Replacement Cutless Bearing for Albin 25

[androbran]

I recently picked up a classic Albin 25 and have been going through it slowly starting on the Volvo 2003 motor. Now I'm onto the 30mm shaft and have found that there was wear on the shaft where the cutlass bearing was located. I have cleaned up the shaft and now am ready to install a new cutlass bearing. However, this is unlike any cutlass bearing I've ever seen. It has a rubber bushing on the outside of the bearing - I can get my hands on a 30mm cutlass bearing no problem, but where to I get the rubber bushing for this? Can I buy it separately and add on to the new bearing or do I get it as a pre-made package?
Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[jcamill55]

Did you buy the Albin in la Conner on a trailer

[androbran]

I just bought 'Gladness' from a guy that had it in storage for over 2 years in Mount Vernon. I'm happy you got the Turtle II, I looked at her too and she's a fantastic vessel! But this cutlass bearing issue is really bogging me down....

[jcamill55]

I was on my way to look at your boat when you bought it , Jim

[RobS]

The rubber bushing looks serviceable. Can't you re-use it on the new bearing?

[androbran]

I wish I could, but when I removed it from the cutlass bearing a solid chunk of it broke off on one side. And there are pretty solid cracks in it as well.
I thought that all Albins used this type of cutlass bearing system so I'm surprised I haven't seen many replies on this. I'm trying to find a rubber manufacturing place nearby where I live to see if I could have them construct something customized, but so far no luck.
Thanks for the reply!

[RobS]

Seems simple enough to reproduce. Have you tried the albin cruisers yahoo group?

[Desertboater]

The Swedish company (Fors Marin) that is making & selling parts for the Albin 25 carries the cutless bearing for 25 & 30 mm shaft as well as 1" shaft with the rubber bushing on the bearing. The web site is:

http://www.albinmotor.com/shop/catalog/index.php

Use the search bar on the "Web Shop" page for "stern bearing" and you will find them

Here is a photo of the 30mm shaft bearing from their web page.

[androbran]

Wow, thanks desertboater - I'm on it!

[johnvb1014]

I am refitting an Albin 25 and the cutlass bearing looks similar to yours, although the cutlass bearing itself in traditional, although very short (< 2 in) and is just the length of the rubber bushing. The rubber bushing is fitted in the end cap and the worn cutlass fits loosely in the rubber bushing.

Did you buy the cutlass bearing/bushing shown by Desertboater? Did it work out ok? The inside doesn't look like a cutlass bearing. Does the part sticking out beyond the bushing go further into the stern tube? What are the holes in it for. Are these for set screws? Lastly, on the Albin Motor site for this item it lists "Stern bearing OUTER 30 mm". The inner diameter of the item should be 30 mm.

Any help appreciated.

John VB

[WillieC]

John, it sounds like someone has modified a standard 30mm cutlass bearing (with a 45 mm OD) and somehow fitted it inside the original holder. Is it out of the boat now and can you post pics of it?
The original Albin cutlass has a ferrule fitted to it that is held by the stock holder, half of which is glassed into the boat and the other half is bolted to the fixed portion. When I say "ferrule", think of the brass sleeve used for plumbing compression fittings. The rubber bushing snuggly fits over the stock Albin cutlass with its included ferrule. All is secured when the outer half is bolted to the fixed portion cast into the keel. The whole thing somewhat self-aligns when the shaft is installed.
I think your note "Stern bearing OUTER 30mm" refers to the bearing near the prop, what we call the cutlass bearing. this is to differentiate it from the INNER bearing which is found up near the original stuffing box and is more like a metal bushing than a rubber cutlass type. I say "I think" because my original stuffing box and its shaft support bushing has been whacked off and replaced with a PSS shaft seal (by a previous owner). I reworked mine this spring and am now readying the rest of the boat for the summer.
I do think if your shaft is in fact 30mm, the best thing you can do is order the part from Albinmotors as described above. I do not know if the new bearing comes with the rubber sleeve on the outside, which is a critical piece. Hopefully yours is usable and in fact the right one. Also be sure you have the other original, unmodified pieces.
You'll get it.

[WillieC]

A closer look at the picture posted for the part in Albinmotors looks like it includes the outer rubber sleeve. John, I agree the insides do not look like a regular cutlass bearing, but enlarging the picture looks very reassuring.
Check my earlier post, A25 re-power/shaft and prop issues, and you'll see a decent picture of the stock holder on page 1 of that post.
I have not ordered parts through Albinmotors, others have with good success. My cutlass bearing, though mildly worn, was not the main cause of my problems. There may be some unusual Paypal stuff, but not a big deal, so I understand.

The longer portion with the holes sticks out toward the prop, not into the sterntube. The other end with the ferrule and rubber sleeve fit into the casting which abuts the end of the sterntube. I do not know what the holes are for. Funny mods are out there. If mine stuck out any farther, I would not be able to get a standard 30mm zinc on the shaft in front of the propeller. Though now I find there are skinny(er) zincs available. My prop boss is about 3" long and it all has to not bash into the rudder, AND, the shaft has about 1/4" to 3/8" axial travel for the RB type transmission installed. The preference is to install the new cutlass as it comes, but I would not lose any sleep if I had to shorten it as much as a half inch if I had clearance issues.

What I really want to know is how all the guys with new shafts, engines and props, modify this bearing holder arrangement to fit a regular SAE off-the-shelf cutlass bearing, when the conversion is made to a regular plain old 'Merican tapered prop and shaft. I may well have to do this all next season, but I have learned a bunch this spring. Seems to me the 41mm or so ID stern tube might take an 1-5/8" OD cutlass, which would let one install a 1-1/8" shaft, but how does one hold it in place? Surely something could be made that utilizes the two bolts that hold the original Albin cutlass in place. (One propeller shop actually suggested replacing the stern tube as if reshafting and repropping weren't expensive enough. My shaft, though not perfect, still has life left and I am pretty sure I can get a metric prop from the UK without too much trouble. I will go one more season before that, mainly to see if my repairs are working correctly.)

[johnvb1014]

Thanks for the thoughtful responses. Attached are photos of what I have now. I like the idea of a conventional cutlass bearing but am concerned that the shortened one I have does not provide sufficient support. Also, the fit in the rubber ferrule is not very snug. I can push it in and out by hand easily. Maybe it gets more snug when the ferrule is compressed when bolted on, but when removing it I didn't really know what I had and had rigged up a puller and it came out easily. I'm worried that with a new snug fitting cutlass it might turn in the ferrule.

The od of my cutlass is 45 mm. That is the id of the bronze cap. I don't know if this is the original cap or if the rubber ferrule is original. I had a new shaft made which is 30 mm but sae taper for 1 1/8 prop. I'm unsure whether to get the cutlass ferrule from Albin motors or just get another conventional cutlass and cut it down and use the rubber ferrule I have now.

Thoughts?

John

[WillieC]

John, I sent you a PM. After I wrote a long response only to have my login timeout. Grrrr...
Remember to write response in a Word doc, (or other) and copy and paste. Doh!

[Northern Spy]

Looks like you have an older stock albin 25 setup. The albinmotor piece described above should work for you. Your bearing appears to have spun in the rubber housing. I ordered the Albimotor 30mm inner and it worked like a charm.