Replaced shaft, prop, dripless seal, cutlass bearing

This project started out as a prop replacement. I wanted to replace the prop for two reasons.
1) The old prop was a two blade prop and I found that I needed a bit more bite for maneuvering under power.
2) As mentioned in the first post - I had a vibration problem at about 2700 rpm. I suspect that the old beat up prop is part of the problem.

Step 1 - remove old prop.
Easier said than done! To start with the prop and shaft were orignal - they've been on there for 25 years. The original shaft was brass. I rented a prop puller from Marine Consignment of Wickford for $20 and went to work. The problem I encountered was that no matter how much leverage I used or heat I applied - the prop wouldnt budge. Also - since the shaft was brass - it was relatively soft and it started to mushroom at the tip from the force of the puller. In the end - I decided to cut the old shaft off and get a new stainless shaft.

Step 2 - select new prop.
I did a bit of research and in the end decided to go with the kiwi prop. While I like the max prop - it was about 2X the cost of the kiwi. Also when doing my research i found that the independently feathering blades of the kiwi are more efficient under sail than the interlocked blades of the max prop - especially as you increase the angle of the shaft. The third factor that I liked was the composite blades. While the do look a little funky - I like the fact that I can paint them with antifouling withtout the issues I've always had on brass props. The other prop i looked at was the flex-o-fold but I never really seriously considered that one. It just seemed to me with the exposed gears that it would easily foul and get stuck in one position.



Step 3 - Order new shaft.
FYI - You definitely need to purchase your prop before you order your shaft. Since any sailboat shaft you buy will be custom machined for you - you should have your prop on hand when you order the shaft. Not only was the shaft custom machined to fit my new prop - they also refit the coupling and supplied new keys. I purchased my shaft from Bayview Marine in Warwick, RI - Cost $300.

Step 4 - Replace cutlass bearing.
The whole trick to this project is having the right tool Lucky for me - Sam at Marine Consignment of Wickford had a cutlass bearing puller available for rent. Without this tool you'd have to cut out the old bearing out with a hack saw and inserting the new bearing would be difficult. The bearing puller I rented was a pretty simple machine that looked something like this PIC. I haven't seen any commercial versions of it - so it may have been home made.

Be sure to buy your new bearing first because the puller is used both to pull the old bearing out and to put the new bearing in place. I purchased my new bearing online at Tacoma Propeller it is a Duramax bearing - brass shell. 5" long - 1 1/4" ID / 1 1 /2" OD - Cost $59.

The cutlass bearing is held in place by two set screws (one was missing on my boat). Remove the set screws.

Removal and replacement of the bearing are pretty simple using the puller. However, it did require an extendision on the wrench to get enought torque to move the old bearing. Once it started moving everything went pretty smoothly.

Step 5 - reassemble
Insert new shaft, install dripless bearing, secure shaft in coupling, attach coupling to transmission. This is all straight forward. When re-attaching the coupling to the transmission - keep an eye on the gap as you bring the pieces together. You can't accurately test for alignment with the boat out of the water - but you'll want to be aware of any potentinal alignment issues if they pop up later.