try to determine why your strut is loose: perhaps the prop is out of balance, the shaft bent, the engine mis-alligned or one or more engine mounts need replacement, etc. Find & correct the cause, or you'll wind up repeating yourself & wasting $$ in a short time if you don't. As to re-bedding the strut, the previous posts nailed it, except I would fill the existing holes ( for the fasteners) with thickened epoxy and re-drill them when the epoxy has cured. Make sure the bolts fastening the strut are adequately backed & coated with sealant ( 5200 or equiv.) before you re-install them and the nuts are tight enough etc. After everything is snug, fill any gaps between the strut base and the hull with an appropriate filler , sand and apply your favourite bottom paint.
Been there...done that.
I had that problem a while back on an O'day 27. Unfortunately, the strut bolts came through the hull right underneath the gas tank so access meant removing the tank. Otherwise, it's a pretty straightforward job. Remove the shaft, unbolt and remove the strut, clean out the old bedding and fairing compound, re-bed and re-fair but I would do it with the shaft in place. The one mistake I made was re-bedding with probably too much sealant which added thickness therefore pushing the strut deeper in the water by a matter of millemeters, but enough to throw the alignment out of whack. I think if you had the shaft in place, you could tighten the strut nuts until the shaft felt pretty free in the bearing (free enough that you could turn the shaft by hand without too much effort, mine was pretty firm. I was a bit nervous about tackling my first below the waterline project but all in all, it was pretty basic. Hope that helps!
I had that problem a while back on an O'day 27. Unfortunately, the strut bolts came through the hull right underneath the gas tank so access meant removing the tank. Otherwise, it's a pretty straightforward job. Remove the shaft, unbolt and remove the strut, clean out the old bedding and fairing compound, re-bed and re-fair but I would do it with the shaft in place. The one mistake I made was re-bedding with probably too much sealant which added thickness therefore pushing the strut deeper in the water by a matter of millemeters, but enough to throw the alignment out of whack. I think if you had the shaft in place, you could tighten the strut nuts until the shaft felt pretty free in the bearing (free enough that you could turn the shaft by hand without too much effort, mine was pretty firm. I was a bit nervous about tackling my first below the waterline project but all in all, it was pretty basic. Hope that helps!
- Status