this is a bad cutless bearing?

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bubble7777 said..

So I'm getting vibration when in gear so I thought I would investigate. When I removed disconnected the shaft this is what I got

I was quite surprise at how lose it is. am I right that the cutless stern bearing is shot or could it be something else?

also doing this resulted in my stuffing box dripping slowly all the time not just when in gear. so I think I need to pull out on the hard sooner rather than later.

so a new cutless or something more serious?

You need to haul out fairly shortly and do a complete reconditioning of your propeller shaft, it's bearings (stern and A or P bracket bearings) and the stern gland.

Most likely your propeller shaft is badly worn at the bearing areas and will need replacing. This will mean buying shaft material and getting it machined at each end to take the coupling and the propeller.

You have recognized a serious problem area on your yacht which is a big plus tick for you. You are not a marine mechanic/fitter machinist from the sounds of it so you need to employ a professional.

I am in Bundaberg and go to Brisbane about 15 times per year. Where in Queensland is your yacht?? Maybe I can help. Send me a private message with phone numbers etc.

Cheers Cisco.

Maybe able to reverse the shaft. Usually have the same taper both ends. Wear then hopefully will be in a different spot.

Caboolture River and Monty's is not far out of my way. I could bring my land yacht down as well and introduce you to land sailing on the bottom end of Bribie Island.

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bubble7777 said..

hey, just another question but I don't have an A or P bracket as the shaft exits the stern straight to the prop... so all I need is a stern bearing right? also that bearing is a cutless type as opposed to a ball bearing or some other bearing .. this is right yeah? sorry if this is a dumb question

Two questions here.

1. If the shaft exits the hull and there is no more than say 50 to 70 mm of exposed shaft before the prop, you only need a stern bearing. Any more than that, then you have a very badly designed set up that you need to modify for extra shaft support. If it is a metal hull it is fairly easy to do, if not it can be fairly complicated.

2. Stern bearings usually are one of two types. A solid fibre/resin combination with grooves for water lubrication or more recently (in the last 50 years), cutlass rubber bearings (I hate them.) It is possible to have ball or roller bearings on the prop shaft but it requires great accuracy in it's set up, flaseals at each end and an oil bath for the bearings with a reservoir and circulation system.

I am down in Brisso this weekend and the next and then 2 weeks after that. None of you questions can be answered with certainty until the boat is hauled out. Let me know when it is.

Fair warning, I think you are in for a bit of a spend to get this right but when you have it right, it will be right for a long time.

so I hauled out on Friday.

removed shaft after also having to remove the rudder which seemed easier than lifting the engine
removed stern cutlass bearing.
shaft looks ok. very little wear. some minor pitting on the prop end.
now I have a new problem maybe? sloppy blades and also sloppy centre bit that fits over the shaft?

how much slop is to much slop on a feathering prop?

Hmm I might give hydraline a call tomorrow to find out how much it costs to recondition . I still have the original receipt for $2500 from 2003. Personally I hoped a prop should last a bit longer than 10 years especially as the previous owner only put about 150 hours under motor over the past 5 years :(

yea there's a grease point and I think the previous owner was fairly religious with simple maintenance like oil and grease etc.

when I opened it up there was grease although i'm not sure if its meant to be packed with grease or lightly greased? when opened it was lightly greased with a large dob posed to the side out of the way of the bearings.

in the videos all the grease has been removed. if I pack it with grease will this remove some of the slop?

the manufacturer is in Sydney. I rang them today and they said that the prop should be packed tight with grease and this will remove the slop. I will test tomorrow and see if there is much difference.

fingers crossed

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bubble7777 said..

the manufacturer is in Sydney. I rang them today and they said that the prop should be packed tight with grease and this will remove the slop. I will test tomorrow and see if there is much difference.

fingers crossed

How was the cutless bearing anyways?

I hope you don't mind me asking Bubble7777 did you buy Ca Va the H28 sloop I am in the process of buying a H28(ketch) and would like your opinion so far. and also the mods the previous owner did eg. the hinged table and the Gebo opening ports how they worked out ?
Cheers Mate Hope your prop only need grease I like the idea of a feathering prop rather that then locking it in gear






hey,

yes I bought cava.

its an awesome boat.. sails really well.

gebo port lights are great. they have little flyscreens on them as well which is a nice touch.
the hinge table is nice as it keeps things out of the way. however it can be a bit of a hassle to raise and lower. but its all a compromise and I would prefer this to a fixed table.

the fold down double bed in the cabin is again really good, better thsan a v birth for comfort. but again a bit of a hassle to put away during the day.

the biggest issue is I dread the day I have to replace the engine. it will be a complete nightmare to lift as its sits so far back from the compainionway. also working on the engine is really nasty due to this as well, im a contortionist to add to my list of other new skills in development since buying the boat.

the quarter births are a nice size and will just about take me (im 6ft 1inch).

its solid grp so no rotten core
no keel bolts to cause issues

overall a pretty solid boat with no regret ( apart from my damn prop :(


I have spoken to a couple of people now who have owned h28 sometime in their lives and they both said that it was the most memorable boat they have owned.

