Prop key way is sheered

Ok I'll grab a fit full of them and see what the tightest one is I can get on by removing the pulley and or pivot points.

BaccoBouncer wrote: Ok I'll grab a fit full of them and see what the tightest one is I can get on by removing the pulley and or pivot points.

You're being a HACK !!!!!
You're going through all this Shiit because you're either to lazy or just don't want to do a little more work to make it right!!!!
Go under the boat move the front of the strut a 1/8" to the right and the rear of the strut 1/8" left and I would bet all will fit as it's supposed too!!!
And yes I'm yelling   

If the shaft is somewhat centered in the hole on the bottom of the hull and also centered in at the log in the bilge then there is no strut problem.

You'd be safe sanding some of the engine cradle edge down for a little extra clearance too.

I would be continuing as you've planned. Remove the alternator and sneak in the smallest belt you can. Then go boating.

You could have a Friday boat where everything was never perfectly aligned from the start.

gun-driver wrote: PETE I can't believe you aren't going nut's over this because it's driving me nuts

I AM going nuts over the issue as well and I even mentioned it to Adam before Al did!!!!

8122pbrainard wrote: Adam, It was suggested but I don't recall if you ever checked if your strut was bent or off center causing the aft end of the shaft to be off center? If so , you could still get the shaft centered in the log but due to the angle of the shaft, it causes the engine to sit on an angle and off center as well. This could be the problem with you needing the extra adjustment on the forward engine mount? Get a measurement from each side at the chine to the shaft.

The bent out of aligned strut came up way back but it seems someone has headed in his own direction and not listening to our suggestions/comments!   

If the shaft is going through the log straight it makes absolutely no difference if the strut is bent. The cutlass holds the shaft and points it through the log. The "web" of the strut can be an S for all I care it is only there to connect the cutlass to the hull, via the base of the strut. The base bolts to the hull. The strut simply connects the shaft to the hull.

Pete asked and I've also commented on the shaft being centered THROUGHOUT the log, not just where it pokes through in the bilge.

I sure hope that while BuckingBronco was laying under the hull reattaching the strut he would have noticed if the shaft is now hard to one side of the hole in the hull from underneath and poking out hard to port in the bilge. Obviously this is what DrCC an gun-driver are assuming.

Please confirm things look good from underneath too. If so, he simply has a poorly installed log or stringers, or both. OP also mentioned all settings looked factory.

Pete always says alignment starts at the strut but I say it starts at the log. The log is the one thing that doesn't move.

Why do Mommy and Daddy fight so much. Is it because of me?

To clear up any concerns that I am totally retarded.
I shimmed the strut with two washers in back so that it was centered top to bottom in the log.
I actually attached the couplings together loosely (shaft attached to the tranny). When I put the strut back in so that the cutlass axis was pointing exactly at the tranny coupling center. I did this while making sure the motor was adjusted so that the shaft was centered left to right in the log. The only axis left to align then was the angle of parallelism between the shaft coupling and the motor coupling.
To do this the back of the motor had to be adjusted port a smidge more and there was no more smidge to be had unless the alternator belt was willing to take a smidge more slack.
Additional observations. The log coming through the hull does not look particularly straight. The aluminum motor frame is already chewed up from the alternator.
It is feasible that some employee getting a *************** low wage and has assembled the thousandth one of these boats and is also wondering if his wife is banging the boy scouts troop leader because she keeps going on the camping trips and they don't have a son in boy scouts, put the log in a bit off and decided to fix it only if the motor couldn't be shifted over far enough to compensate. It was barely marginal when he checked the coupling gap, who the hell is going to notice the shaft couplings are .004 off and *************** it it's almost quitting time, I'm going to go get drunk and pretend this is just jock itch. Fast forward 20 years and I'm in my driveway wondering why the hell I got into boating and there is an 8 year old who thinks her dad is lame.
I'm just trying to mitigate the "lame part" at this point.
We'll make it perfect over the winter I promise.... even if I have to pull out the log.

Hollywood wrote: Pete always says alignment starts at the strut but I say it starts at the log. The log is the one thing that doesn't move.

Kevin,
It's all in how it's worded. I always say it starts at the strut because it is adjustable and the log isn't I mention starting at the strut since there are many out there that will do an engine alignment to shaft only not realizing their shaft could be out of parallel with the hull. This thread is a good example of the parallelism problem!

Hey when the "Grand Poobah's" collectively advise.......
So now where do I start?

Thankfully you didn't use 5200...

Is it me or does it twisted in his hand? The web looks concaved.

Sure looks twisted to me, but hey it's just a photo on the 'net.

I checked mine by establishing a long centerline on big pc of paper. Center base of strut (using mounting holes) on line. Using your square check shaft bore against line. I think I had to use the cutlass to project rear bore past strut base, IIRC.

Adam,
I feel grinding the draft off the bottom will give you a better shot at measuring.

Glad you see you are doing it right. What made you change your mind not to run it as is?

Enjoy it now, when she is in her early teens you will be the one with the adoption papers in your backpack, lmao, trust me on that!!

Sounds like you are heading down the home stretch, good job, Happy Endings are great!!