GrandpaSteve
Sustaining Member
Does anyone know if you have to drop the rudder on a 32-3 to replace the cutless bearing?
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If you or the yard can press the bearing out with the proper tool, it can be done with the shaft and rudder in place. My yard was unable, as the old cutlass started to deform rather than slide out. Which wasn’t all bad; I also got some rudder repairs done, had the shaft shortened 2”, cleaned a lot of the steering components, and put new bronze bearings in the steering cable sheaves. The cost did go up considerably, but I hope to never remove the rudder again.You need a cutlass press designed to do the job, but it's a fairly common job.
This is correct, the yard says no need to pull the shaft. I am going to have the yard do the job.Wait, I just reread your post. You shouldn't have to remove the shaft to replace the cutlass, so removing the rudder to remove the shaft shouldn't be a problem. You need a cutlass press designed to do the job, but it's a fairly common job. Of course, there's s a pile of things that could go wrong on a 30 year old boat, so the comment on a contingency plan still stands, but there may be a little brighter light at the end of the shaft log.