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Last summer the boat had a lot of excessive vibration when underway and we've been working with the boat yard on correcting the issues.

We're in the process of replacing the cutlass bearing and the feathering propeller is being sent off for reconditioning (the yard has indicated that inside the housing is worn and the blades are no longer as secure as they should be).  As part of this process, the yard used a dial indicator on the prop shaft and found a slight bend of .025.  However, they've stated this is within the allowable spec of .030, so replacing it is a toss up.  I am a tad confused as Mainesail's comment in the following thread indicates a much smaller margin if I understand correctly:

http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,2834.msg39289.html#msg39289

Can anyone clarify?  Or have some advice on whether to replace the prop shaft or not at this time?  The current shaft is stainless steel of some sort, so someone replaced the original bronze shaft at some point in time (maybe when the feathering prop was put on?).

My second question concerns the coupling.  I've read threads on this board and others, but it's unclear to me whether it's worth spending more for a flexible coupling at this time or whether the rigid will suffice.  For the rigid coupling, does it matter if the coupling is OEM or will one of the aftermarket couplings work fine (there seems to be a considerable cost difference between the two)?  In terms of the flexible coupling, is the Federal Marine flexible coupling still the recommended route?  For folks that have replaced the coupling, would they make a different choice than the one they made?  Please note that there is a PSS installed. 

Any insight into the above questions is greatly appreciated.

[DID NOT]

Three other guys & myself purchased a 1988 Catalina 34 in the Fall of 2016.  The information that we found on this board was invaluable throughout the process and we're very thankful to all contributors.  Unfortunately, we've come across an issue that need some advice on... 

The boat DID NOT have a Catalina "Smile" and had many of the critical upgrades that we could see completed plus an owner that was very aware of this board/critical upgrades, which is a big reason we purchased this particular boat.  However, there were two unusual streaks mid-keel that looked almost like a rust or epoxy stain.  The surveyor did not detect any moisture there so she thought it was ok and the previous owner indicated that he filled pinholes in that area with six-ten epoxy per the advice of a local Catalina dealer.  Although the area bulged out slightly, I simply attributed that to a poor epoxy job and we ended up purchasing the boat.  I didn't think much of it until over the winter when the area split open vertically.  I have since ground the area out to gain a better view and discovered a large vertical crack in the actual lead.  You can see epoxy in the cracks, which leads me to believe that the previous owner filled more than just pin holes...

While researching the issue, I came across this White Paper from MarsKeel:
https://marskeel.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Keel_Repair_White_Paper.pdf

The casting deterioration section in the white paper that describes the lead keel swelling seems applicable to me.  My read of it is that at least part of the crack goes straight to the keel bolt, so at least this keel bolt is compromised and likely to get worse next winter should the boat be stored outside again.  Consequently, we are trying to determine what our next steps should be.  Any advice as to possible solutions (short & long term) is appreciated.  Ideally, we would like to sail the boat this summer and attack any long term fix next fall while the boat is on the hard for the winter.

I've attached pictures of the areas in question back in the fall for perspective, this Spring before grinding, after grinding from afar, and a close up of the crack.  (Please note that you may have to rotate some of the pictures as the rotation appeared different depending upon the program that I used to view the image -- the crack & streaks run vertical as far as orienting the picture)  Other information that might be pertinent is that the boat has been in freshwater its entire life as far as we know.  The farthest front and back keel bolts have some surface rust on them but the middle ones are all clean.

Any insight is greatly appreciated and thanks again to all who contribute here.