Shaft alignment in the water

"I have been reading everythin

"I have been reading everything I can get my hands on about engine alignments. I get it now, the concept is not that complicated but no doubt will be tedious.

A recurring theme has been doing the alignment only after the boat has been in the water for a few days. My starboard shaft is almost centered but the port side is just touching the shaft log (1.25" shaft in a 2.25" log).

I don't see any wear though so I'm starting to think I should heed this advise. I also didn't have any vibration issues.

Without doing some before/after measurements there's really just no way to know how much the boat geometry has changed. Maybe the port side would be fine once it settled?

Al, I know you went through this but had shaft log wear which isn't true in my case. Did you do a rough alignment on the hard and then final in the water?

I really like "seeing" the shaft location now which of course I loose once the shaft log is installed. Finding the midpoint doesn't seem that difficult though.

Would you guys just wait and do it all at once in the water?


Bob"

""I get it now, the concep

""I get it now, the concept is not that complicated but no doubt will be tedious."

So True! Yes we did thealignment on the hard but then about 1 week later, when in the water we rechecked and had to fine tune one side a pinch, the other seemed very good.

The problem I see in the water (and I know they do it in the water) I used small wedges in teh new shaft logs to center the shaft as Mark had suggested to me. That held it all in place while we beat the engine into position. Then by slight UP/DOWN adjustment with the motor mounts, it came to be.

You won't loose position if you are viewing if from the outside under the boat. You may even be able to see it until you slip the hose cover on."

"Just understand that the shaf

"Just understand that the shaft position needs to be driven by the cutlass, not the engine or shaft log. If on the hard with shaft out, one could use a laser and see how the cutlass lines up with the log. If it is off too much, obviously, no engine reposition will fix that."

"Bob:

Like DD said, you ha

"Bob:

Like DD said, you have to get the strut (cutlass) in the correct position (nominally) or the whole process won't deliver the desired end result. It is very possible you will need to move the strut. I found one of mine was 'off' from the factory. (Not uncommon for a newer design with a crew still green.)

This link may help give you an idea of what's required:

http://www.bertram31.com/proj/struts/struts.htm"