Remove skeg?

[Missinglink]

I am replacing my prop shaft, cutlass bearing and stuffing box on my 1984 Hunter 31. My problem is that the shaft will not go past the rudder to remove it. Has anyone dropped the skeg to do this? I really don’t want to drop the rudder or remove the engine.

 

[Steve Dion]

Have you already removed the cutlass and the prop?

 

[RAD88]

Is it possible to remove the cutlass bearing support to be able to slide the shaft next to the rudder skeg?

 

[Missinglink]

I have removed the prop, flange on the other end, and stuffing box. Can't get the shaft past the rudder, cutlass bearing still in strut.

 

[Captn Dare]

shaft removal

Radd88 is right. It's possible (with a special tool) to press out the cutlass bearing without removing the shaft from the strut. With the extra room (no cutlass in the strut) you may be able to slide the shaft to the side of the rudder and pull it out. That being said, the easiest if you're doing it yourself will probably be to drop the rudder. That will give you a good chance to look over the steering quadrant/cables/sheaves and clean, adjust and lube as needed.

 

[Steve Dion]

I don't think you want to remove the strut. This is the least desireable way to remove the shaft.

 

[Don Crowther]

The short answer is yes. You can remove the skeg (strut) and the prop shaft should slip by the rudder.
I have my prop off and in the midst of changing the cutless bearing. I tried to remove my skeg but it's attached with something stronger than I was willing to pry off.
The only thing I would suggest is to mark the position of the skeg before removing. I would mark it on all sides. The alignment has to be perfect when you reattach the shaft to the engine.
You could reattach the shaft to the engine first and then attach the skeg to the boat. Just make sure that shaft goes though the cutless bearing completely centered.

Removing the rudder will require you to lift the boat or dig a hole under it to remove it.
Let us know how it goes
Don

 

[Nelsonhow]

The Sept/Oct issue of Good Old Boat Magazine had an article on page 43 to 45 complete with picture and instructions on how to make a tool to remove an old cutlass bearing without removing the strut. (The skeg which not all boats have, them but my 82 Hunter 30 does, is a fixed fin that is in front of the rudder. Usually the forward part of the rudder is attached to the skeg.) Anyway if you can't get access to the magazine you can e-mail me with your address and I'll send you an image of the article. You might consider getting a subscription, Good Old Boat is one of the best sailing mags around....
Howard Nelson

 

[Nelsonhow]

OOPS If you want that Cutlass article

You can e mail me at Nelsonhow@netscape.net

 

[Tom H31]

Have you already removed the cutlass and the prop?

Steve, you had a post some time back about a tool to remove the cutlass bearing without removing the shaft. Can you furnish that info again or direct me to where I can find it? We are planning to do this job next spring.

 

[Don Crowther]

Steve, you had a post some time back about a tool to remove the cutlass bearing without removing the shaft. Can you furnish that info again or direct me to where I can find it? We are planning to do this job next spring.

HI Tom
Here's a couple of pictures of the pusher tool I used last week to change my cutless bearing.
Let me know if you want the dimensions.

Don

 

[John T1594]

There were a few old posts about removing the shaft by raising the engine and sliding the shaft forward. This might not be a bad option if you have one of those smaller engines. You are going to have to re-align the engine anyway. One captain found an easy way to raise the engine with a deflated basketball and air pump. Check the archives.

 

[Richard Bryer]

I found raising the engine to be far and away the easiest on my H34. I went through the drop the rudder option ( had to dig a hole to make room, WAY to hard digging- and the strut bolts were in there with 5200 and couldnt budge them). I used a 4x4 across the companion way, tied to the cabintop winches, a short length of chain and my 8:1 Mainsheet blocks. I could lift the 3GMF enough to pull the shaft and plate out the front ( prop off of course) without disconnecting anything. make sure you lift with the balance right and you can sit the engine right back down on the mount bolts and it should not even need aligning.