Rebedding Strut

[Glenn]

The plastic stuffing box on my boat broke the last time I tried to tighten it (too hard maybe!?!) and I am replacing it with a PSS based on the posts I have read here.I thought while I was working I would replace the cutlass bearing as well. I didn't realize there was a way to get the bearing out w/o removing the shaft and the only way to remove the shaft is to either drop the rudder or remove the strut. Based on my posting's title line you can guess what I did.The strut was bedded in a very soft compound that seemed to have never fully cured and was very difficult to remove. What should I use to rebed it? I am thinking either 3M 4200 or 5200 but don't know which. Should I use something else entirely?Also, there was around 1/4" of material under the strut itself. Should I assume this means not to tighten the bolts so much that too much of whatever compound squezes out?Any input would be appreciated.I am also planning to replace the 2 blade sailor prop with some kind of 3 blade. I'll address in another post.

 

[Kevin]

In my opinion

Thanks for the note, sorry to read about the strut problem. I know that when I tried to remove my shaft bearing, to only remove my strut, I used 5200 to re-bed the strut back into place. Be very careful not to move the strut from its aligned position when you place it back down. If the strut is “floating” in the goop, I would attempt to shim the struts base so when you tighten it down it is held rigid to the hull through the slims and not the goop. I don’t know what the shrink rate of 5200 is, but any amount of shrink with the goop could result in miss-alignment. In my opinion the goop should seal and help to preserve the struts location and not be solely the holding element. It will be very import so that you do not have future problems with alignment to get it as close as possible during the re-bedding. It will also be very important to clean and replace any glass or epoxy that may have been lost. You do not want to see any moisture being absorbed into the hull at that location. As a note of caution, my opinion may not cover all items you may experience so I would suggest that you also seek advice from a yard that may have experience with hull repairs. Hope this all helps. Sincerely, Kevin

 

[Glenn]

Thanks Kevin

I now recall and understand why there were washers on the OUTSIDE of the strut between the srtut and the hull. This will aloow me to tighten up with out squeezing out the goop. Forgot about the washers until I saw your reply.I'll also take your advise on the 5200. Thanks.

 

[Don Baker]

strut

If you have the strut off, and there is a gap between the boat and the strut,mix up some gorilla hair( you can get it from NAPA)and fill the space and put the bolts back in fore allignment and to form the holes, make sure that you don't bow up the shaft. when the gorilla hair hardnes, pull the bolts, pop the strut loose and then put in your 5200 while the 5200 is soft, tighten the bolts up good and snug and your done PERFRCT ALLIGNMENT