I recenly purchased a 1993 33.5 Hunter. I need to move it 400 miles to its new home. My question is, should I have the prop shaft aligned as soon as its hits the water or should I wait until the boat settles? Is this something I can do or do I need a marine machanic? If it's something I can do, would someone please give me sone instruction on how to do an alignment.
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checking alignment
Checking alignment is easy. Use an ultra-thin piece of metal, flat, like the tool used to gap spark plugs, and slide it between the two plates of the coupling doodah that attaches the shaft to the tranny. Slide the tool around to feel if there are any tight spots. If so, alignment is required, which is done via the engine mounts. Although I prefer to have my mechanic fiddle with alignment whenever the engine is serviced, this is a skill that every cruiser should have, because it only takes one crab pot, run down in the middle of the night, to mess up the allignment.
Checking alignment is easy. Use an ultra-thin piece of metal, flat, like the tool used to gap spark plugs, and slide it between the two plates of the coupling doodah that attaches the shaft to the tranny. Slide the tool around to feel if there are any tight spots. If so, alignment is required, which is done via the engine mounts. Although I prefer to have my mechanic fiddle with alignment whenever the engine is serviced, this is a skill that every cruiser should have, because it only takes one crab pot, run down in the middle of the night, to mess up the allignment.
Let it settle
After the boat is rigged, tuned and in the water for a couple of days, then align the shaft.
After the boat is rigged, tuned and in the water for a couple of days, then align the shaft.
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