Engine - shaft allignment cost?

penbroke

Member
Oct 6, 2006
172
Lake Champlain, VT
Boat Info
Triple Hatch
Engines
Ford/Volvo
Hey everyone! I haven't been around here much since I sold my SeaRay but I am hoping someone could answer this for me. What should I expect to pay to have the yard do an engine / prop shaft alignment on an inboard boat that has easy access all around the engine and transmission area? Any input here would be appreciated.


Thanks,
Frank
 
It took them 4 hours to mine a few years ago. Make sure all the mounting adjustment bolts are clean. I spayed mine with penetrating oil before they did the work.
Boat needs to be in the water and sat for a few days I was told.
 
Getting mine done as soon as some other stuff gets worked on. Beware any SFB knucklehead "mechanic" who tells you that's only necessary on wooden boats. Considering the US Navy and it's well paid engineers consider it mandatory after drydock period for a multi-million dollar US Navy Destroyer, I think they may be on to something. Run Forrest, Run.
 
This is one of those jobs where experience is a great thing. The bolts and nuts are big so t he tendency is to "lay into it", but, in reality, it takes very little to cause a .001" movement at the coupler joint. A lot of the time the mechanic over does it and then spends a huge amount of time correcting his over correction.

In 20+ years, I've aligned our couplers 3-4 times and it usually takes 15-45 minutes, but has taken as long as an hour, for both sides ....and I use a mechanic at the marina that has 25+ years of experience on Sea Ray boats. I could do it myself, but I am afraid of paragraph #1. I'd rather pay the cost than tie up the boat while I learn what he already knows.
 
Do not want to steel your thread but have a related question.
We store our boat on the hard when not in use for 8 months a year. Should I get an alignment each year when I put it in the water?
 
No, as long as the boat is properly blocked when it is stored out of the water. The boat should settle into supporting itself on her own bottom and structure and no alignment should be necessary.

Proper blocking is, however, one big qualification. If your yard stores your boat like a tripod with concrete blocks under each transom corner and another under the keel in the front, you probably will need to have the drive line re-checked when the boat has been back in the water 3-4 days. I'm not going to turn this into a blocking discussion, but there should be adequate blocks and stands used in blocking boats so that the entire weight is spread over the blocks and stands used.
 

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