Yep… you are suppose to use a finger puller.
BUT…
If you loosen the center nut to the top of the shaft (to protect the treads) then get a helper to pull on the wheel… you can use a hammer, and lightly tap the nut. The vibration from the hammer will knock the tapper loose… but you have to keep some pressure on the wheel to get it to pop.
WITH THAT SAID… don’t hit the nut too hard… or have your helper pull too hard. The gearbox is mounted into fiberglass with small bolts. If too much pressure is used… you can break the gearbox, the shaft, or the mounting point on the hull.
Just as an FYI… it took about 4~5 taps to get my wheel to poop loose.
Last thing… you want to protect the parts… but DON’T use a rubber, wood, or brass mallet. You want a nice hard steel hammer (regular claw, or ball peen hammer) for this. The steel on steel will make the high frequency vibration needed. A soft hammer won’t do it. For protection… don’t use a lot of force.