Cracked cutlass bearing strut

[Curt KC]

So I pulled my boat on whim last month and was going to just paint the hull and put it back in next spring. But the cutlass bearing is worn and should be replaced. After a close look I saw a Crack all the way down the bottom, fore to aft. I thought about trying some phosphorous bronze wire on my Mig, but I'd be happier leaving it if someone smarter than me said it would be fine. Thanks in advance.
Curt

 

[Dave G.]

Hey Curt,
IMHO that looks like trouble and needs to be repaired. Don't know anything about welding but guessing if you can indeed repair it you may have to pull the bearing and shaft before you go at it. What model boat do you have ?

 

[Frank Langer]

It's hard to tell in the pic but I'm wondering how old this crack is. How long since you last hauled the boat, assuming it wasn't visible then? Has anything else happened to the boat that might cause this crack? If it were my boat, I would likely pull out the cutless bearing, hire a good professional welder to weld a repair and install a new cutless bearing. I don't think the strut needs to be removed from the boat to do this--that would make this repair a whole lot more complicated. Just my thoughts....
Frank

 

[Curt KC]

I've got a 1973 E29. I think it must've been there before I bought it 5 years ago but I didn't notice it when I moved it from a nearby lake. I did have it out over the winter at that time so it's possible it froze and opened, who knows. I'm sure it's going to be easier to repair it than finding and installing a replacement.

 

[Frank Langer]

I've got a 1973 E29. I think it must've been there before I bought it 5 years ago but I didn't notice it when I moved it from a nearby lake. I did have it out over the winter at that time so it's possible it froze and opened, who knows. I'm sure it's going to be easier to repair it than finding and installing a replacement.

Yes, I would definitely try to get it repaired cause replacing it will be expensive and alot of work.
Good luck, and let us know how it works out.
Frank

 

[R22QuietThing]

Check with Marine Hardware in Redmond WA. They were able to cast me a new one (with cutlass installed) for my 1970 35-2 for $900 two years ago. It takes a few months, and high-end skills locally to install and line up shaft. But it was great to have this as an option, they were OEM and had the engineering specifications and drawings to make the casting as new.

 

[Nick J]

There's been a lot of discussion on struts lately. Unfortunately for me, our boat was one that needed a replacement. It's been 2.5 months and we're almost back in the water. Looking through a few 29 strut replacement posts on here, you may be in luck. It looks like the 29 was built a little different and is attached from below. this should be an easier repair than what we just went through.

 

[Christian Williams]

Are you on a lake? For local sailing I'd probably just monitor it, given the challenges of a new strut. Or try some exterior strap repair/strengthening. Depends on whether the strut split seems old, or newly developed. At least you'll be alert to sudden drive issues and know immediately what it is....

 

[tenders]

Once you replace the Cutless bearing, which will require a homemade press, I bet you could strip the paint off the forward third of that strut and use the press to squeeze a bronze ring (or two) into place over that split and call it a day. You might need a machine shop to bore a press fit into the ring, but that’s easy.

I wonder how that happened. It isn’t freeze damage - there’s nowhere for solid ice to form.

 

[Curt KC]

I was surprised to see that it had split the way it did, I wouldn't have thought there could be that much water in there either . I guess it could be due to vibration and fatigue but who knows.
The strut does have 4 screws that are screwed through the bottom of the bracket and into the hull. I'm not too keen on going to the trouble of an entire new strut since we sail on a small lake near Kansas city. Though $900 for a new custom cast strut is cheaper than I would have thought.
I like the I idea of the external rings and had considered trying to find some bronze pipe and cutting rings out of it. If I can find some I'll probably just braze them in place.

Thanks for replies! I'll let you know how it goes. Unless I fail, of course.

Curt

 

[Loren Beach]

If the OD is uniform for about an inch, you might be able to tighten a ring onto it to stop the split from worsening. Perhaps a shaft collar from McMaster Carr?

 

[Prairie Schooner]

. . . If I can find some I'll probably just braze them in place.
. . .

You might want to confirm that the brazing rod metal won't create galvanic corrosion problems. A press fit might be best.

 

[Loren Beach]

Thin Consolation at this point, but even a casting done right by the best foundry can have a hidden (inside) small flaw that will show up later under continued stress. Many years later.
(One of my summer jobs during my college days was at a plant that cast zirconium parts for rockets (nozzles...) and they had several ways to try to inspect the inside metal of these carefully controlled castings -- ultrasound, among others. Even with a beautifully machined and inspected casting, there could be a flaw deep inside.)

