Has anyone replaced or rebeded the strut on a 37c. Any tricks to get at it would help cause it looks like a bugger. Both of the bolts in the strut broke off. sugesstions with alignment and changing the bolts?
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Broke off?!
Ed, what did you hit?
I rebed my strut in 1999 and no problems since. I used new stainless bolts and added very large fender washers under the original washers. Used 5200 for the rebedding and did not realign anything. I remember that Gene made a backing plate. Then he welded rod to the heads of the bolts and put them in from the inside with the nuts on the outside. This made it possible to drop the strut from the outside without help. The rod hits the side of the hull and keeps the bolt from turning. This thing about a backing plate is the same as the question about doubling the strength of the rudder stock. Is it better to have two small holes or one very large hole when the strut gets yanked out? Just like is it better to lose the rudder or have it rip out the back of the boat? In other words were these design features for safety or just the cheap way out?
Ed, what did you hit?
I rebed my strut in 1999 and no problems since. I used new stainless bolts and added very large fender washers under the original washers. Used 5200 for the rebedding and did not realign anything. I remember that Gene made a backing plate. Then he welded rod to the heads of the bolts and put them in from the inside with the nuts on the outside. This made it possible to drop the strut from the outside without help. The rod hits the side of the hull and keeps the bolt from turning. This thing about a backing plate is the same as the question about doubling the strength of the rudder stock. Is it better to have two small holes or one very large hole when the strut gets yanked out? Just like is it better to lose the rudder or have it rip out the back of the boat? In other words were these design features for safety or just the cheap way out?Ed
I caught a dock line while getting help backing in the slip. I had just a little vibration but thought i would check it closer when i hauled. took a trip down to venice and the bolts let go and the strut came off and was swinging with the prop. Sailed into venice then back to tampa without engine. Now i got to haul and paint. I think i will just bolt it up again. It looks like there are bolts thru the strut and nuts inside. I got no leaks which is good but that 44 horse could have done a lot of damage if the prop were allowed to swing with a broken strutt. I am glad the bolts broke first, and no leak by the way. I will check the shaft carefully and we will see. Boy its a bugger getting to the darn bolts! I think your fix is what i will do. I will have to check the shaft to see if it is bent. I hope it will come out without pulling the rudder! but we will see. thanks thanks
I caught a dock line while getting help backing in the slip. I had just a little vibration but thought i would check it closer when i hauled. took a trip down to venice and the bolts let go and the strut came off and was swinging with the prop. Sailed into venice then back to tampa without engine. Now i got to haul and paint. I think i will just bolt it up again. It looks like there are bolts thru the strut and nuts inside. I got no leaks which is good but that 44 horse could have done a lot of damage if the prop were allowed to swing with a broken strutt. I am glad the bolts broke first, and no leak by the way. I will check the shaft carefully and we will see. Boy its a bugger getting to the darn bolts! I think your fix is what i will do. I will have to check the shaft to see if it is bent. I hope it will come out without pulling the rudder! but we will see. thanks thanks
Hire a contortionist.
My strut was ripped out of the bottom of my boat last summer. Even the 2 small holes let in A LOT of water. So much in fact that my bilge pump couldn't handle it alone. And it is in a place where you can't plug the holes with a wood plug. Basically I ended up shoving a towel into the hole to slow the water flow a bit. But to get to the bolts, you are going to need to do a few things. First of all, the water heater has to come out. Next you are probably going to have to install an inspection port to get to the bolts. Your best bet is to hire a Chinese contortionist.
My strut was ripped out of the bottom of my boat last summer. Even the 2 small holes let in A LOT of water. So much in fact that my bilge pump couldn't handle it alone. And it is in a place where you can't plug the holes with a wood plug. Basically I ended up shoving a towel into the hole to slow the water flow a bit. But to get to the bolts, you are going to need to do a few things. First of all, the water heater has to come out. Next you are probably going to have to install an inspection port to get to the bolts. Your best bet is to hire a Chinese contortionist.
A few more notes
Just a few more things I forgot to mention in my last post. First, both my shaft and strut were bent and needed to be replaced but the rudder didn't have to come out. Even a slight bend in either the shaft or strut is going to cause a big problem with vibration and alignment if you are not careful. Also, at the same time you replace the shaft, it is probably a worthwhile investment to go to a PSS instead of the old stuffing box.
