Trojan Boat Forum

I'm looking to have my shaft aligned using a laser system. I can't see any wobble currently but there is more vibration than I think there should be. I'm hoping that aligning the shaft using a laser system will reduce the vibration.

Can somebody recommend someone who performs laser shaft alignment in the central NJ/Philadelphia area? Any information would be appreciated.

So you've checked that your motor mounts, stringers, struts strut mounts, and cutlass bearings are all in good order first, right? And that your prop blades are all the same pitch, cup, diameter, are not bent, are free of barnacles, fouled line, etc.? There are a lot of things that can cause vibration in this type of system besides misalignment. Where did you not see wobble?

i bent a shaft in my old Silverton, you couldnt tell till the machine shop spun it on a machine, I would look at props/shaft at a machine shop first

Don't you love asking a specific question and what you get is advise? Here's mine

I think the laser setup is really for the strut/shaft log/engine coupler relationship(s). Those can be off (a little) and you can still have a good alignment at the coupling faces with no vibration. If the shaft is not centered in the shaft log and the alignment is off through the cutless bearing, than a laser alignment is probably not a bad idea. It might require re-shimming the strut.

If those are not your issues, then I would look at the many other variables mentioned.

Bob

P-Dogg wrote:So you've checked that your motor mounts, stringers, struts strut mounts, and cutlass bearings are all in good order first, right? And that your prop blades are all the same pitch, cup, diameter, are not bent, are free of barnacles, fouled line, etc.? There are a lot of things that can cause vibration in this type of system besides misalignment. Where did you not see wobble?

The motor mounts, stringers, struts, and cutlass bearings are in good shape as is the prop. Looking at the shaft spinning between the V drive and the packing nut I see no noticeable wobble. Aligning the shaft by eye and measuring the gap between the mating surfaces is good but using a laser apparatus is better. Not knowing what "normal" vibration is I want to use the best tools available to establish a baseline regarding what "normal" vibration is. A friend of mine had his shaft aligned using a laser apparatus and he said the vibration was reduced considerably.

but using a laser apparatus is better

Agreed. Just didn't want to see you go chasing a few ten-thousandths of an inch if the fundamentals were wrong. If all you get is "advice" on this forum, try looking for a reference on thehulltruth.com. There are about as many people online there right now as have ever been a member of this forum. I must confess that i think the content is better here. Please let us know how you make out. Some pics of them doing your shaft, so to speak, would be in order.