Getting the shaft, cutlass bearing blues....

S

Saillife

.
Apr 5, 2011
113
Hunter 34 Tilghman Island, Md
Anyone know what size the shaft is supposed to be on a 34? This morning I went to put on a new zinc before launching only to discover a 7/8" won't fit and a 1" is loose. I'm assuming that the shaft was 1" at one time and over the past 32 years its lost some metal.

I can get a 1" zinc to fit by hitting it on a sander and taking a little off the inside faces. The problem is, I also discovered, that the cutlass bearing is showing slop and it looks like I'll need a new shaft to get a proper fit.:cry:

Anyone have suggestions? I'd love to ream out a 7/8 to fit but I've been told that won't work and not really sure how I'd go about it.

Thanks,
Brian
 
kloudie1

kloudie1

.
Nov 6, 2006
9,892
Hunter 34 Mandeville Louisiana
Original shaft ize on my '85 model was 1" .. I replaced the original bronze one several years ago when replacing the packing box hose..
You may have a burr or a casting mark keeping the 1" zinc from fully closing?
 
Claude L.-Auger

Claude L.-Auger

.
Dec 14, 2003
1,400
Hunter 34 Lake of Two Mountains, QC, Can
Mine is also 1". Like Claude I replaced the original bronze shaft at the same time as the packing box hose...and the cutlass bearing. If your shaft is still correct size wise and not bent, replacing the cutlass bearing should take care of the slop you are talking about. If shaft needs to be replaced, then go for an new cutlass bearing and new hose. If they haven't been replaced in many years, it should be done anyway. Good luck.
 
T

Tom-in-Annapolis

.
Dec 9, 2003
55
Hunter 34 Annapolis
Mine (86) is 1". I also just replaced the cutlass bearing two days ago without removing the shaft with a Strut Pro. Took about two hours start to finish to remove prop, remove cutlass and install new cutlass. First time changing a cutlass for me. Could probably do it in half the time now.
 
Allan12210

Allan12210

.
Jan 22, 2008
1,654
Hunter 34 Alameda CA
Brian,

Mine is also 1". Here's the $64K question. Is it possible you ended up with a metric shaft by a previous owner, if there is such an animal? There shouldn't be any real slop with a new cutless. I didn't catch if you had replaced yours. It may just be worn if old or too big for a metric shaft if new. It just seems highly unlikely that the entire shaft (including cutless area and anywhere you can mount zincs) would lose the same amount of material. My bronze one sure hasn't. Take your zinc inside the boat and see what the fit is on the exposed part that has never been immersed in water. If its loose there then you should get a vernier caliper and measure it. Cheap at lots of places. Switch the display mode between metric and SAE. If its 25mm exactly then the shaft is .4 mm smaller than 1" (about 16 thousands of an inch). Purely speculation, but it would be good to get those measurements inside the boat and out. Besides, you need to spend even more money on calipers.
 
S

SteveB

.
Jan 22, 2008
80
Hunter 34 Venice, FL
My '84 is 1" also. Just replaced cutlass bearing. Related, as I was changing out packing gland, discovered cracked stern tube. Brass was much thinner and softer on bottom and lower quadrant fell off as I touched it (see photos). Anyone experienced this? Misaligned shaft or just 31 years of oxidation?
 

Attachments

woodster

woodster

.
Sep 15, 2009
6,243
S2 9.2a Fairhope Al
SteveB said:
My '84 is 1" also. Just replaced cutlass bearing. Related, as I was changing out packing gland, discovered cracked stern tube. Brass was much thinner and softer on bottom and lower quadrant fell off as I touched it (see photos). Anyone experienced this? Misaligned shaft or just 31 years of oxidation?
Click to expand
is that steel that its made out of ...if so it lasted a lot longer than i would have expected

i really don't think it is steel ...it could be that misalignment was the problem causing undue wear
 
S

SteveB

.
Jan 22, 2008
80
Hunter 34 Venice, FL
Looks like brass to me. I will definitely check for alignment when reinstalled.
 
Allan12210

Allan12210

.
Jan 22, 2008
1,654
Hunter 34 Alameda CA
SteveB said:
Looks like brass to me. I will definitely check for alignment when reinstalled.
Click to expand
Wow you were lucky to find that. Is the shaft worn where it passed through the stern tube? I beleive it is made of bronze, not brass. There seems to be some pink color indicating a loss of zinc in the alloy. Was it electrically connected (bonded)?
 
S

SteveB

.
Jan 22, 2008
80
Hunter 34 Venice, FL
Amen, While I regret another week in the yard, small price to pay. Shaft shows no sign of wear where it passes through the stern tube. Yes, bronze makes more sense and shows the same pinkish color I notice on the strut holding the cutlass bearing. I change zincs frequently. I don't believe the stern tube was bonded; no evidence of connection to the boats bonding system. But I'll add it. Thanks, Allan.
 
Allan12210

Allan12210

.
Jan 22, 2008
1,654
Hunter 34 Alameda CA
SteveB said:
Amen, While I regret another week in the yard, small price to pay. Shaft shows no sign of wear where it passes through the stern tube. Yes, bronze makes more sense and shows the same pinkish color I notice on the strut holding the cutlass bearing. I change zincs frequently. I don't believe the stern tube was bonded; no evidence of connection to the boats bonding system. But I'll add it. Thanks, Allan.
Click to expand
Actually I was thinking the shaft if rubbing was in effect bonding the stern tube and that was the reason for the deterioration. So, I don't know if that is a solution or not. My stern tube (not bonded) looked good in October when I hauled and changed the bellows on my PSS dripless system. My strut also isn't bonded and a long time ago when I saw it getting pinkish I drilled a hole through it and installed a flat pancake zinc rather than bonding it.

And now back to our regularly scheduled program of why Brian's zincs and cutless are not fitting his prop shaft. Brian, any news?
 
S

SteveB

.
Jan 22, 2008
80
Hunter 34 Venice, FL
Oops! Sorry, Brian. Didn't mean to hijack your thread. Yes, how goes it?
 
Mark48

Mark48

.
Mar 1, 2008
166
Hunter 34 Milwaukee
Its nice to be sailing on fresh water although our season is shorter, fewer decay issues.
 
Mark Nooney

Mark Nooney

.
Nov 23, 2011
87
Hunter H31 Kent Island Yacht Club
Tom-in-Annapolis said:
Mine (86) is 1". I also just replaced the cutlass bearing two days ago without removing the shaft with a Strut Pro. Took about two hours start to finish to remove prop, remove cutlass and install new cutlass. First time changing a cutlass for me. Could probably do it in half the time now.
Click to expand
Hi do you know what kit you bought from struckpro? I need to change out my Cutlass bearing. Would you be interested in helping? The boat is located on Kent Island and I believe I have a 1 inch shaft. Or could I rent the tool from you? please get back to me as I'm pulling the boat on September 19 for a short all thanks Mark.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Top Bottom