I need to realign my engine/shaft and want to pick your brains to do the job as efficiently as possible.

Reason for the alignment. The mounts have settled over the past 8 years and I need to lift the engine a bit. One of the mounts is a bit corroded and the adjusting nut on the underside of the mount won't move. The mount will have to come out to clean it up and free the nut.

The situation. The engine is rubber mounted. The shaft (1" diameter) is quite long (about 8 ft) and is unsupported from the gearbox flange to the stern bearing. The distance from the gearbox to the stern tube is about 3 ft. The stuffing box is about a foot behind the gearbox and connected to the stern tube by a rubber tube about 8" long.

One benefit of the shaft arrangement is that a slight amount of misalignment isn't as critical as on a fixed shaft.

Feelers will identify major misalignment but I can't see that I can use feelers for the finer alignment because the shaft, being unsupported, flops around at the gearbox end.

My intention would be to use feelers to get it close and then make adjustments under way to get it as best as possible. I see all sorts of problems using this hit and miss method.

All constructive advice most welcome.