Checking a shaft before a trip to the yard?

[swampu]

I plan on bringing The Rose to Alabama to go up on the yard, I've owned it 6 years without a trip to the yard. I talked to the owner of the yard and he said it was at least 6 years before I bought it that it's been in the yard.
My question is this, where would I look for corrosion in the shaft that may cause the prop to fall off? What else should I look for? I'm going to buy a air compressor and cheep regulator to make a hooka. Hope to do all this in the next 3 weeks.......

 

[MurrayM]

I'm at the bottom of the learning curve, but I'd check the prop shaft in the stuffing box...stainless steel can pit/corrode if water hasn't been slowly dripping from the stuffing box. Something about depleted oxygen, me-thinks.

You must have a 1970's era shag carpet going on under there

 

[cappy208]

While it's out, pull the shaft for a visual inspection. That way they can do a 'roll test' to check for whip. There is no way to properly check without pulling the shaft. And after that amount of time, change the cutlass bearing too.

I have found shaft failure near metallic objects. In front of or directly behind the cutlass, or right near pillow bearings. BUT, probably the largest reason for shaft loss is going WAY to long after a heavy prop strike before having it looked at.

I sort of look at it this way: A new prop costs XXX$. How much does a haul out and shaft inspection cost? WAY cheaper in the long run. If you break the shaft at the cutlass, the prop is GONE. Better to have it hauled and inspected properly than risk spending $$$on a new prop. Have you replaced engine mounts? If not properly realigned that could add to misalignment as well.