Prop shaft strut

[EdHouston]

Hi All

Moonlight Mile is on the hard ready for a bottom job, when we pulled her this morning the prop shaft strut has some sideways play, anyone had this issue and could anyone tell me if the strut can be tightend and if so how?

Thanks Ed

The yard is talking about grinding some of the glass away from around the strut and re glassing it, I am thinking this is OK but if there is a way to tighten it first I would be money ahead.

A little update,

The mate & I went to the boat she wiggled the strut & I buried myself in the port sail locker, the bolt I can see is indeed under the crank pulley I did not explore much more but wonder how many bolts there are! I am heading down in the am with lights wrenches and elbow grease to attempt to tighten the bolt/bolts.

I may even take the grinder just in case, I will report back with photos with my findings.

Ed

[RayNWanda]

Ed, I believe the nuts? are barely accessable under the engine crankshaft pulley.

[Jim S]

There are four bolts and really difficult to get to.  They need to be tight.

[EdHouston]

OK here it is;

Been almost all day working this issue, the good news is all four bolts are now as tight as I can get them, very difficult to get to but not impossible, I think these bolts are going down on the annual check list to check!. After tightening the bolts skinning knuckles and at least one very sore thumb from wrench slip the bolts are tight, I then moved outside and under the boat to look at the loose glass and filler that surrounded the strut. Well with an old wood chisel I was able to open up the strut pocket and hey this project just got a whole lot easier and cheaper, the yard wanted $400 to grind and glass, this would have been the absolute wrong thing to do in hind sight. See photos!

OK so there was a little delaminating of the glass on the lower rudder bearing so off it came also and re faired with west system epoxy as well as the strut.

She looks OK now and the strut is as secure as ever.

Ed 

[EdHouston]

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[EdHouston]

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[EdHouston]

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[BlameItOnBuffett]

I had the exact same issue on the skeg, and in the same place.

JT

[EdHouston]

So Jim did you do the work or did the yard do it for you?

Ed

[P69]

When y'all replaced the strut, what did you use to seal the four bolt holes?  Did you treat it like a thru hull install, where you gooped the holes and bolts with 4200 or something?

My strut is skewed a little with the fwd end up a bit to high, causing the shaft to pass through the cutlass bearing at an angle.

I plan on loosening the strut bolts (will replace with new bolts), getting the angle right, then filling whatever gap between hull and upper strut surface with thick epoxy. After epoxy is hard, tighten the bolts.

This should bring the axis of the strut bearing hole in line with that axis of the shaft.

Just not sure what o do to seal the bolt holes.