Stuffing box wobble = shaft bent?

[BentP]

Misalignment, likely, or a bend shaft, unlikely. In my previous boats that kind of wobble was always a matter of misalignment...so maybe try that first, like you allready have decided.

[Lake-Effect]

Originally Posted by SkiprJohn

Stalling the engine with a line wrap should not have bent your shaft. That's very unlikely.

It all depends on boat size, speeds (shaft RPM, VOG), what sort of rope, angle of pull, and whether it was attached to anything...

I saw one case where a 30'-ish boat caught a rope and the total damage was a bent propshaft, some torn motor mounts and a bent strut. Sh!t happens...

[SkiprJohn]

Originally Posted by Lake-Effect

It all depends on boat size, speeds (shaft RPM, VOG), what sort of rope, angle of pull, and whether it was attached to anything...

I saw one case where a 30'-ish boat caught a rope and the total damage was a bent propshaft, some torn motor mounts and a bent strut. Sh!t happens...

He did say the engine was at idle. That's why I think it unlikely.

[FSMike]

Originally Posted by sailorchic34

Sounds like you need to align the engine with the drive shaft.

Inboard Engine Alignment - Frequently Asked Questions - eBasicPower.com

What sailorchic said is right (as usual lol).

[appick]

Hi all thanks for all your advice and thoughts. To answer a few questions that were asked... The line that was wrapped up on the prop was a three strand nylon dinghy painter line. It was attached to the dinghy and a cleat at the time and we were at idle. Boat speeds were under 2knt, engine probably at less than 800rpm. On to the good news...

After some playing around with the shaft and coupling, I finally was able to remove the coupling from the back of the engine, I used some wood and string to set the shaft in as new center of the stuffing box and cutlass bearing as I could get. I measured around on between the coupler and it was all very close in tolerance. I then took a closer look at my coupler and here is where the problem was. It at some point in it's past had a second set screw drilled and tapped into it. After playing with these two set screws the wobble in the shaft totally went away... So it looks like the coupler where the shaft goes in is worn out and someone tried to make up for it by adding a second set screw to help hold the shaft in the center... It runs smoothly now, I'll replace the coupler this fall I suppose. Thanks again for all the advice. On the plus side I've gained about 1.5knts to my cruise speed for the same engine rpm with my new prop, nice and smooth! The boat at close to full throttle will do over 7.5knts! Woo hoo that's almost getting up on plane right? Eat your heart out Mcgregor owners!