Replace cutlass bearing on a Beneteau 321

[xiaolun]

Hello,
We are first time boat owners and new here. We searched the forum, but feel a bit overwhelmed. So please let us know if we should have posed the question elsewhere.
We are looking for recommendations of a company in Annapolis area who can replace the cutlass bearing on our 1999 Beneteau 321. The boat is in winter storage in Edgewater. There is a little play in the rudder, so we wonder if we should replace the rudder bearing too.
Many thanks in advance.
Xiaolun & Emmanuel

[tkeithlu]

Welcome to the forum, Xiaolun.

Any yard can do that for you - it's really at the level of whether you prefer that the pros do it or do it yourself.

If you want to do the job yourself, it will become part of your learning your boat. In both cases, you will need to disconnect the shafts at the top ends and drop them (or pull them) out. Then remove and replace the cutless bearings, usually with some set screws to find. In a worst case, you might have to press the bearings out, at which point you probably would want some help. Have you got a yard that has pros, but also will allow you to do your own?

If you choose to let them do the whole job, do watch over their shoulders.

Yes, I would replace the bearing if the rudder wobbles.

[Knotical]

I replaced cutlass bearing on my boat with the help of the following article and advice from other Sabre owners, it’s not that difficult.

https://marinehowto.com/replacing-a-cutlass-bearing-sleeve-bearing/

[tkeithlu]

Hey, guys. Either call it a Cutless bearing (trade name, like Klennex) or a "sleeve bearing," it's common name. It is not a maritime sword.

[Knotical]

Originally Posted by tkeithlu

Hey, guys. Either call it a Cutless bearing (trade name, like Klennex) or a "sleeve bearing," it's common name. It is not a maritime sword.

I guess someone else needs to read the marinehowto article I posted about the controversy between generic cutlass and brand Cutless 😊

[tkeithlu]

Yeah, and half the world has not realized that the word "data" is plural. The singular is "datum," as in one point. How about "healthy food?" Healthy food is alive, not diseased, and probably will object to being eaten. "Healthful food," on the other hand, promotes good health.

[rbk]

This is a job where you pay the pros to do it and the yard help does the work. If they are intending on removing the shaft (which most will) insist you watch. If they start using slide hammers to disconnect your shaft from coupler/transmission stop them immediately and insist someone else complete the work or you may be looking for a new transmission next season. This is not a hard job for a DIY but there are right ways and wrong ways to do everything. You can make a simple press with some ready rod, washers and bolts for about $20 and shouldn’t take that long unless your shaft coupler is a large brown mass.

[xiaolun]

Many thanks for all the helpful suggestions. The yard, Holiday Point Marina, says it’s an easy job. We are too ignorant to judge. The bearing was damaged by some fishing lines; otherwise we might attempt to DIY.

[vw1961]

Hello!

I recently changed it on my Beneteau Oceanis 361.

1) In order to get the shaft out i had to drop the rudder, make sure you can lift the boat high enough or if it is not on concrete make a pit in the ground to lower it. If you have to drop the rudder it might be a good occasion to change the rudder bearings too.

2) On my boat the bearing isnt inside a "skeg" accessible from both sides but its at the end oft a tube coming out of the hull. The bearing was difficult to remove as it was bonded somehow in there. With a slide hammer puller it didnt move at all. Finally managed to get it out with a special hydraulic puller, like a hydraulic jack but with a hole in the middle.

Just for you to consider that it might not be the half an hour job it might initially look like, but i dont know the shaft setup of the 321 so you might be more lucky!

[xiaolun]

Thanks for sharing your experience. The yard told us it would be a small job, a few hundred dollars. That sounds like a reasonable tuition for an intro to boat maintenance. But we read in the books and blogs that there is no small job around boats and all ends up costing thousands.

The yard didn’t think we needed to change the rudder bearing. We wonder if they were right or just being lazy. I ran around shaking all the rudders around us. Some were rock solid; others moved a bit like us.