Just a few more things I forgot to mention in my last post. First, both my shaft and strut were bent and needed to be replaced but the rudder didn't have to come out. Even a slight bend in either the shaft or strut is going to cause a big problem with vibration and alignment if you are not careful. Also, at the same time you replace the shaft, it is probably a worthwhile investment to go to a PSS instead of the old stuffing box.
thanks for the ideas
Yes im sure the shaft and strutt have to be straigt and they will be checked. Was your strut put up in 5200 or a softer caulking? I have the opening behind the water heater, im going with a very small person on the inside! If i change the shaft i will probably do the seal too although i havent had any problem with my traditional suffing box. thanks
Yes im sure the shaft and strutt have to be straigt and they will be checked. Was your strut put up in 5200 or a softer caulking? I have the opening behind the water heater, im going with a very small person on the inside! If i change the shaft i will probably do the seal too although i havent had any problem with my traditional suffing box. thanks
I'd go with the 5200
I'd go with the 5200. Although I don't know how many times you plan on backing up over dock lines! 5200 will probably last longer than the boat at this point. Also you might want to consider putting on a prop protector or spurs type of line cutter. It's cheaper than a haulout. I didn't have any problems with my stuffing box either. I just wanted to go to something that was maintenance free, and a better product in my opinion, than the stuffing box.
I'd go with the 5200. Although I don't know how many times you plan on backing up over dock lines! 5200 will probably last longer than the boat at this point. Also you might want to consider putting on a prop protector or spurs type of line cutter. It's cheaper than a haulout. I didn't have any problems with my stuffing box either. I just wanted to go to something that was maintenance free, and a better product in my opinion, than the stuffing box.
my strut also
Hi,I also had a problem with the bolts coming loose and the strut dropping down while crossing the gulf of Mexico. In Isla Mujeres I had the boat hauled and a very,very small latino was held by the ankles as his friends lowered him down to make the repairs, this should only be attempted by people who are not subject to passing out after 30 minutes of being inverted in 98 degree weather. The washers were replaced with a backing plate, new bolts installed and the strut bedded with 5200. Fortunatly the strut didn't drop out completly, but the shaft is slightly scored. I would encourage all 37c owners to check the bolts before you have a problem. fair winds, Ricardo s/v La Vida Feliz
Hi,I also had a problem with the bolts coming loose and the strut dropping down while crossing the gulf of Mexico. In Isla Mujeres I had the boat hauled and a very,very small latino was held by the ankles as his friends lowered him down to make the repairs, this should only be attempted by people who are not subject to passing out after 30 minutes of being inverted in 98 degree weather. The washers were replaced with a backing plate, new bolts installed and the strut bedded with 5200. Fortunatly the strut didn't drop out completly, but the shaft is slightly scored. I would encourage all 37c owners to check the bolts before you have a problem. fair winds, Ricardo s/v La Vida Feliz
Have some questions
Ed A. did the line get wound up on the prop, is that what causes the problem? Also, I've only had my boat hauled once when bought a year ago. My recollection was that the strut was faired into the hull to such an extent that the fasteners were not visible though I could be wrong. In any event today I don't know how the strut is attached. Could someone explain that to me? Is it through bolted with the nuts inside the hull or just lag bolted? Where do I look to see the inside hull anchor point, or where to I crawl to to plug the hole when the strut is ripped off? My recollection is that the rudder needs to be dropped to get the shaft out, but with a loose strut maybe there will be enough movement in the shaft log to get the shaft past the rudder. It may be that you will have to reinstall the shaft through the strut before attaching the strut, in order to avoid having to drop the rudder. I had to drop my rudder for repair, but my reollection is that the yard waited for the rudder to come off before removing the shaft for cutlass bearing replacement. Though this could have been done out of convienence. Scott
Ed A. did the line get wound up on the prop, is that what causes the problem? Also, I've only had my boat hauled once when bought a year ago. My recollection was that the strut was faired into the hull to such an extent that the fasteners were not visible though I could be wrong. In any event today I don't know how the strut is attached. Could someone explain that to me? Is it through bolted with the nuts inside the hull or just lag bolted? Where do I look to see the inside hull anchor point, or where to I crawl to to plug the hole when the strut is ripped off? My recollection is that the rudder needs to be dropped to get the shaft out, but with a loose strut maybe there will be enough movement in the shaft log to get the shaft past the rudder. It may be that you will have to reinstall the shaft through the strut before attaching the strut, in order to avoid having to drop the rudder. I had to drop my rudder for repair, but my reollection is that the yard waited for the rudder to come off before removing the shaft for cutlass bearing replacement. Though this could have been done out of convienence. Scott
