[Elizabeth_B29]

I have what I call a centering cylinder.
I was fortunate to be restoring my Bristol 29 next to a machinist Who was also restoring a similar sailboat.
He saw the frustration I was having trying to get my shaft aligned.
I struggled with it for days sitting behind it moving it incrementally measuring, shims blah blah blah. Think I was cussing a bit too much .
He arrived one day with a 2.5” long cylinder of Delrin, drilled with a 7/8 ish inch bore. The outside diameter fit into the Shaft log and the inside diameter was drilled to slip onto the shaft, both almost snugly.
It’s a wonderful thing to have when you realign your shaft. The cylinder slides into the shaft log the shaft slides through “the alignment cylinder” and up to the coupler. This with the stuffing box and hose portion removed.
In my case I was adding a drive saver ( rubber donut ) so a portion of my shaft was cut off and re-keyed before all was said and done.
Using this tool made it much easier to get really closely aligned. I then just slid the shaft back towards the stern enough to clamp on the stuffing box/hose assembly and then I slid the shaft back to the coupler and snugged it up in the coupler.

My engine was thrown all out of whack initially when I found my boat had been moved to the dry storage area after I had un bolted my engine and gone on vacation after struggling and giving up temporarily. When I came back my boat was nowhere to be found in the work area and my engine was literally off the mount rails, a bumpy ride on the Travel lift. Lots of alignment torture ahead... the tool made it much easier.

So, that piece of plastic worked wonders annnd I vowed that I would wear is a piece of jewelry so wouldn’t lose it, ha ha. Now I don’t know where the heck it is, it is in some bin of parts And I’m going to have to go look for it.

Someone should manufacture these things (on a fine silver chain to wear ) and sell them.

Elizabeth