Prop shaft
- Thread starter paulj
- Start date
I marked my strut with a magic marker to the hull then removed it and the shaft/prop. The hard part was getting the coupling off. There are some good references on how to do that in the archives. I've since replaced my coupling with a split version to make future removal easier.
The reference marks help put the strut back in the exact same position. Hopefully no one previously used sealant to bond the strut to the hull. The only place for sealant is in the screw holes. The strut should firmly register on the hull for correct alignment.
The reference marks help put the strut back in the exact same position. Hopefully no one previously used sealant to bond the strut to the hull. The only place for sealant is in the screw holes. The strut should firmly register on the hull for correct alignment.
I watched a friend remove the shaft on his 2004 Catalina 350. As Allan mentioned, the difficult thing was removing the coupling inside the boat. Of course, the prop needs to be removed also. He was able to position the rudder angle and place a bit of sideways pressure on the rudder to enable the shaft to clear the rudder without having to remove the rudder.
Are you replacing it with a new one? If so, I just cut mine with an angle cutter since I was putting a SS in anyway. Was very easy, even with the small area to work in. Some say that it will come out if you take the cutless bearing out before hand but I have no experience with that, Replaced it with a new one (obviously) by just lifting the engine about 3-4 inches and it got the correct angle. I assume the rudder had to be turned a little but I was on the inside with the engine and shaft and never asked the guy who was helping me if he had to angle the rudder.