J/30 Class Association Forums J/30 Forum The Boat, Sails and Equipment Hull #310 needs a new strut

Ahoy Gang,

While performing a bottom job I noticed the strut was loose and after removing it and cleaning it up and removing the cutlass bearing I have been advised to replace the strut. Any suggestions on where to obtain one at a reasonable cost?

Thanks,

What was that advice based on? corrosion, cracks ? Pretty sturdy piece.

There is a place called Bristol Bronze in Tiverton, RI that can cast a new part, if you provide the old one. Roger Winiarski is the owner and gave a presentation to our YC a couple years back. He can use the old strut to make a mold. He brought many samples of parts that had been cast as replacement fittings and fixtures for both classic and modern boats. Contact info is on their website. Contact him and see what he can do for you.

I had to replace my strut a couple of years ago. It was bent when by the lifting strap when the boat yard put the boat back in the water. I wasn't there to supervise; they were ahead of schedule and splashed the boat a couple of hours early.

There is no source for the original equipment strut; the manufacturer when out of business long ago. I talked to a bunch of helpful people at J/Boats, TPI, and even the last owner of the company that built the original struts.

I had a strut fabricated through the Prop Doctor in Key West. Dan Ross (Proptologist) does a great job on props and shafts in the Keys. His email is propdrkw@gmail.com. Dan used a shop in Miami to fabricate the strut. I have J-30 hull #363 - 3/4 inch shaft on a Yanmar 2GM. The Machine Works part number 19064 was used as the baseline strut. We used the strut info on the J-30 spec info as reference.

Strut: Cast bronze installed in molded recess in hull. Pertinent I.O.R. dimensions as follows: ST 1 = 18mm, ST 2 = 70mm, ST 3 = 79mm
Other: I.O.R. dimensions:
ESC = 201mm
ESL = 670mm
PRD = 356mm
Reference: J/30 Class Rules and I.O.R Mark III

I also replace the shaft at the same time—I stayed with the ¾ inch rather than add more difficultly to the job.

To answer the questions:
1. The strut was loose when inspected during haulout, and the hull had cracks in the perimeter where it was bedded. After removing it and having it sand blasted by a marine services professional, it was revealed that it had serious pitting in the area surrounding the cutlass bearing. I agree it is a hefty piece,even with pitting. I can take some pictures if that would help.
2. I took it to a local propeller shop today and they advised replacement. They have a resource for one made of stainless.

Beware of using stainless below the waterline due to corrosion properties of stainless in salt water without oxygen. You can Google this further, but here is a good quote:

Crevice Corrosion - this is a problem with stainless fasteners used in seawater applications, because of the low PH of salt water. Chlorides pit the passivated surface, where the low PH saltwater attacks the exposed metal. Lacking the oxygen to re-passivate, corrosion continues. As is signified by its name, this corrosion is most common in oxygen restricted crevices, such as under a bolt head.

There is a reason that bronze is used for propellers, hull fittings, etc.

roger, roger ... pits.
Vee Jay 2 must have had POs run over chain. the pivot pin on the prop was bent and near impossible to remove ... close inspection by martec revealed stress cracks in the blades ... but no noticeable damage to the strut or prop hub. And that is a lot of shock.

the strut does tend to flex at the hull and we periodically have to rebed or re fair the joint between strut and hull.

Hey ... take the pictures ... love to see definition of serious pitting around the cutlass bearing that could lead to failure of that specific part predictable in the next couple of years. took 25 years to pit to that point?

Also check out parts potential at http://www.waterlinesystems.com

they have the old parts manager from TPI I think.

Never noticed this before. from the 1984 production run.

Machine Works at Essex appears to have disappeared?

As Bill pointed out here... no SS under water ... Problem when boatyard uses SS for Prop shaft keys.