Cutlass bearing guides
Practical guides to the water-lubricated bearing that supports your propeller shaft. Each one answers a single question, so start with the guide that matches where you are in the job: working out what you have, finding the right size, or replacing a worn bearing.
Understand the bearing
- What is a cutlass bearing? How the grooved rubber lining runs on water, where the bearing sits, the symptoms of wear and how much clearance is normal.
- Propeller shaft and stern tube bearings: each bearing position from the gearbox to the propeller, and the seals and rudder parts that are often mistaken for shaft bearings.
- Skeg bearings: how to tell whether a skeg bearing supports the propeller shaft or the rudder, and what that means for choosing a replacement.
- Cutless vs cutlass bearings: where the two names come from, and the checks to make before replacing a Johnson Cutless bearing with an Exalto one.
Find the right size
- How to measure a cutlass bearing: recording the nominal shaft diameter, housing bore and length in their original units, and why the bearing's tolerances differ from its nominal size.
- Cutlass bearing size chart: every Exalto bearing we carry in one table, with current prices and availability.
- Bearing selector: choose a shaft diameter and housing bore to see the matching bearings in every material.
Replace a worn bearing
- Cutlass bearing replacement: the removal tools, taking the old bearing out with the shaft in or out, fitting and securing the new one, alignment, and what the job costs.
- Symptoms of a worn cutlass bearing: the signs to check, and the other faults that can cause the same vibration.
Can't find your answer?
Email us your boat model, shaft diameter and housing bore via the contact page. We'll reply within one business day with a specific part recommendation. Every bearing ships free by Express Post Australia-wide, with same-day dispatch before 2pm AEST on in-stock sizes.