Strut Repairs

Prop Shaft Strut Replacement
Last winter when my boat was hauled out I addressed the loose strut. I was not about to start tearing out the glassed area above it so instead I drilled three holes on each side from under the hull up into the area where the strut is located.
It appears that the strut is shaped as an inverted Y with the flanges going to either side. I drilled 1/8" holes up through the hull until I actually hit the flanges. I drilled about 3 holes on each side so I could get more epoxy inside with a plastic syringe. I injected the epoxy until it to started to escape out of the other holes. At that time I inserted a small screw into each hole to stop the epoxy from running out.
I was surprised how much of a void there is based on the amount of epoxy I injected in. The next day I removed the screws and filled the dimples with marine putty before the new bottom paint went on. The result is a much stiffer strut with not much work involved.
I would like to see what Catalina suggests for such a repair.
Tom Wilson, Pass Rider, Bainbridge Island, WA

Tom, that seems like an awfully permanent repair. It would be nearly impossible to remove any or all parts of the strut were ever damaged.

Following Contributed by Dietrich Floeter dfloeter@chartermi.net

From: Catalina Yachts Strut Repair.jpg
1.         Remove fiberglass from over nuts inside of hull holding strut in place.
2.         Tighten nuts
3.         Chip away any loose material around strut packing outside hull.
            “V” out joint between hull and filler.
            Remove any loose material, clean and sand exposed area and sand hull around joint approx. 3”.
4.         Fill joint with filler provided, allow to cure.
5.         Sand outside surface smooth.
6.         Glass over filler, overlapping onto hull approx. 3”. Put down mat first and then cloth.
7.         After cure, sand smooth and paint with gel coat provided.
8.            Retighten inside nuts and glass over.

I recently had to replace a cracked and slightly corroded strut on my 1982 C30. Catalina was unable to find a replacement for that year as it seems that around '82 Catalina used a slightly different strut. I eventually had to get one cast from my original. It is an exact copy except that I had the cutlass bearing tube beefed up a bit to prevent future cracking. So for those of you that have that vintage of Catalina with a similar problem, I suggest contacting Marine Hardware in Redmond, Washington for a replacement. Don Starbuck at www.marinehardware,com