One person operation | Guaranteed Tolerances
80,000 Lb. Tensile Steel
Changing cutless (more commonly spelled cutlass) bearings can be tough without a Strut-Pro® tool!
Here’s the old fashion method:
Block the boat up so the shaft has room to slide out before it hit’s the ground. If the boat isn’t high enough you can always dig a hole…
Remove the prop, you’ll need a prop puller… We have an inexpensive solution for this.
Break the corroded bolts in the flange to separate the shaft from the transmission. See- “can of worms”.
Disconnect the steering and drop the rudder if it’s preventing the shaft from sliding out. How deep is the hole you dug?
Remove the propeller shaft from the strut-
There, you’re full day into into tearing down your boat and you’re ready to tackle the cutlass bearing!
Get a hacksaw blade and start cutting through the old cutlass bearing, try not to saw into the strut- that’s not good-
Peel out the old bearing with whatever you can find-
Beat the new bearing in with a block of wood, watch for cracks in the hull around the strut.
Now the no-brainer solution to a nightmare job:
Use a Strut Pro Cutlass Bearing Replacement tool- there is no removal of the propeller shaft, strut or rudder. There is no cutting, beating or destruction of any kind. Strut fasteners and bedding do not required repair because there is no pressure applied to any area other than the strut. All done in an hour or less.