My parts site SkiBoatPartsOnline.com is getting some traction outside of the American Skier Family which is a good thing, because as many of you have found I truly like talking old-school ski boats regardless of brand, and helping keep these classic boats running keeps me on my toes. But this week I had a most interesting call that the mechanics on this forum will get a chuckle from.
An order was placed for a strut bearing, and some 3M5200 caulk and sent out a week ago
This week the buyer calls and wants to know how long he needs to wait for the caulk to cure before putting the boat back in the water (not an A/S boat)
I asked what did you caulk
He replied, the strut
I asked why he removed the strut to replace the bearing?
He replied, that's what my buddies told him, who read it on online somewhere, remove the strut, have a machine shop press out the old & press in the new bearing.
I advised that now he would need to do a shaft alignment and strut alignment
He replied, why, the shaft is still attached to the engine
I clarified, do you mean you removed the prop, then the strut, and slid the strut off the shaft and left the shaft hanging in mid-air? unsupported?
He replied yep, did I do this wrong?
I gave him the YouTube video address to watch another way of doing the same job, he said he would watch it & get back to me.
He called back, and said, I messed up a little didn't I??
I replied, well you did a lot of extra work, but we can fix it,
Bottom Line is if your not sure about how to do something ask, if my phone is busy it's because I'm helping someone else, leave a msg, now have some fun in your boat with family & friends!!
