45 Californian shaft length

[Anchored Souls 45]

I have a 1988 45 Californian motor yacht. I am looking to order new shafts and couplings and I was hoping someone had the shaft lengths so I can pre-order without pulling the current shafts out to measure. Any help in this matter would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Comodave]

Welcome aboard. Sorry that I can’t help with yours. I asked Formula about mine and they sent me a line drawing with all the measurements. It is nice having a boat builder that has all the information on legacy boats.

 

[mvweebles]

Given the price of shafts and the variability of install, would not be wise to have shafts machined without a proper as-built measurement. Engines may vary a bit. Original owner may have specified some sort of coupling. Engine mounts may be off an inch or two (or more); engine may have been moved forward to provide clearance for a shaft brush, etc. There are a number of reasons why the shaft on #X is not the same as #X+1. Besides, you may want an extra inch for line cutters.

Even in Comodaves example where the builder is still business and apparently kept decent records, I would not order a shaft based on their information. I'd pull the shaft and measure it.

Good luck.

Peter