I had a survey done buy a reputable surveyor in our area for insurance. He advised that I should have a shaft alignment done. He advised that he saw an irregularity in the gaping around the cutlass bearing. To the best of my knowledge, it has been a while since one had been done. I spoke to the mechanic at our marina and he advised that he agreed with the surveyor.

The mechanic went onto my boat yesterday and commenced the shaft alignment process. When he removed the bolts from the couplings between the shaft and the transmission, the shaft coupling moved over which indicated a significant misalignment on both engines. It was about 3/4 “ on the Port side and less on the Starboard engine.

The bolts on the mounts on the Starboard engine were loose and could be turned by hand. There was no issue for him to raise and lower the motor on the mounts in an attempt to line up the couplings, however, he was not able to move the motor on the mounts from right to left to line things up, which was required.

He advised me that the bolts on the motor mounts pass through a round hole and not a slot that would allow for a right to left adjustment. He advised that a remedy would be to drill out the mounts to turn the round hole into a slot to allow for an adjustment.

I don’t know the answer. It seems that there has to be a better way to move the motor from right to left without removing and drilling out the mounts.

He was able to reattach the transmission and shaft couplings, however it would still not be aligned within the acceptable tolerance. I was advised that it was better than before, but requires more adjustment.

Has anyone had this experience or has advice on how alignment can be achieved. Should the holes in the mounts be slots instead of holes, if so, not sure why Carver would do this. I have not examined the mounts in the boat, but I will this weekend.

There has to be a better way.

Thank you in advance

Greg