Stern drive: Best practices? Drive up? Or down?

[oldjeep]

Re: Stern drive: Best practices? Drive up? Or down?

Just for grins, this is the maint manual that mercury currently has posted - which is identical to the one that came with my 2005

 

[hostage]

Re: Stern drive: Best practices? Drive up? Or down?

I agree with all the comments...seems like its unanimous. That in itself is strange around here.

So why doesn't anyone follow that advice?

Where I live trailer boats are usually taken to a shop of some sort at the end of the season where the guy winterizes, removes the battery and then shrink wraps. Then you drive it home and park it in the driveway with the drive up. Obviously, can't lower it with no battery and the drive all shrunk up....LOL. I would have to say that 95% are like that.

Instead of paying for shrink wrap, I store indoors. Then I can put the unit down.

 

[Howard Sterndrive]

Re: Stern drive: Best practices? Drive up? Or down?

only position related issue I have ever heard of - guy left his boat in storage for 3 years - drive down, old bellows.
First time out, he trimmed up, bellows cracked open because it had taken a set in the compressed position. Boat had to be rescued by Fire Dept pumper.

bottom line - if the bellows are old, they're old - change them
if the bellows aren't old, it matters not, zero, nil, nada where the drive is kept, up/down/halfway- wherever you want.

 

[BoatDrinksQ5]

Re: Stern drive: Best practices? Drive up? Or down?

only position related issue I have ever heard of - guy left his boat in storage for 3 years - drive down, old bellows.
First time out, he trimmed up, bellows cracked open because it had taken a set in the compressed position. Boat had to be rescued by Fire Dept pumper.

I always thought it would be best to have midway ... but i suppose most of the time you can't trim all the way down anyway because of the ground. and/or move it up and down during the storage period if possible.

either way like you say if rubber is old...it is going to fail soon. If good - it doesn't matter, it's nice flexi-rubber!

 

[TilliamWe]

Re: Stern drive: Best practices? Drive up? Or down?

oldjeep I read the manual you posted both times, and I stand corrected. Mercruiser is crazy, but you were correct, they don't "require" removal of the drive every year. That's insane, but you have it in black and white. However, I like Don's black and white (with yellow) copy better!

 

[theBrownskull]

Re: Stern drive: Best practices? Drive up? Or down?

Store it with the lower unit trimmed down.

 

[southkogs]

Re: Stern drive: Best practices? Drive up? Or down?

Get an OMC Stringer, then you don't have to worry about how those bellows are set ...








... (insert crazy Daffy Duck laughing here)

 

[TilliamWe]

Re: Stern drive: Best practices? Drive up? Or down?

Get an OMC Stringer, then you don't have to worry about how those bellows are set ...

Now THAT'S insanity right there!

 

[UncleWillie]

Re: Stern drive: Best practices? Drive up? Or down?

... Removing the drive to store it somewhere else for the winter is just craziness - or someone with too much time on their hands.

If you have time to go spend sitting on a boat, or even the time to own and maintain a boat, and certainly if you have the time to sit around discussing boating on an Internet forum .... You have too much time on your hands!
Welcome to the Club!

... Probably akin to a theme of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it".

More like, "If it ain't broke, Keep up the Good Maintenance!

People go through life with one of two goals....
One group's goal is to see how much they can get done every day,
The other group's goal is to see how little they can do and still get away with it.

Which group did you join? (Rhetorical Question)

 

[89Donzi]

Re: Stern drive: Best practices? Drive up? Or down?

Would you really want all of us winter warriors moving to Florida? It would be kinda crowded

Please don't! It already is crowded LoL