1977 GB36 CL Single screw - remove/reinstall shaft

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djewell

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 2, 2013
Messages
26
Location
USA
Vessel Name
Belle
Vessel Make
Grand Banks 36 CL
We hit a submerged log and damaged prop and shaft. Boat is now on hard. Need to find good instructions on removing and reinstalling the shaft so it can be straightened. Shaft is stainless steel, 1.5" dia. BTW, I have a good shop to fix the shaft and prop.



Any suggestions?
 
I'm not familiar with that boat in single screw, but I assume the shaft will not clear the rudder? If not you'll have to drop the rudder making it a much bigger job. I have no idea how to do that on your boat. Inside the boat you remove the four coupling bolts and slide the shaft back as far as you can. Look inside the coupler, if there's a big nut in there holding the shaft in you've lucked out. With the nut removed (and any set screws, there shouldn't be any) with a few good hammer taps on the body of the coupler it should pop off. If there's no nut it's a press fit on the shaft and can be very hard to remove. Remove all set screws, cross pins, and anything else holding the coupler on. Give it a couple taps, if it comes off very easily it's probably shot and you need a new shaft and coupler. If it's tight you'll have to get creative. Most common is to make a jacking plate which is like a dummy coupler which you bolt onto the shaft coupler with a spacer in between that forces the shaft out. A wrench socket a little smaller than the shaft works well. This won't be easy. You could just use longer bolts and the trans side of the coupler, but you risk bending it's flange. That would be very bad, I don't do it that way. Some pros just use a sawzall and cut the shaft. The labor to remove the coupler can cost more than replacing it and the shaft. If you knew you were replacing the shaft anyway, by all means just cut it. Takes 20 minutes. You might want to consider that, there's no guarantee the shaft can be straightened or that it will stay straight. Bending it once has already weakened it.
 
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I have pulled off a few using the plate and a socket. Isn’t hard to do but it may take some effort. I had one coupler that I couldn’t get back on after removing it. A friend put it on his lathe and found it got .007” smaller on one end. He cleaned it up and it went right back on. Our current boat has a nut on the transmission end but I haven’t tried taking it off yet, next winter…. If it is the press on coupler you will likely need a piece of 3/8” steel plate the size of the coupler. Drill holes in the steel that line up with the coupler holes and buy an assortment of bolts to fit. As you press the coupler off you will need progressively longer bolts and longer sockets to put inside to push on the shaft.
 
Depending on your rudder construction you may be able to bore a hole for shaft removal through the rudder so you don't need to remove the shoe and rudder. I have a fiberglass rudder with the shaft passing all the way down through the rudder to the shoe so I can't do that, or I would.

Then you can disconnect the rudder post and turn it 90 degrees and slide the shaft out through the hole in the rudder. Sometimes removing the shoe (if you have one) is a bigger job than pulling the rudder.
 

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