P-Bracket (Strut) Damaged

[bobs]

Not sure if this the right spot to fire away , but i'll try anyway.

During my Meditarrenean trip i've stumbled upong some drifting ropes.
And yes , my propellor caught it with devastating consequences.



a similar rope turned 3 times around the shaft between the cutless bearing part and the rope cutter.
The P- bracket was therefor pushed aside ripping the fixture inside the boat.



You can notice that the front part of glass-in structure was somewhat lifted up , breaking the fix.




cracks in close up.
The boat is on the hard now , but water was creeping through the cracks.




I cleaned up the aria around the strut.
There is no damage on the outside by the looks of it


Now the question(s) , can anyone please tell how the P-bracket is glassed in. Meaning , what is that solid block inside made of ? Is that a block of wood wood covered with fiberglass that is fixed onto the hull ? Or is that an epoxy paste of some sort.
And is how is the P-bracket attached to that block ?
Would , after grinding the block and the surroundings , installing extra fiberglass be a sufficient repair ?

Oh yes , the sailing boat is a jeanneau 40 sun oddyssey

Thanks for the suggestions.

[bobs]

Sofar no respons , is my problem that unique ?

[Laidback]

Originally Posted by bobs

The P- bracket was therefor pushed aside ripping the fixture inside the boat.
You can notice that the front part of glass-in structure was somewhat lifted up , breaking the fix.
The boat is on the hard now , but water was creeping through the cracks.
I cleaned up the area around the strut.
There is no damage on the outside by the looks of it

Hi,
To start off,
From the above, are we to understand that on the outside the P-Bracket is not damaged and is properly lined up on the propeller shaft?
Is the propeller shaft bent? have you checked, by putting the gearbox in neutral and turning the propeller?
If the shaft is bent or is misaligned - then this must be rectified before tackling the P-Bracket. - you may also need to check the engine mountings.
---
Ok - if the above issues have taken care of satisfactorily -
Then the fibreglass reinforced 'box' that contains the head section of the P-Bracket must be opened and re-glassed - preferably with an epoxy resin.

[bobs]

Hi Laidback,

indeed, there is no damage at the strut , the shaft is not bent and the alignment is still ok.
I was thinking of reinforcing the box on the front hoping this would fix everything back again.
Not sure if this will be enough though.

[Laidback]

If I was you (which I'm not) and with the belief that the shaft is Not bent or misaligned, then I would do the following :-
insert a small hydraulic jack above the head of the "P-Bracket" "box and if possible compress it until the 'cracks around the "box" close, then I would grind away the area and its surrounds and re-glass with epoxy resin - and build up a substantial fillet around the base.

[KestrelBuck]

This past spring I had my shaft and engine re-aligned, so have some limited experience with the subject. With respect to your problem, and in reverse order:
1. How many hours did you put on the engine after the line wrap? If the shaft became misaligned due to the wrap then there will be play in the cutless. You can discover this by noticing the vibration at your feet when underway or by working the shaft by hand when the boat is out of the water.
2. The only way to see if the shaft and engine are properly aligned is to undo the coupling at the transmission and check the gap between the plates all the way around with a feeler gauge. You can look it up, but the gap is measured in the thousandths (like less than 3) of an inch. After the boat has been back in the water for a few days you should check it again.
3. If there are visible water weeping cracks on the interior side of the strut mount then you can be sure that there is damage on the outside, regardless of what your eyes tell you. If the interior cracks have not closed enough to make them invisible then you can be sure that the shaft and engine are no longer aligned.
4. The builder can tell you how the strut assembly was put together.

[bobs]

Thanks for the respons sofar.

About the hours on the engine after my encounter , I can tell you that the incident happened to me half the trip. Meaning that I was still able to use the engine and freewheeling the prop while sailing for about 3000 miles.
There is no play on the cutless bearing whatsoever.
That's why I would rather think the damage is somewhat minimal.

In regards to contacting the builder , mmmmm , ...jeanneau never answers any questions coming from customers.
Been there , done that.

Greatings

Ps:
Laidback , good idea using a jack to compress the cracks.
One to remember.