Poor Man's Outdrive Stands . . .

[tpenfield]

There have been some posts in the past about outdrive stands of various configurations, some quite elaborate. Well there was someone on the Formula Boats that pieced together an outdrive stand using some dimensional lumber and a mover's dolly.

This gave me the inspiration to do a similar thing, except maybe a bit more robust.

So, I went to the big box lumber store and got a couple of moving dollies . . . good to 1,000 lbs. Then I scrounged around the garage for some lumber and came up with some 2x12's remnants and some 2x4's





The big box store only had 1 of the less expensive wooden dollies in stock, so I had to go a bit up-scale on the dollies as that was all they had.

I did some measuring of the outdrives as they sit on the boat, and then cut the wood up into a bunch pieces, screwed them together and came up with these things







I wanted them to be about the height that the ventilation plate of the outdrive sits above the ground.

Here they are tucked under the outdrives.






I used to use a 2-wheeler to bring the drives over to the boat and them lift them into place in order to install them . . . and pretty much the reverse process when I took them off . . . sometimes things worked out better than others. I think they weight about 170 lbs . . . as they are Bravo 3's

Taking the outdrive off is soooo much easier with these stands . . . The outdrive rests on the stand while I unbolt everything, and then just a good 'yank' and the outdrive and stand come along.






These will be easier to store for the winter . . . I used to lift them off of the 2-wheeler and flip them upside down and set against a wall, just for safe keeping.






I think it will be easier to store them and prep them for next season with these dollies.

Total cost, since I had the lumber on hand, was $35 each. :thumb:

 

[Maclin]

Nice! I am in the 2-wheeler category with mine, just one and only an Alpha Gen2. Yours look great! May try that approach if I start having trouble with my lift-twist-drop-install maneuver

 

[kenny nunez]

Very nice, sure beats trying to balance one of those on a floor jack. If you decide to re-finish them just hang them from a rafter or tree limb.

 

[blamtro]

These look great!

 

[Lou C]

No Title

Great job Ted! I have the one from Stumpy's fab works the past few years but before that I built one just like yours with the casters.

 

[tpenfield]

Thanks for your kind words guys. It is something I had been thinking about doing for a few years, but was just not sure about the exact approach. Using a moving dolly as the starting point made it a quick and easy thing to do.

 

[Woodonglass]

If you want them to work on turf & concrete use some of the harbor Freight 8" castors. You can buy em on sale sometimes for $5bucks.

 

[mr300z87]

They look very nice, I had made something very similar but did not measure so it is just a resting place after I remove the drive and move it in the wheelbarrow. My boat sits on a trailer so I am not sure if I have enough clearance to have wheels and still fit under the drive. I will be interested how the re-install goes from the stands keep us posted. In my world the re-install is always a 2 man job and not with the wife.

 

[JASinIL2006]

Great job Ted! I have the one from Stumpy's fab works the past few years but before that I built one just like yours with the casters.

You guys with your fancy outdrive stands make me jealous! Mine is a simple wood-fabbed job with casters similar to what Ted built. It does the trick, but I would love to have one with height adjustment capabilities!

 

[Lou C]

When you get to a certain age, and you want to keep doing certain things, you give yourself certain liberties. Then you can say to your better half "oh yes honey I saved a ton of money not taking the boat to the mechanic to do simple job like that", which of course is true. My boat has not been back to any mechanic since 2006. You make back the cost of that outdrive stand in one year. And you don't walk around with a stiff back either!

 

[QBhoy]

Brilliant.

 

[Baylinerchuck]

No Title

HF dollies make good stands too. Made one last November.

 

[tpenfield]

HF dollies make good stands too. Made one last November.

Baylinerchuck

I noticed that your stand is 'open' at the rear, whereas the ones that I made are open at the front. Are you able to install the outdrives directly from the stand, or do you have to remove the outdrive from the stand first? :noidea:

 

[Baylinerchuck]

Baylinerchuck

I noticed that your stand is 'open' at the rear, whereas the ones that I made are open at the front. Are you able to install the outdrives directly from the stand, or do you have to remove the outdrive from the stand first? :noidea:

Lol, my boat sits so low on the trailer I?d literally have to tear the dolly apart to remove the stand once the drive is close. I remove the outdrive from the stand. I sit the skeg on a 1? wood block and slide it into the housing. Not ideal, but the skeg is practically sitting on the floor when I bolt it on. Low trailer equals happy river launch!!

 

[JASinIL2006]

Lol, my boat sits so low on the trailer I’d literally have to tear the dolly apart to remove the stand once the drive is close. I remove the outdrive from the stand. I sit the skeg on a 1” wood block and slide it into the housing. Not ideal, but the skeg is practically sitting on the floor when I bolt it on. Low trailer equals happy river launch!!

Same here. I actually jack up my trailer about 6-8? to make it easier to slide the drive back on.

 

[tpenfield]

I think what helps my situation is the twin engine setup, rather than a single where the drive is mounted at the keel of the boat (i.e. lowest point)

IIRC, I used to have to mount the outdrive on my 24 footer in a 'semi-tilted' position, because it was so close to the ground.