Shaft replacement O'Day 28

dfp51

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Jun 26, 2019
42
O'Day 28 Lorain, Ohio
Hello. Does anyone know if the rudder needs to be pulled in order to replace the shaft/cutlass bearing on an O'Day 28? We are planning on having this done this winter, and the yard which will do the work (not where the boat is stored) says that if the shaft can't come out past the rudder, we will have to drop the rudder, which means that I might have to put my cradle on some 4x4s so there is sufficient clearance. I really am not excited by the idea of doing that, so any help would be appreciated.
 
Jul 5, 2011
702
Oday 28 Madison, CT
I had my 28 done 4-5 years ago and it was a straight forward inexpensive job. No, rudder was not pulled.
 
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Likes: berner73
Jul 26, 2009
291
. . .
You can remove it w/o dropping the rudder since you can cut the old shaft . It would have to be a VERY short shaft to not require you to drop the rudder putting the new one back (it's not that short). Good time work on the cutlass, rudder bushings, shaft seal, etc.

I'd side with Alexco, move the boat to gravel and dig a hole. The rudder post is longer than you think.

Screenshot 2020-10-05 144912.jpg
 
Jul 26, 2009
291
. . .
I had my 28 done 4-5 years ago and it was a straight forward inexpensive job. No, rudder was not pulled.
Interesting, the geometry of our boat is very similar to what's shown above (which is an '84 O'Day from YW). There's no way our's would have cleared the rudder without dropping it. As an aside, our original shaft was bronze and we replaced with SS.
 

dfp51

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Jun 26, 2019
42
O'Day 28 Lorain, Ohio
Thanks guys. I had read that on some boats, the shafts will slide past the rudder, and on others it will not. Good to know I don't need to mess with dropping the rudder on the 28.
 
Jan 7, 2011
4,723
Oday 322 East Chicago, IN
I have an O’Day 322, and when I replaced my shaft, I removed the cutlass bearing and stuffing box to gain a little horizontal wiggle room in my shaft. I took the paint off my rudder getting the old shaft out, and getting the new one in, but I did not have to drop the rudder. If you cut the old shaft, then getting it out is not a problem...but getting the new one into the shaft log (other end tight against the rudder) was a bit of a challenge....




Greg
 
Nov 26, 2014
51
HUNTER h31 Northport L.I.
I replaced the shaft on my 31 hunter disconnect shaft and some wires motor mounts got a come along strapped to boom with help from halyards and lifted motor enough to pull shaft in to cabin really wasn't bad better than disturbing rudder seals etc. Good luck however you do it.
 
Jul 5, 2011
702
Oday 28 Madison, CT
I believe my guy may have removed the cutlass itself which then gave him the room he needed to clear the rudder but not 100% sure on this.
 
Dec 14, 2003
1,393
Hunter 34 Lake of Two Mountains, QC, Can
Since shaft is bronze you can cut it with a saws-all for easy removal but will need to find a way to install the new one. I understand digging a hole to drop the rudder is out of the question, but you are left with other solutions: You can lift the engine as explained in a previous post to slide the new shaft under and into the shaft log then the strut. But before resorting to that, I would get the cutlass bearing out and the packing gland sealing rubber hose loosened to see it you get enough clearance to pull it out. The other solution is to undo the strut. That is what I did on my Hunter 34 and it really was no big deal. You do have to be careful for alighment and of course properly sealing when re-installing it, but since I was on the hard it was pretty straight forward out and simple thing to do. Good luck with the project.
 
Jan 7, 2011
4,723
Oday 322 East Chicago, IN
I saw some guys at my marina drop the rudder while in the TravelLift.
You need to be ready to get things done quick. But they did it over a weekend.
Greg
 

Chubby

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Dec 1, 2020
1
Oday 28 Cotuit Harbor, Cape Cod, MA
Do not have to remove rudder or shaft. There is a tool to remove the bearing (find online) that just barely fits on my 1982 Oday 28. Another mechanic pushed the bearing out from the prop side (after removing the prop) and cut the bearing off using a multi-tool.