My first sailboat and I bought a semi-project.....good grief CB. I bought a 1984 H34 from an estate with a bad cutlass bearing so I figured I would replace the shaft, coupler and install a new dripless. My question is do you have to remove the rudder to remove the shaft. Any help would be welcomed.
H34 rudder removal?
- Thread starter Buoydog
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Answer is "some can".. with the prop off and the coupling off, and the packing gland hose connection off, some 34's prop shaft will slide past the rudder. .. and some won't.
Check your shaft strut carefully for de-zincification.. if it is getting there, change it out while you are doing that other work. Shaft easily comes out when the strut is off or loose.. Usually, the new strut will come with a new bearing in it.. The 4 bolt struts are fairly common, the two bolt ones ..not so.. but they are available. Welcome, and good luck on the project..
Check your shaft strut carefully for de-zincification.. if it is getting there, change it out while you are doing that other work. Shaft easily comes out when the strut is off or loose.. Usually, the new strut will come with a new bearing in it.. The 4 bolt struts are fairly common, the two bolt ones ..not so.. but they are available. Welcome, and good luck on the project..
If you do find you cannot get your shaft out, consider lifting the motor enough to get the shaft and coupling out by pulling it forward. I was able to lift the motor high enough without having to disconnect anything ( except the mounts of course) I lifted it by using my main sheet tackle and a 4X4 across the companionway. I blocked it to the right position so the lift was as straight up as possible by using pieces of 2X4 against the cabintop winches. There are lift tabs on the Yanmar.
Thanks for that is good advice. Changing the strut maybe a small price to pay seeing everything else will be new. I have the 2 bolt strut and I saw them offered in the SO store. This may give enough room to wiggle the shaft by the rudder. Guess my next post will be for aligning advice. Thanks again
Thanks I have seen this done. Hoping not to have to do this because wiggling this 240 lbs around in tight places isn't that much fun. Thanks for your advice
If you are indeed changing the strut, start by separating the coupling from the shaft. Do NOT bang on it if attached to the transmission as you will damage the tranny. Once coupling is separated, unscrew the packing gland completely and pull it towards the end of the shaft. Then undo the 2 bolts of the strut. You will need a 2nd pair of hands for that job as the bolts really are big machine screws and someone will need to put a screwdriver to the head underneat the boat. Once those 2 screws are removed, you probably will need to grind off some epoxy from around and over the strut and clean up whatever caulking or adhesive might have been used. Once the strut free, it is rather easy to get the shaft past the rudder. Good luck
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