Just removed my strut
... for rebedding. There was a tiny weep after the last time I changed the cutlass bearing - too heavy a hand I suppose. My strut has the nuts accessible though an access plate behind the water heater. By removing the 'bulkhead' at the aft end of the quarter berth, I was able to squeeze in with a ratchet, a very long extension with a U-joint and a 9/16 deep socket to get the nuts off the bolts. I still had a rough time removing the bolts as the Phillps-head bolts on the stut wanted to strip - a judicious bit of heat fro a torch and a hammer and impact driver did the trick. The strut appears to have been bedded with some sort of fiberglass putty - very hard! I decided to rebed the shaft log and redo the stuffing box as well. They came out a lot easier. BTW, with the strut unbolted, you do NOT need to drop the rudder to get the shaft out. Good Luck (to both of us!) Jim SV CALYPSO St. Margaret's Bay, Nova Scotia
... for rebedding. There was a tiny weep after the last time I changed the cutlass bearing - too heavy a hand I suppose. My strut has the nuts accessible though an access plate behind the water heater. By removing the 'bulkhead' at the aft end of the quarter berth, I was able to squeeze in with a ratchet, a very long extension with a U-joint and a 9/16 deep socket to get the nuts off the bolts. I still had a rough time removing the bolts as the Phillps-head bolts on the stut wanted to strip - a judicious bit of heat fro a torch and a hammer and impact driver did the trick. The strut appears to have been bedded with some sort of fiberglass putty - very hard! I decided to rebed the shaft log and redo the stuffing box as well. They came out a lot easier. BTW, with the strut unbolted, you do NOT need to drop the rudder to get the shaft out. Good Luck (to both of us!) Jim SV CALYPSO St. Margaret's Bay, Nova Scotia
Strut replacement
My strut has some pitting and I am planning on replacing it sometime in the future. I have searched the archives for information on where to get a new strut from but found nothing. Does anyone have any ideas where to go? Thanks
My strut has some pitting and I am planning on replacing it sometime in the future. I have searched the archives for information on where to get a new strut from but found nothing. Does anyone have any ideas where to go? Thanks
Wow! this turned into an active thread!
The strutt is bolted in bedded on the outside. the bolts are under the bulkhead behing the stering pedistal. Access thur the opening behind the heater, screw in hole already there. 2 bolts hold on the strutt, stainless. We cut a line with the prop and wraped it a bit. first tiime in 30 years so im lucky or usually more careful. Thanks for all the good thoughts, we come up monday. no leaks for now!
The strutt is bolted in bedded on the outside. the bolts are under the bulkhead behing the stering pedistal. Access thur the opening behind the heater, screw in hole already there. 2 bolts hold on the strutt, stainless. We cut a line with the prop and wraped it a bit. first tiime in 30 years so im lucky or usually more careful. Thanks for all the good thoughts, we come up monday. no leaks for now!
Not that difficult.
Sorry to hear that Ed. Glad it didn't happen when I was crewing. I am guessing that those having trouble accessing the inside strut nuts do not have the q-berth "door". My '79 did not have it, now it does. By removing that inside panel the strut is not hard to reach. My bolts came out fairly easily. The philips flatheads on the outside are recessed so could easily be missed if painted over. You must pound in the right size screwdriver for a good fit before trying to loosen the bolts. One reason I switched to stainless, much harder and less likely to strip. The shaft will always come out without removing the rudder IF you can loosen the strut. One negative for 5200 I guess. But using one of those wire saws you should be able to cut through it.
Sorry to hear that Ed. Glad it didn't happen when I was crewing. I am guessing that those having trouble accessing the inside strut nuts do not have the q-berth "door". My '79 did not have it, now it does. By removing that inside panel the strut is not hard to reach. My bolts came out fairly easily. The philips flatheads on the outside are recessed so could easily be missed if painted over. You must pound in the right size screwdriver for a good fit before trying to loosen the bolts. One reason I switched to stainless, much harder and less likely to strip. The shaft will always come out without removing the rudder IF you can loosen the strut. One negative for 5200 I guess. But using one of those wire saws you should be able to cut through it.
