Logo
FULL SITE MENU

strut shims - anyone sell them?

B

bobct

Advanced Contributor
I dropped my strut off and the shop is going to tweak it to one side after taking some measurements with a feeler gauge. I have a gap of around .20 now.

When I reinstall, I know I'll need some shims. Does anyone sell them in fiberglass? If I had a handful of varying thickness on hand it would make it a lot easier.

Should I be using something else besides fiberglass? I assume wood is out because it will compress plus worrying about water absorption.


thanks
Bob
 
I do like the idea of being able to remove the SS shims if needed. I don't think I'll be doing this again but you never know.

What's a good source for thin SS sheets? Do they come in bronze? That way I wouldn't have to worry about contact with the strut and/or bolts.

Bob
 
Glass is quick and easy. Stainless is great if you have an exact dimension you need to shim and the shim is flat (No wedge needed) or a milling machine on site. Either way you will be sanding down some gelcoat and glass even with shims to get it aligned.
 
BOB..is there a way you could use ss fender washers and place what you need between the hull and foot of the strut,then bed the foot with 5200 when you get it right, or close enough,the 5200 will form its own wedge when it hardens. I did my pacemaker like that about 10 years ago and it worked out fine....Lee
 
5200

I use 5200 to glue in a small bilge pump I placed far forward in the bilge, under the
cabin floor. Since it is in water most of the time, I can easily peel it off when needed.
I do not think it is very solid/firm underwater. Could be I was just lucky...
 
Re: 5200

bulletine said:
I use 5200 to glue in a small bilge pump I placed far forward in the bilge, under the
cabin floor. Since it is in water most of the time, I can easily peel it off when needed.
I do not think it is very solid/firm underwater. Could be I was just lucky...
Click to expand...

I think you are confusing 4200 and 5200.
 
When I replaced the backing plates on ours, They had copper strips under the struts. They varied in thickness and were about 8-9 inches long and 1 " wide. Despite their very thin appearance, they were somewhat rigid and stacked together to create the needed thickness.
 
Funny thing is that even after what is probably 25 + years in the water, they were only just dark colored and in perfect condition. Maybe they were thin bronze ???
 
Back
Top