Trellex-Morse Shaft Bearing (Morse#DOGFISH) 

Removal was difficult, I have replaced the bearing once before around 1994 so it is 10 years old. The inside end of the old bearing would not hold the puller. In the end I slid several bronze washers (which were a snug fit to the stern tube) taped together down the stern tube and then used a slide hammer to tap the old cutless bearing out.

To achieve this I had to remove the V-Drive, the coupling off the inside of the shaft, the drip less packing system, the rudder, and the propeller shaft. I used the extendable boat hook to push the washers and nut down the tube taped to the boat hand hold end of the boat hook. The slide hammer was rented from Kracken Automotive which will loan many tools for 24 hours for a deposit which is returned if the tool is returned on time!

Reinstalling the new cutless bearing was accomplished with a soft rubber mallet.

This diagram is a cutaway of the picture to the right. It shows how the cutless bearing is installed into the aft end of the stern tube. An interesting benefit of this type of installation is that even if the stuffing box was to fail completely the amount of water which enters the vessel through the stern tube is much less than might otherwise be expected. The cutless bearing is a relatively tight fit to the shaft with cuts in it to allow lubrication of the bearing surface against the shaft.

New Cutless Bearing pressed into stern tube

The Cutless bearing on Botany Bay uses a water injection system to keep sea water flowing through the bearing. This water is provided by teeing off the raw water before injecting it into the exhaust system.