Trojan Boat Forum

What are the symptoms of a bad strut bearing? I think my cutlass bearing is going . It sounds/feels kinda like what a bad wheel bearing does on a car when I put my boat in gear. Also the engine seems to bog down, and oh the shaft, aft of the strut seems scored.

Finally, where is a good place to get a new/used shaft and cutlass bearing?
Thank you in advance

Is the boat still in the water ? it could be growth on the running gear .



First try right here http://www.trojanboats.net/



http://www.deepblueyachtsupply.com/

No, I keep it on a trailer.

On a good note tho, I got up to 25 knots with the new higher pitched prop!

Cutlas bearings usually hold up pretty well - check for play between the shaft and the bear walls with feeler gauges ...

The "... the new higher pitched prop" may be the issue.

Did you have the problem before changing the prop?

The prop may be out of pitch - one blade off or something. You should have a prop shop check the ... you can do some rudimentary checks your self by spinning and comparing each blade, but a prop shop is the only sure method.

1" or 1.25" shaft? How big a prop? Did you bend a shaft? You can check for bend by spinning with a gauge (or anything stationary) on the shaft.

25 knots; dam thats fast . even faster than eddie "O"s boat

25 knots; dam thats fast . even faster than eddie "O"s boat

Had no real problems with the old prop. Can't feel any appreciable slop in the shaft. New prop was made by Ellis propellor and is a 12x16x1 and should be fine. Shaft did not vibrate noticably before.

Oh and the speed and reason for repropping is due to the repower with a 454

nothing like the brut force of those big blocks,,,,

I can see a couple of things that may be causing this problem. If I'm reading your last post correctly, you're turning a Ø16"x 12P prop with a Ø1" shaft. These boats were designed to have Ø14" props that are already pushing the limits for clearance between the blade tips and the bottom of the hull. A Ø16" prop reduces that clearance even more and can definatly cause alot of noise & vibration thru the hull.

Also, a 454 is a great engine and makes alot of torque. These engines are normally coupled to a minimum Ø1.25" shaft to eliminate the risk of bowing under load. Ø1" shaft will bow while under load.

If I am not reading your prop call out correctly and it is a Ø12"x 16P, This prop does not have the required surface area to handle the amount of HP that your 454 can dish out. This can also make alot of noise & vibration.

Hope this helps,

My mistake, the prop is a 14 x 16 x 1, the first number being the diameter. And yes you are right there is not enuff clearance for a larger diam. wheel, so the only way to go was with the increase in pitch. The grinding noise/vibration was prevalent at low rpms after I came back off plane. The next day she exhibited the same symptoms at lo rpm , maybe even worse. The boat originally came with a 14x 10 x 1 which was probably adequate with the original engine (which I wish I had). I don't think it was shaft wallop-the shaft bowing under load, but I will check for straightness and wobble / looseness of the shaft in the strut. Anyone have any ways to check?? Do I have to tear it down to see if the bearing is a problem? Please , any and all help is appreciated. Thanks, Roy