Thank you very much Doug! I was really hoping you would chime in. I agree with you that as long as there is no fore/aft play then it should be fine...it just made me nervous it was so close! You are also right that when hammering down in forward that the prop will deflect away from the rudder. I don't know if you could spin it fast enough in reverse for it to deflect and affect the rudder.

I will try lapping the prop to the shaft with some valve grinding compound. That might bring it further up on the shaft too. If not, at least I know that it will be seated properly!

Thanks again!!