Cut/drill hole for prop shaft?

[andreas.mehlin]

A thought crossed my mind to replace saildrive with a shaft. But...how do I make the hole for it? Do I need to setup a drill jig, or can I cut out a rectangular piece and fill with epoxy and glass?

[Pete7]

Sheesh, do you like living in a board yard? I would leave well alone or even buy a new sail drive if needed rather than muck about changing to a shaft.

If you do, make sure the shaft is offset slightly so that the shaft can be drawn out past the rudder.

Pete

[atoll]

Originally Posted by andreas.mehlin

A thought crossed my mind to replace saildrive with a shaft. But...how do I make the hole for it? Do I need to setup a drill jig, or can I cut out a rectangular piece and fill with epoxy and glass?

as the boat is a trimaran i am assuming the boat has no keel,and barn door type rudder arrangement.

then the prop shaft will be exiting the underside of the hull in front of the rudder and skeg arrangement.

for engine alignment without having to use a CV joint and thrust bearing arrangement the prop shaft is best aligned between 8-12 degrees from horizontal.

so you will probably will be cutting a long oval hole in the boat,inserting a fiberglass tube then laminating this in position.
depending on how you intend on supporting the shaft you may also need a "P" or "Y" bracket.