Hey guys, very specific question I’m wondering (and think I know the answer)
i have nearly brand new cutlass bearings, 60 hours runtime on them. The engines and shafts were aligned multiple times (in water for the final alignment) and I have them to .004-.005 all the way around. No vibration, boat runs fine, etc.
After haul out I noticed the shaft has a noticeable gap on the outboard aft end of the cutlass and the same gap on the forward interior (towards the keel) part of the cutlass. Similar on both sides, slightly more exaggerated on the starboard. I’m talking about the gap between the shaft and rubber parts of the bearing. In other words, it’s like the shaft is cockeyed in the strut/cutlass.
No shaft play when pushing and pulling the shaft.
My suspicion is the way the boat is held in the cradle is flexing the hull slightly enough to cause this. Is that a reasonable explanation?
I just don’t want to wear the cutlass prematurely or worse yet score the shaft.
i have nearly brand new cutlass bearings, 60 hours runtime on them. The engines and shafts were aligned multiple times (in water for the final alignment) and I have them to .004-.005 all the way around. No vibration, boat runs fine, etc.
After haul out I noticed the shaft has a noticeable gap on the outboard aft end of the cutlass and the same gap on the forward interior (towards the keel) part of the cutlass. Similar on both sides, slightly more exaggerated on the starboard. I’m talking about the gap between the shaft and rubber parts of the bearing. In other words, it’s like the shaft is cockeyed in the strut/cutlass.
No shaft play when pushing and pulling the shaft.
My suspicion is the way the boat is held in the cradle is flexing the hull slightly enough to cause this. Is that a reasonable explanation?
I just don’t want to wear the cutlass prematurely or worse yet score the shaft.
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