A health condition meant I couldn’t be there when the boat was lifted out, and still recovering at the start of the season I asked the marina contractors to deal with the antifouling, etc, writes Don Fitzroy Smith.

That’s when I was told the cutless bearing was rattling and the cutless bearing housing itself was dezincified and well past its use-by date.

A replacement bearing was easy to source, but the housing was probably the original unit dating from 1988.

With the passage of time and its manufacturers no longer trading, there was no possibility of finding a new bearing holder off the shelf.

The old cutless bearing housing was disintegrating due to dezincification. Credit: Don Fitzroy Smith

Thankfully, T. Norris Marine in Chichester came to the rescue.

The old unit was sent to them to have any damage and extra holes filled and faired, and using that plug T. Norris Marine then cast a new complete unit.

Afterwards, the necessary new holes were drilled out by hand and tapped for appropriate threads.

As I had more important things to think about, I wasn’t too concerned about the time it took to turn things around, but that might be a concern if you want to get afloat ASAP.

Cost? Around £400 including the cutless bearing and p&p.

I doubt Triptych will be the only old lady out there with a time-expired cutless bearing housing.

If you find yourself in the position of having an unavailable casting, try contacting T Norris Marine.

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