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HG02 said..

HG02 said..

SandS said..


Yes , packing with grease will stop slop . But where is the manufacturer , are they still in business ? I have never seen or heard of that type of prop , mine is a different feathering type and I have to pump it full of grease every year.

Try to show the vid to the maker of the prop and get his advise .

I hope you don't mind me asking Bubble7777 did you buy Ca Va the H28 sloop I am in the process of buying a H28(ketch) and would like your opinion so far. and also the mods the previous owner did eg. the hinged table and the Gebo opening ports how they worked out ?
Cheers Mate Hope your prop only need grease I like the idea of a feathering prop rather that then locking it in gear

From the Video to me that's a fair amount and movement to be taken up with grease

so I packed it with grease tonight. it seems to have taken a lot of the slop out of the central shaft bit of the prop, although the blades are still wiggling almost the same. im going to sit down a think how to fix this myself from getting bushes and fitting them to adding some depth by carfully spraying some cold galvanising paint onto the appropriate spots to add some depth. yes I know it will wear away but if I can do this and get 12 month and then do it again I figure its a good fix. if It doesn't work then im comfortable to give something else a go by removing the prop in the water rather than having to haul out again.

Feathering props are fine if you are prepared to dive/snorkel on it every couple of months. Otherwise it is an underwater complication that really does not give much benefit when sailing.

The worst situation is to have a prop that spins when sailing. It acts like a governor on your sailing performance. Also it wears your stern bearing, gear box bearings and stern gland unnecessarily. A locked propeller has less drag than a spinning one.

With an H 28 having a long keel and the propeller located in an aperture between the keel and the rudder, a two bladed fixed prop is the obvious best configuration.

The shaft or gearbox coupling needs to be marked in on the inside of the yacht in the position where the two bladed fixed prop is vertically in line with the keel therefore, when locked in the correct position, the keel shields the prop and almost eliminates all drag.

These issues are all covered in that great reference book "The Ocean Sailing Yacht" by Donald M. Street.

This book is a bargain and anyone serious about sailing should grab it.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Ocean-Sailing-Yacht-v-1-STREET-DM-0393031683-/281228566599?pt=AU_Books_Textbooks&hash=item417a876047&_uhb=1

This is probably a stupid / ignorant question but if the movement in the prop can be minimised or removed by packing grease into it surely this will simply wash and work it's way out once the prop is immersed in water again, will it not?

I know the grease will act to repel the water but doesn?t the centrifugal force of a spinning prop (even under water) dislodge the grease?

Also grease is a fairly soft substance. I would have thought that the action of a metal prop blade rocking back and forth would just squeeze the grease out given that the blade would be a lot more solid and heavier than the grease.

Or does grease have some mysterious properties that I know nothing about?

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HG02 said..


Thanks for the link Cisco Ill buy that book tonight looks a interesting read

You will not regret it. Donald Street is a bit one eyed about his yawl "The Fair Iolaire" but the book is like a yachting encyclopedia.

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HG02 said..

MatM14 said..

This is probably a stupid / ignorant question but if the movement in the prop can be minimised or removed by packing grease into it surely this will simply wash and work it's way out once the prop is immersed in water again, will it not?

I know the grease will act to repel the water but doesn?t the centrifugal force of a spinning prop (even under water) dislodge the grease?

Also grease is a fairly soft substance. I would have thought that the action of a metal prop blade rocking back and forth would just squeeze the grease out given that the blade would be a lot more solid and heavier than the grease.

Or does grease have some mysterious properties that I know nothing about?

Devcon was the product I was thinking of its a two pack epoxy hard as ten women s Hearts Ha Ha

devocon looks like JB weld.. if my cold galv doesn't hold I think I will give this a go..

probably nothing will work :( but I have at least got to give it a go. if it does work ill have to post a worklog so the world can see sloppy props can be reborn and live another day.