91 SN shaft strut help!

Got a buddy with a 91 SN. He recently slammed into a massive under-water monster and smoothed every blade on his prop and also BENT the strut that holds his drive-shaft in place. Yes, strut that holds the shaft. It is damn near an inch out of alignment. Has this ever happened to anyone? I have never heard of it and of course was not with him to yell at him after he did it...lol So...now we are trying to pull the strut off of the hull and having difficulties getting the screws out to pull it off. Anyone have any tips?

as said above .. you wiil need two persons one on the boat to secure the nut so when unbolting fron the bottom those nut don´t turn loose...did i made myself clear?
once all the bolts are off you will need to hit the strut until it will come off, as it might by glued to the hull with sealant...
as for the strut they can be straightened..there was a post here were someone even fabricated a a frame and with an hydraulic jack he fixed the strut...
search it here and you´ll find it...

Using another prop shaft through the strut (to bend it back) when it is removed can straighten it. Being accurate is another story. I had a similar problem with my '91 Nautique but the bend on mine was very minimal. If you remove the strut try bolting it to a wall or something very heavy to attempt bending it back. Only a suggestion though, because if your strut is bent over an inch you may want to take it to a shop.

It took me awhile to find it too!

Straightening fixture

8122pbrainard wrote: I highly recommend that you do NOT try to straighten the strut on the boat using anything to apply force/leverage.

Haha, I'm picturing someone with a 10 foot cheater ball with 3 of his buddies hanging on it trying to straighten a strut only to rip a basketball size hole in the bottom of the hull.

SNobsessed wrote: It took a high force with those bottle jacks to move it. Definitely would crack the fiberglass!

Bronze does work harden (get harder when bent) but it's always amazed me the amount of force needed to straighten something out after being bent. You'd think hitting a log or rock in the water would do hull damage. Sometimes it does.

BTW, Yes, I do have a friend who did use a cheater bar method in a pinch, a bunch of his friends jumping on it to straighten his strut. However, it was on his 24' Chis wood hardtop sedan twin screw. Wood gives more than glass!!!!