shaft aligment

[lilet]

Hello,
I've got a Nautique 206, 200Hr. I notice that the shaft at the hole in the hull is not in the middle. Is that problem?
Also when I turn around the shaft by hand is a bit stiff but the same through the whole rotation but not as soft as on my
Nautique 200. do you have any recommendations?
thank you in advance

[crobi2]

They are not always perfectly centered in the hole. If the cutless bearing is not wet, it will drag some. V-drives seem to drag more than direct drives. It certainly would not hurt to check the alignment considering what it does to them if they are out of alignment. Lots of threads on here and on CCFan about how to do it and some videos.

[TxHr]

If you spin your prop when it's dry and it doesn't move easily and sounds like a barking dog, alignment is fine.

[lilet]

where can I find these videos?

[crobi2]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=3_w0LvD6gEc

[DanielC]

"If you spin your prop when it's dry and it doesn't move easily and sounds like a barking dog, alignment is fine. "

WRONG!

[TxHr]

"If you spin your prop when it's dry and it doesn't move easily and sounds like a barking dog, alignment is fine. "

WRONG!

Then the head Nautique mechanic at our local dealership that demonstrated this test to must be an idiot. I digress.

[Jono]

Then the head Nautique mechanic at our local dealership that demonstrated this test to must be an idiot. I digress.

Lots of mechanics are idiots. They are not immune. If he's not, he may have been drunk that day. Because spinning a dry cutlass bearing doesn' t sound like a barking dog, it sounds like a midget wearing a latex suit while trying to squeeze into a tight sewage pipe.

All this is no way to confirm proper alignment. The shaft in the cutlass bearing can be misaligned to a large degree compared to how a traditional roller bearing seats. If its out really bad, you'll wear it out over time and the shaft will slop around in the sleeve.
Its correct that the shafts do not always appear to be perfectally centered. But how much are you out? If its really out of center you may want to check for a bent shaft. We whacked a rock recently. I went under with the goggles to check damage and found very minor damage to the prop. So minor that I wasn't even worried about the rush for a replacement, or ending the day for that matter. I couldn't see anything else because the water was so murky. We drove slowly back to the ramp to pull the boat out and check. The boat ran perfect with almost no vibration. I picked up the speed to 20, and there was only a slight feeling of very minor vibration. I would have been the only one to pick up on it. I totally assumed it was from the slight imperfection in the prop. When we pulled out, the strut was bent and the shaft was out of center 3". I couldn't believe the boat ran like it did.
If you want to check your shaft the ghetto way, spin it and keep an eye on the through hull and see if it stays in the same spot. To check for lesser bends, you just clamp a dial indicator to your strut. If the shaft was ever replaced from a whack, I'd check it.

[lilet]

the shaft is not in the center but when I spin it, it stays in the same spot. the boat is new, I first put it in the water a month ago but it has already 230hr under professional use. My engineer told me that the shaft doesn't need to be centered as long as the alignment is fine.