Can you replace a cutless bearing yourself?

[Jim Fitch]

Do you need to pay the boatyard to use their hydraulic tool to replace the cutless or is there a way to tap out the old one and tap in the new one?

Thanks,

Jim

[Stu Jackson]

Jim

Try this:

http://www.c34ia.org/faq-pages/faq-1-cutless-bearing.html

[Jim Fitch]

Thanks Stu -

Jim

[Ron Hill]

Jim : Stu gave you the way some of us have done it.  
Depending how much the yard wants to charge you, the hydraulic tool will squirt one up(or out of ) the shaft (shaft in place) and press in a new one in about 1/2 hr!!  

[John Langford]

I haven't done it with this boat, but on other boats I have removed the prop, loosened the grub screws on the cutless bearing, found a length of pipe that fits over the shaft and has an o.d. slightly less than the i.d. of the strut opening, and used a hammer to drive the old bearing forward and out of the strut. I would then cut it off with a hack saw. A dremel tool would probably make even lighter work of the cutting. Use the same pipe and hammer to tap the new and well lubricated bearing in from the aft end.

Wouldn't this work on the C34?

[Ron Hill]

John : Your replacing the cuttless technique will work if you have a cutless that is held in place by set screws.  Problem for most of us is, that the strut used by Catalina ( for most of the 1294 MKI's) is a PRESS IN bearing!!  

[John Langford]

Thanks Ron. I didn't realize that the earlier boats used a press fit bearing. Can I assume that my Mk11 (1999) does have one or two set screws? I confess I didn't notice when I hauled the boat for the first time last summer. Perhaps an owner of a Mk11 of similar vintage could let me know.

[Jim Fitch]

Hi John -

Mine is a 1990 and it is a press fit.

Jim

[Roc]

Mine has set screws.