[C320-list] Cutless bearing replacement

[Chris White]

 Graeme
First time I dug a hole and lowered the rudder down and out.Hole depth depends on height boat is above ground level.My hole was 750mm deep.I was lucky where the boat was at the time, I can't see many boatyards allowing this.The rudder was very heavy.Then you have to disconnect the shaft at the back of the gearbox, and slide it out.To get the cutlass bearing out was brute force and ignorance.I got there in the end but don't recommend this method.
The second time it was done by Marine Power at Deacons Yard on the River Hamble.They made a split tube to drive out the bearing and the whole job was done in 4 hours.They would probably send an engineer down to Poole to do it for you.
Regards
Chris WhiteC320 Dandy #449UK    

    On Tuesday, 26 April 2022, 16:18:31 BST, Graeme Clark <cg at skyflyer.co.uk> wrote:  
 
 Update

Well, I made my own bearing puller using 1/4 in steel plate and three 3/8 in threaded rods. Couldn’t shift it at all. In the end the plates started to bend!

So the plan is to soldier on with the existing bearing which will hopefully last one more season and replace next year, using a beefed up Mk2 puller with thicker plates and larger rods!

As far as I know the bearing on my boat is original (1996) so it’s had a long time to corrode in place!

My question to anyone who has done this job before, using the loaner puller, is whether the bearing slides out gradually or releases suddenly with a pop or a bang?  I’m really not sure how much pressure to put it under and be safe!

Plan B is remove the shaft and cut out the bearing from the inside, but that is a job for next winter.  Does anyone know what clearance is needed beneath the keel in order to drop the rudder?

Many thanks
Graeme
1996,
#366
England

Sent from my iPad

> On 5 Apr 2022, at 18:18, Graeme Clark <cg at skyflyer.co.uk> wrote:
> 
> Thanks Ken
> 
> That confirms my understanding of the size of the bearing.
> I guess it may be the case that slight iregulrities on the inside of the tube I am using arestopping it from sitting snugly on the shaft. Either way, I think if I use a 1-1/8 OD tube that will do the job. Its simple and cheap enough to make so I will have bothe and at least one will work!
> Graeme
> 
> 
>> On 5 Apr 2022, at 18:05, KEN GEIGER <kendgb at aol.com> wrote:
>> 
>> 
>> See            https://www.catalinadirect.com/shop-by-boat/catalina-38/engine/props-etc/cutlass-bearing-cp-26-c-27-c-28-lt-724-c-270-c-30-c-320-c-34-c-36/
>> 
>> Also try Google for tool ideas.  
>> 
>> Ken Geiger
>> Northern Dream  #765 2000
>> 
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Graeme Clark <cg at skyflyer.co.uk>
>> To: Catalina list <C320-List at Catalina320.com>
>> Sent: Tue, Apr 5, 2022 12:50 pm
>> Subject: [C320-list] Cutless bearing replacement
>> 
>> I am making my own removal tool (as I am on the other side of the pond, so loaner program is not an option!)
>> 
>> I thought the bearing was 4 inches long, for a 1 inch shaft with an outside diameter of 1-1/4 inch so I ordered a suitable piece of steel tube and cut it lengthwise so that this will go either side of the shaft and then I will use this to push out the old bearing.
>> 
>> My own boat is still in the water, being hauled out at the end of the month, so I tried it for size on  a friend’s C320. Given that he doesn't need his bearing replaced, this was limited to just sliding the two halves of the ‘extractor tube’ along the shaft until it touched the bearing.
>> 
>> Now it seemed to me that the overall 1-1/4 inch outside diameter of the tube is actually too large to fit into the “p-bracket” (shaft support bracket that contains the cutless bearing).
>> 
>> So thats easy enough to solve, i can get a thinner tube with a wall thickness of just 1/16 inch and thus an overall outside diameter of 1-1/8”
>> 
>> BUT - is the bearing itself actually smaller?  Did Catalina change the spec at all (my boat is ’96, my friend’s is 99)
>> 
>> Obviously i want to pre-order the bearing, ready for when my boat is hauled out, so I need to get it correct. Its going to be expensive to have her sat on the hard whilst I wait for a re-delivery of a wrongly ordered item!
>> 
>> If anyone on this list actually has the removal tool in their possession, could they send me a photo and better still measure the outside diameter of the extraction piece.
>> 
>> All other info gratefully received.
>> 
>> Thanks
>> 
>> Graeme Clark
>> #366, 1996
>> “Jaskar”, Poole, England.
>