 

[G Kiba]

One of several reasons i dislike carnival rides and people who trust shackles when going aloft. When metals (materials) fail, it usually happens very quickly. Even German engineering is not fool-proof.

Giant Aquarium in Berlin Holding 1,500 Fish Bursts, Injuring Two

A giant cylindrical aquarium that had become a landmark in the years since the fall of the Berlin Wall burst, raining one million liters of water and 1,500 exotic fish on a busy crossing.

www.wsj.com

 

[Christian Williams]

Injuring 1,502?

 

[Alan Gomes]

Injuring 1,502?

That's not how I read the headline. It appears that 1498 of the fish got by unscathed.

 

[tgrothe]

You might want to confirm that the brazing rod metal won't create galvanic corrosion problems. A press fit might be best.

I saw your YouTube video on the strut wobble how did you fix it?
Thanks Todd

 

[Prairie Schooner]

I saw your YouTube video on the strut wobble how did you fix it?
Thanks Todd

Hi Todd,

This thread has most of the details for how we did the repair.

E35-3 Prop Shaft Strut - a look inside - and a zinc question

I’m rebedding the strut on our ’86 E35. It doesn’t have a zinc on it. It seems to be in good shape with no corrosion. There was a zinc on the shaft. Should I add a zinc to the strut (in addition to replacing the one on the shaft)? What are the factors to consider? Jeff

ericsonyachts.org

We've pulled the boat for this year, at the end of our second season with the repair. It's still solid. Dave @dhill had a similar repair done on his 35-3. He might be able to fill in with other insights. (I hope it's working out for them.)

Nick @Nick J took a different approach. My opinion is that his fix is better than new. I think ours is as good as new.

35-3 New Strut [Master Thread]

The haul out was going too well... The keel joint hasn't shown a drop of seepage, the blisters are better than I thought they were going to be, the rudder seems solid, and the engine removal went well. Even the shaft looks good and we're going to shorten it to clean up the gap between the...

ericsonyachts.org

Several other links which you might find helpful:
- https://ericsonyachts.org/ie/threads/bracing-myself-for-a-strut-job.18915/#post-146334
- https://ericsonyachts.org/ie/ubs/1984-e30-strut-replacement-part-1.471/
- https://ericsonyachts.org/ie/ubs/1984-e30-strut-replacement-part-2.472/
- https://ericsonyachts.org/ie/ubs/1984-e30-strut-replacement-part-3.497/
- https://ericsonyachts.org/ie/thread...urce-replacement-ericson-36c.4096/#post-25978

What kind of boat do you have? You might want to put that info in your signature line, as well as engine and at least a general geographic locatioin. It will assist people in zeroing in on more helpful responses. (For my part, it's fine if you don't even have an Ericson) Will you probably do the work yourself?

It's a slog getting through all the posts, but there's lots of good information in there. If you have any questions, I'll do my best to answer.

Cheers,
Jeff

 

[Curt KC]

I saw your YouTube video on the strut wobble how did you fix it?
Thanks Todd

Well, the short answer is I did nothing. After I got the old cutlass bearing out, I realized that a yard guy probably got carried away with a sawzall trying to remove a stuck bearing. I figured that when he pressed the new one in, the crack opened along that weak spot. I did my best to get it cleaned out but when I pressed in a new one the crack opened up slightly more. Sorry I don't have a good pic of that.

I installed a pack less shaft seal this spring along with a lot of other work I never got around to publishing. I checked on it last weekend while we were monitoring across the lake. After a summer, nearly all of the wobble from last year is gone so, long story short, I'm not too worried about it. Also, I can't see it while I'm sailing.

Curt

 

[Curt KC]

View attachment 48434
Well, the short answer is I did nothing. After I got the old cutlass bearing out, I realized that a yard guy probably got carried away with a sawzall trying to remove a stuck bearing. I figured that when he pressed the new one in, the crack opened along that weak spot. I did my best to get it cleaned out but when I pressed in a new one the crack opened up slightly more. Sorry I don't have a good pic of that.

I installed a pack less shaft seal this spring along with a lot of other work I never got around to publishing. I checked on it last weekend while we were monitoring across the lake. After a summer, nearly all of the wobble from last year is gone so, long story short, I'm not too worried about it. Also, I can't see it while I'm sailing.

Curt

Lol, Todd I just saw you were asking Jeff about his, but there's my update of you curious.