prop shaft removal etc!

[aigen]

Hello friends!
It's been two and a half years now since acquiring 'aigen', '78 cd27, still learning the "ropes" of this wonderful life of sailing; the more time I spend with her the sweeter she gets! Absolutely mahvelous vessel. Now, the rest of the story. I finally hauled out. Trying to drop the rudder today, we separated the tranny/shaft flanges and removed the packing and locking nut. Contortion! Question: inside the clamped hose, further aft on the shaft is this other bronze flange which is frozen, preventing us from sliding the shaft out; any suggestions? Apparently it's been spinning with the shaft, it seems, and the shipwright says it shouldn't' and probably just has junk and growth in there; is this one reason why shafts are hard to turn by hand? He left muriatic acid for overnight and plans to use some puller as he will with the prop. Suggestions?

Thanks in advance,
steve

[Paul Grecay]

I am trying to picture what you describe. Is it a flange corroded to the shaft or are you perhaps talking about the nuts of the stuffing box? About this mysterious flange you describe: Is it stainless steel and held to the shaft with set screws? (I am trying to ascertain whether it might be the rotor of a dripless shaft seal). From you description, I can't imagine it. But if it is corroded onto the shaft and if your stuffing box is full of "stuff" I would take the entire thing apart and rebuild it. How to get the shaft out? Cut it apart and have a new shaft made. But first be sure you can't remove the offending flange. If you do end up removing it, I strongly suggest cleaning up the shaft log, pressing in a new cutless bearing, installing a pss dripless seal, and rechecking and if necessary adjusting the alignment.