Strut replacement
My understanding is that strut replacement is a custom job. A replacement is made from a mold from the old one. Scott
My understanding is that strut replacement is a custom job. A replacement is made from a mold from the old one. Scott
great and thanks Ed
Good encouragement here as always. I am actually looking forward to the job now! But i will be glad when its over,
Good encouragement here as always. I am actually looking forward to the job now! But i will be glad when its over,
Strut Job
We also dropped our strut at haulout last Sept...Only becuase i couldn't drive out the cutlass bearing...It was toast, and we weren't going to drop the rudder, soooo with the help of a skinny yard kid, we pulled it..the bolts are now installed from above, ALA Gene G's solution, and we can now yank it if need be while in the water... Also, we now have a set of cutters from WM on the shaft for the pesky crabpots.. Ed S/V MYST
We also dropped our strut at haulout last Sept...Only becuase i couldn't drive out the cutlass bearing...It was toast, and we weren't going to drop the rudder, soooo with the help of a skinny yard kid, we pulled it..the bolts are now installed from above, ALA Gene G's solution, and we can now yank it if need be while in the water... Also, we now have a set of cutters from WM on the shaft for the pesky crabpots..
Ed S/V MYSTStill learning!
I haven't had time to look here in a while, but it looks like there are still new things to learn. For instance, I better not give away the extra strut that came with Rainbow Chaser! I wouldn't go to the trouble of changing out the strut bolts unless they needed to be removed for other reasons, but if you're working on it, this can make anything in the future easier. Just take some stainless bolts the correct length. Take a short piece of stainless rod about 3" long, weld it to the head of the bolt sticking out to the side. Put the bolt through a big stainless fender washer, coat the bottom with 5200, poly sulfide or whatever your favorite sealer is, then put it through from the top. Put a washer and a locknut (the kind with nylon in it) on the bottom and you may never have to go down in under the water heater again. If you seal it from the top I really don't see why it needs to be bedded in anything. I've had mine off several times this way, by myself, and never had a problem. Continuing, if you need to remove the shaft, you can do it this way without removing the rudder and without a haulout. How? Take the coupler loose from the transmission. Move and the shaft back just a bit. remove the coupler. Place a piece of something more or less water proof (Piece of okld tarp, canvass or whatever)over the exposed shaft and over the stuffing box. Take a couple hose clamps and clamp it to the stuffing box so that it more or less seals it up. (It won't matter if it leaks some). Go under, remove the strut - easy if you just have to remove 2 nuts - and yank out the shaft. Take your wood plug, drive it in the hole where the shaft came out. Go back inside and remove the canvass. Now you can replace the stuffing box, fix the shaft or whatever your goal was. Just reverse the procedure and you can put it back, in the water, by yourself. If you plan to go cruising, I'd remember this! You can also build a waterproof bulkhead in front of the strut and remove the worry of losing either it or the rudder and sinking the boat. Instead of being an absolute emergency, it becomes an irritation to be delt with when you have time.
I haven't had time to look here in a while, but it looks like there are still new things to learn. For instance, I better not give away the extra strut that came with Rainbow Chaser! I wouldn't go to the trouble of changing out the strut bolts unless they needed to be removed for other reasons, but if you're working on it, this can make anything in the future easier. Just take some stainless bolts the correct length. Take a short piece of stainless rod about 3" long, weld it to the head of the bolt sticking out to the side. Put the bolt through a big stainless fender washer, coat the bottom with 5200, poly sulfide or whatever your favorite sealer is, then put it through from the top. Put a washer and a locknut (the kind with nylon in it) on the bottom and you may never have to go down in under the water heater again. If you seal it from the top I really don't see why it needs to be bedded in anything. I've had mine off several times this way, by myself, and never had a problem. Continuing, if you need to remove the shaft, you can do it this way without removing the rudder and without a haulout. How? Take the coupler loose from the transmission. Move and the shaft back just a bit. remove the coupler. Place a piece of something more or less water proof (Piece of okld tarp, canvass or whatever)over the exposed shaft and over the stuffing box. Take a couple hose clamps and clamp it to the stuffing box so that it more or less seals it up. (It won't matter if it leaks some). Go under, remove the strut - easy if you just have to remove 2 nuts - and yank out the shaft. Take your wood plug, drive it in the hole where the shaft came out. Go back inside and remove the canvass. Now you can replace the stuffing box, fix the shaft or whatever your goal was. Just reverse the procedure and you can put it back, in the water, by yourself. If you plan to go cruising, I'd remember this! You can also build a waterproof bulkhead in front of the strut and remove the worry of losing either it or the rudder and sinking the boat. Instead of being an absolute emergency, it becomes an irritation to be delt with when you have time.
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