How do I replace the cutless bearing on a Hallberg-Rassy 46?

Replace the cutless bearing with your HR46 ashore: identify the bearing housing, support the propeller shaft, then remove the propeller and bearing retaining screws. The bearing may come out with the shaft still fitted, but a seized sleeve or an obstructing housing shoulder can mean removing the housing for workshop extraction.

Identify the bearing housing

Clean the exposed stern bearing housing until you can identify its material, retaining screws and any flange fastenings. These determine the extraction method: a rubber bearing with a metal outer sleeve needs different handling from a composite-sleeved bearing.

Do not assume the later Hallberg-Rassy procedure for composite bearings applies. It covers HR40, HR43 and HR48 stern-tube construction from 2007; it does not establish what is fitted to an HR46. Previous repairs may also have changed your boat's arrangement.

Order by hull number and verified dimensions, rather than model name alone. Record:

• Propeller-shaft diameter, measured on a clean, unworn surface.
• Bearing outside diameter and overall length.
• Outer-sleeve material and retaining-screw positions.
• Installed depth, any projection and visible water-feed openings.

Ask Hallberg-Rassy's parts service to confirm the original specification, then compare it with the installation aboard. Do not assume a nominal metric shaft and a nearby imperial bearing size are interchangeable.

Remove propeller and retaining screws

Work only with the yacht securely supported ashore and the engine isolated against starting. Support the shaft independently before removing its bearing. Letting it hang in the stern tube risks damaging the gearbox output shaft.

1. Photograph the installation and measure the bearing's position before disturbing anything.
2. Remove the propeller with the appropriate puller. For a folding or feathering propeller, follow its maker's dismantling instructions and keep the spacers, key and locking components in order.
3. Remove paint and fouling around the bearing mouth and locate every retaining grub screw.
4. Back the screws clear of the bearing sleeve, preferably removing them for inspection. Check that no screw tip remains engaged.

Try gentle extraction only after releasing the retainers. If you have identified a composite sleeve designed to withdraw this way, grip the exposed sleeve, rotate it and pull aft. Avoid crushing it with excessive wrench pressure.

Extract a seized bearing

On a suitable rubber-lined bearing, a thin wire hook can sometimes pass between the shaft and rubber, catch the bearing's inner end and draw it aft. You need clearance and a firm purchase. Stop if the wire scores the shaft, tears through the rubber or cannot catch the sleeve.