Stuck propellor

[ACW]

Hi. I have a Beneteau 46.1. She is now out of the water after the first season and I want to take off the propellor to install a rope cutter on the sail drive shaft. I cannot take the cone off that is immediately in front of propellor. Once off the propellor should then just slide off and then II can insert the rope cutter.

I have taken off the 2 nuts holding the cone in place and then jammed a piece of wood under the propellor to stop it from turning ( I cannot just engage gear as I have electronic throttle) and inserted a screwdriver in the cone to try to turn cone anti clockwise. I also tried tapping the cone with a hammer to try loosening it. It is stuck. Any suggestions pls? Much appreciated if you have any.

[SailingHarmonie]

Originally Posted by ACW

Hi. I have a Beneteau 46.1. She is now out of the water after the first season and I want to take off the propellor to install a rope cutter on the sail drive shaft. I cannot take the cone off that is immediately in front of propellor. Once off the propellor should then just slide off and then II can insert the rope cutter.

I have taken off the 2 nuts holding the cone in place and then jammed a piece of wood under the propellor to stop it from turning ( I cannot just engage gear as I have electronic throttle) and inserted a screwdriver in the cone to try to turn cone anti clockwise. I also tried tapping the cone with a hammer to try loosening it. It is stuck. Any suggestions pls? Much appreciated if you have any.

A photo would help….

[ACW]

Hi. Thks for the ask. I didn’t take a photo when I was on the boat today but will take one when I am next down. In the meantime here is a stock photo from the owners manual, hope it’s clear enough but it’s not great clarity.

[Pete7]

Wrap a hand towel around the prop and pour a pan of boiling water on it slowly so it heats up for a good 10 minutes.

Pete

[ACW]

Thank you. I will try that.

[SailingHarmonie]

It’s very hard to see, in the photo, but does that cone have a “bent tab” lockwasher between it and the prop?

[stormalong]

You need a wheel puller like this:

https://www.amazon.com/Performance-T...4QAvD_BwE&th=1

Load up some force on it. If the prop does not let go uniformly heat the propeller hub with a propane torch with the puller is in place with force on it. By uniformly I mean rotate the prop and heat the hub as you turn it. At some point the prop should pop loose. Don't be shy with the force applied with the puller or the heat.

PS. My mistake I thought you wanted to pull the prop, not the zinc.

The zinc has probably welded itself to the shaft. If the nuts are off and it does not move gently tap on the side of it, near the prop as you rotate the prop. At some point it should come loose. You may have to destroy the zinc to get it off.

Also, put the two nuts back on, lock them together and try to turn the threaded rod out of the propeller shaft.

Is that a saildrive? Get an exploded view of the drive and look at how it is put together.

[roryboy]

Someone probably installed the cone without the plastic spacer between the cone and the prop. It may be tightened metal to metal ( aluminum to aluminum ). Insert a long hard bolt thru the cone and jam a wood block between hull and prop and knock the mess out of the bolt end with a big hammer. install with grease and a new plastic washer.

[Searles]

That cone anode will have the prop nut inside the casting,the unit may need to be removed as one unit,use a wood or rubber mallet to robustly tap the anode part ,with the stud down the middle indicates it will pull clear of the prop nut .⚓️⛵️

[skipperpete]

No cone anode, no hitting with a hammer, its a saildrive and you’re in dangerous territory here. The aluminium prop retaining cone nut has a helicoil inside and at this point you risk breaking off the threaded end of the propeller shaft if its seized inside the cone nut. The question about the locking tab is reasonable, are there flats on the base of the cone to allow a tabwasher? unfortunately the rubber hub in the standard saildrive fixed prop absorbs the shock load to undo the nut and under some circumstances its possible to get the prop to turn on the normally tight rubber hub…. Thats not good. Proceed with caution and good luck. Oh, you can engage the saildrive manually at the gearbox, there’s a selector, not a solenoid.

[fstbttms]

Originally Posted by stormalong

You need a wheel puller like this:

Not on a saildrive prop he doesn't

[stormalong]

Originally Posted by fstbttms

Not on a saildrive prop he doesn't

OK, without a good picture I was thinking conventional prop.

[fstbttms]

Originally Posted by SailingHarmonie

It’s very hard to see, in the photo, but does that cone have a “bent tab” lockwasher between it and the prop?

It does not. Here is the attachment hardware:

[fstbttms]

Originally Posted by skipperpete

Oh, you can engage the saildrive manually at the gearbox, there’s a selector, not a solenoid.

The saildrive must be in neutral when torquing any of the nuts or the cone. Damage to the clutch is likely otherwise.

[Shrew]

Two tools will fix this problem properly......

1) Telephone

2) Credit Card

Be careful. You don't know. It doesn't look like you have a manual with a blow out. You're getting a lot of misdirection in this thread that you're going to need to sift through. Much of it, more expensive than my solution.