“I spent another hour crouched over my engine, and…”

I spent another hour crouched over my engine yesterday, with very satisfactory results. With minimal effort, the shaft slid out of the coupling, and I pulled it out of the stern tube. Whew! The water-proof grease applied to the shaft during reassembly two years ago really paid off.

I slipped the first spacer between the halves and easily pushed the shaft out of the coupling 3/8 of an inch, as I pulled down all four bolts in sequence. After loosening the bolts and backing off the coupling with the additional space provided by 3/8 inch, I slipped a longer spacer between the halves.

READ MORE