Cursed!!! hitted something

A couple of weekends ago it was the platform...
Now I was out today..excellent conditions...did some footing..then filled the ballast and my buddy had started his wb session....made a couple of jumps..and while underway I hitted what i think was a log..it was below water so I didn't see what was...I kept going as I after hitting it boat felt fine. After a flip my friend falls...
but when taking off again..boat vibrated.not badly but enough to end our ski day.
Checked the prop blades and they felt like are ok..
anyway we decided to return to the marina. Dumped all the water and headed back to shore.
In the marina they put the boat in the lift, and I got to inspect the drive gear..prop looks ok..then i turned the shaft by hand and it wobbles a little bit from strut to prop...

my boating WE is gone...

updates to come....enjoy your WE...

Sheer horror. Sorry to hear that.

Sorry to hear Kap. Hope everything is fine with the boat.

Sebaatian - Maybe just the prop came loose on taper? I had that happen - made a bad vibration, esp. in reverse.

after 2 rounds of fighting with the prop i was able to remove it with a home made clamp style remover..that didn´t hold so much..shaft coupler came out easily with the socket and bolt system..Getting the shaft out was a little challenging as the rudder is almost in the way..had to force it a little bit in order to get it out.
I will probably have a new shaft made and this one straighten out in order to have a spare one.
As I have the thing out, I´ll replace the strut bearing..and here is where I have some questions. The strut barrel is around 6" long, and the 1 piece bearing I bought is 4", problem is the the set screws in the strut are set wider than 4", so I should either drill one new hole, or set the bering closer to one of the screws, and fasten it from one point only? in this case where should the bearing lay, in the middle of the strut, or closer to the input or output side?
Or cut the bearing in half?
My actual bearing is some kind of local made repair as the rubber is directly glued to the inner walls of the strut..I need to figure out how to remove it. I was thinking on using a flat screwdriver, and some heat? But i´m afraid of scoring the inner surface?
What is best method to slide the new bearing in? heat, soap, Rubber mallet?

Kap, the inner of the strut should be smooth before you put the new bearing in.

The device to put the bearing in consist of a threaded rod with 2 strong washers bigger than the strut diameter and 2 nuts, you work on the nuts while driving the bearing in with the washer. while the other one supports from the otherside of the strut.
If you had the strut out you could use a press.

Keep in mind that if you drill a new hole on it for the tiny alen screw but then you would also need a male to make the thread.
If you cut the bearing try to align the water channels on it when you install them.

I have everything back togheter..
Got some pictures of the press used to slide the new strut bearing in..worked really good.
I checked the alligment and it was fine..same gap all around.
shaft was straighten out and prop balanced.
cost of both repairs was $85..
Pior to putting the removable floor panel I will have a test run in order to check everything is ok.

I was also thinking on doing some mods to that panel. As everytime you need to access the shaft coupler to service it out you need to move the rear seat, or in my case the custom made cargo trunk (loaded with some dumbbels and gear)is pia. My idea is to cut the floor panel and make a two piece floor, so to service the shaft I don´t need to lift the rear trunk. Just remove the doghouse hinges and half of the floor..does it sound crazy?

Its definitely a pain to pull that rear panel off- the motorbox, rear seat and any rear panels need to come out first. Your idea would certainly make it easier... but really, if youre not constantly hitting stuff, that panel almost never has to come up. The only real maintenance item under there is the packing- and that hardly ever needs attention. If you split that panel, you'll be left with an unsightly seam in the floor when the rear seat is out.

Just a counterargument!

Congrats, you work fast, I would still be sulking.

Pics, and how does it work?

I saw your plan, sounded interesting. How do you like the results?

OverMyHead wrote: I saw your plan, sounded interesting. How do you like the results?

still to put it back in the boat..
I´ll post some pics in the night of whats done till now.

Looking forward to the pics...

I ended up using a black plastic trim. The joint of the panels is supposed to be 1" below the rear seat so unless removed it won't be visible..