Prop Shaft removal, Performance Underbody (Telstar Keel)

[yachtie40]

Hi Tom
I am not sure if the shaft had to be completely removed to replace the rubber shaft log boot, cutlass bearing and plumbers block, as I was busy doing other stuff whilst she was on the hard stand. Sorry I can't be more helpful but not having done this job myself, means that my recollection of the work is a bit patchy, as I had trades crawling all over the boat and lots of decisions to make…
It has taken me a year of sporadic work to finally make her seaworthy and am looking forward to our first cruise up the coast in a few weeks! Next job is restoring the teak deck, which has lots of meat left but needs quite a few screws replaced, as well as the Sikaflex in the grooves needing replacement. Might just drink beer instead and wait till Winter!
Merry Christmas
George

[tomrenner]

Thanks for all your help. I, too will be recaulking and refastening my deck. Probably going to take me all summer, but after 23 years of service I cannot complain. I have never sanded the decks, and they are in great shape except the caulking started to separate in a few small areas this summer. Good luck with your projects, and feel free to contact me anytime if you have other questions.
Tom

[tomrenner]

George - if you speak to the mechanic who did your shaft work, would you ask him exactly what he did and let me know?

[tomrenner]

Time flies and it's been two years since I asked for advice and I thank everyone for their input. My Bad. So I just want to let everyone know how it was resolved. It is necessary to remove (lift the motor from its beds) the motor to get the shaft out.
I unbolted the motor mounts from their beds and lifted the engine with jacks, adding wood blocks under the motor mounts as the engine was raised. There is ample room under the sink to lift the engine straight up, about twelve inches to let the shaft pass under the KBW20 gear. Once the engine was up and secured, the shaft was easily removed.
It was time consuming but not too difficult. It turned out that the shaft was bent (lobster pot). I had it straightened, the prop reconditioned and installed the new Buck Algonquin stuffing box hose and new pillow block bearing (common bearing, easy to find).
Realignment was made difficult by whatever kind of lock tite was used on the motor mount nuts. Whatever that stuff was that was used by the HC yard hung in there until the last thread was off. It took 5 hours to get the 4 nuts off
The bottom line is that the shaft would not ever clear the skeg, even if the strut was removed. The shaft log diameter and it's length does not permit enough lateral movement for the shaft to pass the skeg. I brought in a mathematician to make that determination before anything was tried or any butchering was done.
I hope this information is useful. Feel free to contact me or ask any questions. Lion Heart is back in the water and all is well. thanks again.

[mimoza]

Thanks for the update, Tom.

Glad it went well, in spite of the motor mount nuts.

[pinayreefer]

Tom, so glad you were able to resolve your issue. I was in the same predicament a month earlier and so didn't know how you had done it. I too was on the hard, replacing everything in the drive train that would wear so I could go on an extended cruise without having to worry so much about those components. Coupler, pillow block, shaft log, cutlass bearing, all were replaced, and I noted that the shaft wouldn't clear the skeg either! Sliding it back and forth and wire brushing all areas of the shaft cleaned it up. We were replacing the motor mounts and had the engine elevated, even had the water tanks, and compression post removed for work, so I'd have had a clear shot to remove the shaft, but since it wasn't vibrating before the haulout we left it in place. Thank goodness it didn't vibrate afterwards either! But I will keep your fix in mind for future reference. Thanks again!