prop shaft

[deke]

Upgrading the bronz prop to stainless. Can the shafts be removed/replaced without having to drop the rudder? She is currently in her winter cradle in Michigan with about 12 inches of clearance to the asphalt, can't dig hole. Also some confusion on the OD size of the cutlass bearing. Catalina parts has no stock but thinks the dim. 1x1.5x4 trade name Bonito but sailboat owner store says it's 1x1.25x4? I winter in Florida and can't measure bearing.

 

[Ed Schenck]

Both sizes are made but 1.25 is more common for a 1" shaft. Why can't you measure? There are two ways to remove the shaft with the rudder in place: 1) loosen the strut enough to bypass the rudder and 2) move engine forward. I would do #1 only if I wanted to rebed the strut. Moving the engine is done more often than you might think. Regardless you will need an engine alignment. But there is a tool to replace the cutless bearing while the shaft is in place. So do not remove shaft for that reason.

 

[Maine Sail]

If memory serves me correctly the rudder on the 310 does need to come out and this is a far easier job than doing the strut. DO NOT pull the strut on this boat unless it was misaligned from the factory. A number of 310's came from the factory misaligned. A neighbor here had one and a guy on this forum too, mine was fine. I am curious as to why you want to replace the shaft. Is it bent?

You may be able to get the shaft by the rudder by having a yard press out the cutlass bearing. The extra space after removing the cutlass can sometimes get the shaft to squeak by the rudder. You can buy a Strut-Pro but they are expensive for a one time job.

I would hoist the engine up and pull the shaft into the cabin long before I did a strut on a 310.

That cutlass is 1" X 1 1/4" X 4" If you use a Johnson Duramax cutlass I think it is called a "Back"

I have never seen a Catalina with 1" shaft and 1.5 inch cutlass.

 

[Witzend]

Maine has it correct, the easiest way to pull the shaft is to pull the engine off the mounts and remove the transmission. The hoses and wires should be long enough to pull the engine up and out of the way without disconnect most of them. You will also need to take out the bulkhead (very easy). I'm not sure there is enough room gained laterally by pulling the cutlass bearing to remove the shaft aft, plus good luck getting the coupling off, if it was like mine, Godzilla could not get it off. I used the Morris bearing, because the Duramax casing was so thick there was almost no rubber. The idea of designing a drive system that has a 1" drive shaft to ride in a strut for an 1" 1/4 bearing is insane, there is no room for error.
See the posts:
http://forums.catalina.sailboatowners.com/showthread.php?t=114542&highlight=cutlass

 

[rpwillia]

MS is correct

... That cutlass is 1" X 1 1/4" X 4" If you use a Johnson Duramax cutlass I think it is called a "Back" ...

I replaced my Cutless bearing a few years ago. It is indeed a BACK Model. Note they are $39.99 now. I got one from Deep Blue Yacht Supply. http://www.deepblueyachtsupply.com/products/navalbrassinchcutlessbearing.aspx
BACK11 1/443/640.4 $74.74 $39.99

Order Details Model NumberItemQuantityPriceLine Total BACK Cutlass Bearings - Johnson Duramax Cutless Bearings - Naval Brass Sleeve: Standard Size 1 $32.65 $32.65

 

[Bob James]

Last April I replaced my CB and found that the shaft could not be removed without digging a hole to drop the rudder or getting the boat yard to lift the cradle up for an hour or so and lowering the rudder that way. I was on "dirt" and dug a hole. None of the options presented are easy or fun. My CB lasted 9 seasons and I hope to never have to replace it again.

 

[Bob James]

Dig a Hole

Last April I replaced my CB and found that the shaft could not be removed without digging a hole to drop the rudder or getting the boat yard lift the cradle for an hour or so and lowering the rudder that way. I was on "dirt" and dug a hole. None of the options presented are easy or fun. MY CB lasted 9 seasons and I hope to never have to replace it again.

 

[deke]

prop shaft thanks

Ed S, Maine S, Witzend, Rp thanks for the responses. I had a friend measure and confer dim 1x1.25x4. I'm replacing shaft because I can't seem to stop vibration and hard knock at various RPM's. Eng. align and changing props did not solve problem. Shaft log excess fiberglass flash at log exit and there is a shiny spot half around the shaft at the exit point. I taped a steel rule next to the shaft and the seems to be approx. 1/16" bend when manually rotated. I will remove the flash after the old shaft is out to improve clearance. I am ordering the Johnson "back" from YSD for $34.74. I winter just a few miles from the Catalina Largo plant and visit often. I will tell Ken Roy in parts dept. about the bearing dimension.

 

[Maine Sail]

Last April I replaced my CB and found that the shaft could not be removed without digging a hole to drop the rudder or getting the boat yard to lift the cradle up for an hour or so and lowering the rudder that way. I was on "dirt" and dug a hole. None of the options presented are easy or fun. My CB lasted 9 seasons and I hope to never have to replace it again.

Bob,

If you go in on a Strut-Pro tool with some friends, owners association or your yacht club it can be a decent investment. All you'll need to do is pull the prop to replace the cutlass.

These tools can be purchased for not a lot more than you'd pay a yard to replace your cutlass just once. I think the C-34 and perhaps the C-36 owners association both own one that they loan out to members. Perhaps you C-310 guys could pitch in on one..

 

[JK_Boston_Catalina310]

Maine Sail is Right

Perhaps you C-310 guys could pitch in on one.

I just got a price from my marina of $300 for the CB replacement. This tool for our boats is $395 plus shipping and handling.

 

[Maine Sail]

I just got a price from my marina of $300 for the CB replacement. This tool for our boats is $395 plus shipping and handling.

Just four members pitching in and you now have your price of a cutlass bearing replacement down to about $135.00. USPS flat rate boxes are a good choice to ship the tool cause it's heavy!

I own the full mac daddy kit and it's over 30 pounds..

 

[rpwillia]

Catalina 34 Association Has one

I have seen Stu mention it a few times as I recall.

Alternatively, you can make one yourself. I replaced my Cutless bearing using some 3/4" copper tubing, 2 pieces cut to the same length and then cut down the length and overlapped so they filled out to the dimension of the strut opening and pushed on the bearing outer wall. I put some host clamps around the outside so they would spread. Then with some threaded rod and some pieces of wood made a structure to put pressure and press the bearing out. Mine was pretty easy to replace without removing the shaft.

Since you are replacing the shaft, somewhere on this site is Maine Sail's tutorial about how to do it that way which does not recall any special tools and should be even easier.