Marinette Boat Forum

Bummer, during the summer, hit a sandbar between Bay Point and Cedar Point on Lake Erie. Anyone familiar with the area know that the bar is constantly shifting and this summer was closer to the Sandusky Bay channel than I thought. At any rate, spent 800 bucks fixing the props and found that now have to replace the shafts as well. But that is not the concern, as what I discovered was the strut/cutlass bearing on the starboard side was not perpendicular to the shaft. The strut was replaced by the previous owner because he had grounded once too (this is her second set of props and shafts). Anyway, it looks as if the strut was not welded properly square when it was manufactured. The shaft is extremely hard to turn, which is likely the reason the starboard engine had to labor so hard to match the RPM's of the port. I was going to simply install the new shaft and cut and re-weld the cutlass square again. But... was wondering if anyone knew the grade/type of aluminum MIG wire to use, was afraid of the strut turning into a sacrificial anode after I weld it!! Anyone ever had an existing strut or weld repairs to the hull?

That seems tricky. Though it might be hard to source a new strut you may find that easier—someone parting out an old M or even having a new one fabricated—mighty be the shorter route. I bent my starboard strut on a submerged log, bought a new one from John Althouse and it was still labor intensive to install with shims and realigning the engine.

I hope this is helpful.

Good luck!