27 cutlass bearing replacement?

[wes]

Bruce - I need to replace my cabin sole (the larger section, approx. 23" x 72") due to water damage. Do you have the one from your parts boat available?

[Koinonia]

wes, have you tried east teak? They are out of a town called Donalds in SC, (800) 338-5636.  Their prices are great though I havnt ever had anything shipped since their only 45 min away.

[Nicolina]

It was definitely the lower bolt. I think they managed to tighten the bolt on top.

[Allure2sail]

Bruce - I need to replace my cabin sole (the larger section, approx. 23" x 72") due to water damage. Do you have the one from your parts boat available?

Hi:
It was damaged when the boat went up the on rocky shoreline. It actually pushed the cement ballast in the keel through the floor in the galley. I have never posted pictures of the parts boat on this website because it is such a sad sight to see!!! I'm sailing out of Narragansett Bay (Rhode Island) and have just retired so this season I'll be out there cruising allot.
Bruce
S/V Allure
Swansea, MA

[Allure2sail]

wes, have you tried east teak? They are out of a town called Donalds in SC, (800) 338-5636.  Their prices are great though I havnt ever had anything shipped since their only 45 min away.

Hi:
When you did your engine upgrade did you take out your shaft log? If so what does it look like at the back end. Is there a flange on it with two clearance holes for the two mounting bolts that mount the cutlass bearing housing? I don't think they (ComPac) would put a nut and washer up against the fiberglass inside surface. I believe the flange and tube (with the two small set screws) that contains the cutlass bearing in it to be a separate piece. But what does the inside look like?
Bruce

[Koinonia]

Bruce,

I didnt take mine out since it had just gotten its cutlass bearing replaced a couple years prior before I owned it and it didnt have any uneven wear.  Im not sure what the back of the log on the 27 is like on the backside though When I replaced one on an Island Packet I had it just had the upper and lower bolt holding it on which the lower one was a PITA to get to since the best way to secure the bolts was to have nylocks on the inside.  I dont see why ours would be differant and getting it out may be a pain if it was put in with 5200.  May as well had a 3 year old a black sharpie in a white house when it comes to that stuff, it has its places to used, but not on EVERYTHING!!!
    This may be a question to call Gerry about down at the factory!

[Allure2sail]

Hi:
I'm going to put a sawzall to the skeg of the parts boat this weekend to put an end to this "mystery". I'll open up the channel for the shaft log from the outside and take a picture to post. Also interested to see how the set screws for the cutlass bearing are positioned. A fellow at the marina said that they should not be 180 degrees apart but 120 degrees apart so that it does not eggshape the cutless bearing. I'll look tomorrow, he has me curious and I can understand what he means about squishing the bearing.
Bruce

[wes]

Well, alrighty then. Spent half a day yesterday removing the prop, shaft, and stern tube to get to the bottom of this situation. Here's the deal, for those of you contemplating a cutlass bearing replacement.

Here's the stern tube/shaft log and prop shaft out of the boat. The tube is not glassed in - the only thing holding it in place are the two bolts and 3M 5200. Note the larger diameter at the aft end, where the cutlass bearing slides in, and the narrower diameter of the main tube. I was able to extract the prop shaft into the interior of the boat, but had to drop the rudder to get the stern tube out.



Close up of the business end:



Looking into the opening in the hull with tube removed. Took this opportunity to hose out 25 years of accumulated bilge gunk:



Dropped a 1/2" galvanized fender washer down the top of tube. This washer (from Lowe's or HD) is conveniently 1-3/8" outer diameter, same as internal diameter of the tube. In this shot you can see the washer resting on top of the cutlass bearing:



Slid a 1-1/4" wood dowel (also from Lowe's or HD) down the tube, against the washer, and tapped with a hammer. Had soaked the cutlass bearing in penetrating oil the previous day, and removed the two small set screws:



Cutlass bearing halfway out. Note the "dimples" that allow the set screws to have a little bite into the side of the bearing. New replacement bearing will need to be similarly dimpled (carefully, with a drill bit inserted into the set screw hole) after installation:



That's it - not exactly a piece of cake, but I will sleep easier with the new cutlass bearing installed, and knowing the stern tube is securely rebedded and bolted with new hardware.

Wes

[deisher6]

Hey Wes:
Great pictures thank you for posting them.  This has been weighing on my mind with our '86 C27 hull 16. 
Was the bearing in pretty good shape when you got it out?
Were there nuts on the ends of the bolts?  If so how did you get to them?
Were you having any problems with the shaft, tube, bearing assembly that made you take the plunge?
Again thank you for the post.

regards charlie

[wes]

Charlie - my only motivation for the project was that the prop shaft was floppy inside the cutlass bearing, either because the bearing was worn or the rubber had hardened (or both). Other than that, the bearing appeared to be in excellent shape when removed.

Yes, there are nylock nuts on the inside end of the bolts. I bought a 24" extension for my ratchet driver. The upper nut was easy. The lower one was impossible because of all the accumulated bilge gunk and debris. I ended up sawing off the head of the lower bolt from the outside with a hacksaw - not too hard.

The job overall was tedious but not as difficult as I had feared. It also gave me an opportunity to completely remove and inspect the stuffing box, whereupon I found that the large nut had a serious crack that could have led to failure.

Wes

[skip1930]

http://youtu.be/FOwr3l6bkGA

Correct Wes, to say, all it takes is money.
However, it shows one how to build your own.
Does not look too difficult. [cut the right sized diameter tube long ways on a band saw]
And of course if it's a through the hull this is junq`ue.

If you search around in a W.W. Granger catalog there are a few rubber couplers, either pinned or splined, that can be used between the motor output flange and the propeller shaft flange. Allows for misalignment, vibration and the moment of tourq`e and moment of bend of shaft. If splined a little machining may be  necessary.

Looking at your pictures, a 10mm aluminum bronze plate cut for the inside of the shaft alley with two threaded bronze studs tigged on that go through the holes in the fiberglass keel seems doable. Could make a face plate for the outside and make a sandwich with copious amounts of a favorite goop between.

Of course the job's done and I'm just bloviating.

skip.

[wes]

I'm sure that tool would be very useful for someone doing this job often enough to make a $395 investment worthwhile, on boats that have prop shaft struts.

[Koinonia]

another way to get a sticky cutlass bearing out is with a hack saw blade as the metal is usually brass and soft.  The sawing is done very carefully by hand cutting through the bearing on opposite sides.  A simple tap with a mallet and screw driver will pop each half right out.   

Good to see what size down works best, to bad its still a pain to get the shaft out when the boat is all together.  When I repowered, my shaft and flange wouldnt ever separate, even with it out of the boat, on a press and heat applied.  Needless to say it came out while the engine was out and is still that way in the boat.  Dissimilar metal corrosion can really make things stick together!

[capt_nemo]

Wes,

Nice job on cutlass bearing replacement.

Your photos brought back memories of my replacing cutlass bearings on an Island Packet 35 and a Krogen 36 Trawler. Wound up cutting (gently with hacksaw) to get both out. What fun!?

Wishing you a very smooth turning shaft and watertight seal.

capt_nemo