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Shaft Strut

bayhoss

Member III
After having my E28 pulled to survey the damage from entangling a %$@! crab pot I noticed a very small (maybe 1/64") of play. The mechanic at the yard said that it wasnt enough play to be a concern and that there really wasnt any way to tighten the strut. Any thoughts?

Best, and thanks in advance,
Frank
 

adavid

Member II
I had the same thing happen with my '86 E-28 2 years ago. There is no easy way to tighten it as it is glassed in from the top, and that is under the fuel tank. I had someone drill a small hole on each side and use a syringe to shoot in some thickened epoxy. The hole should not go all the way through, just give you enough room to get a small syringe in. He then put a bead of 5200 around the edge for extra measure. After a summer of sailing, when I pulled the boat, it was still rock solid.
 

Loren Beach

O34 - Portland, OR
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
After having my E28 pulled to survey the damage from entangling a %$@! crab pot I noticed a very small (maybe 1/64") of play. The mechanic at the yard said that it wasnt enough play to be a concern and that there really wasnt any way to tighten the strut. Any thoughts?

Best, and thanks in advance,
Frank

I have always cringed when a surveyor gave the strut a whack with a hammer, but was assured that it should not (and did not) move... and so far ours is solid.
Also agree with adavid that injecting some resin would "tighten" it, if this is required. I can imagine that a little give would let the shaft vibrate more and cause more give, and.... so on. :(

Best,
Loren
 
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bayhoss

Member III
Adavid, do you know the dia. of the holes and the depth used to inject epoxy. And how close to the strut they were drilled? My guess is that they were they positioned on either side?

Best,
Frank
 

adavid

Member II
Unfortunately, I was not there when the epoxy was injected. I believe that he drilled a small hole on each side right up against the strut. I would think that it was about 1/16 or 1/8 inch. I would think that it only had to be about 1/4 inch deep.

Andy
 

bayhoss

Member III
Thanks to Andy and Loren

I repaired the strut on my E28 today and came up with a slightly different but pretty good method of repair based on the replys of Andy and Loren. I drilled 6 holes, one dead center of the strut and about 1" back of it and then two about 4" back of that and about 2" apart to form an enlongated triangle. Then did the reverse on the other side of the strut. To continue with Andy's idea I injected epoxy into the one closest to the strut. Then came Loren's imput, I gently started to tap on the strut with a rubber hammer. After about three minutes of constant pressure from the syringe and vibration from the hammer, epoxy started to exit around the strut. After about three or so additional minutes epoxy started to exit the other two holes. I followed the same on the other side, and then went to the watering hole next door. After allowing time for lunch and water to set in - checked the boat. The strut is as firm as the day she was made.

Thanks guys!:egrin:
Frank
 
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