Drain hole covered by motor bracket zinc - suggestions?

[Newhook]

Hello Gentlemen,<br /><br />I finally got it all together and have been useing my new boat and motor thanks to many of you in your assistance in purchasing and in the setting of it all up.<br /><br />I have a 16 foot alum. Princecraft Starfish and a 25 hp Mariner 4-stroke short shaft <br />(15"). Thanks to JB for sugestion on 4-stroke.<br /><br />I have a small problem. The motor bracket is a biggie. There is a zinc bar that runs along the bottom of the bracket and it just covers an edge of the drain hole. The plug will therefor only go part way in and not far enough in that I am satisfied that it may not fall or be knocked out. <br /><br />I would simply raise the motor a hair except that it is bolted on and I did not anticipate this problem before I drilled the holes.<br /><br />I am wondering if I should remove the zinc or cut it to make room or what. It obviously has a purpose but the boat is only in the water on the weekends for 3 months of the year. I will have to cut a good deal of it away all but severing it if I do so. Has anyone encountered a similar problem? <br /><br />Thanks

 

[DJ]

Re: Drain hole covered by motor bracket zinc - suggestions?

Newhook,<br /><br />The Zinc is self sacrificing and probably does not add any structural integrity to the clamp bracket. If you are in fresh water and not in a marina, it may never have to do its job.<br /><br />I do not think gring a bit of it away will hurt anything.<br /><br />Do the holes that the bolts go through allow for any adjustment? If you lift it at all make sure you are still getting plenty of cooling water at planing speeds. As a general rule, the cavitation plate should be level with the keel. In many cases, you can go a bit higher.

 

[Newhook]

Re: Drain hole covered by motor bracket zinc - suggestions?

Hi Djohns,<br /><br />Thanks for the reply.<br /><br />Yes there are several holes on the bracket for raising and lowering the motor. I cannot recall which one I have the bolts through now but will check it tonight. They are big 1/2 inch stainless bolts and I thought that moving up a full "notch" might be too much. I will need a shim on the transom to account for raising the motor if I do so. When I set it all up I made sure that the cav. plate was exactly level with the bottom of the boat.<br /><br />I'll take a hard look at it this evening and let you know what I will do. My thought right now is to get out the Dremmel tool and grind away the offending portion allowing the plug to get in further and get more purchase.<br /><br />Thanks again

 

[Gold Bear]

Re: Drain hole covered by motor bracket zinc - suggestions?

Newhook,<br /><br />Apparently it is not practical to install the drain plug from inside the boat?<br /><br />Regards, Gold Bear

 

[Down South]

Re: Drain hole covered by motor bracket zinc - suggestions?

I agree with Gold Bear. If you can install it from the inside you won't have to worry about it falling out and getting lost. Anyway I always put mine in from the inside.

 

[Newhook]

Re: Drain hole covered by motor bracket zinc - suggestions?

Gold bear and Down South,<br /><br />Yes I have been putting the plug in from the inside. The difficulty is that the transom at that level is only the thickness of the aluminum. With the zinc up tight to the other side, there is no way to get the plug in far enough to get a good grip. <br /><br />Imagine trying to get a plug into a hole in a piece of sheet metal while it sits on the table. It can't go in far enough.

 

[oldboat1]

Re: Drain hole covered by motor bracket zinc - suggestions?

If I follow correctly, you are talking about the drain hole in the motor well. If that is the case, wouldn't you want to leave it unplugged? The point is to keep the splashwell self-bailing. I don't think there is a purpose to plugging that drain hole.<br /><br />but maybe I missed it ... wouldn't be the first time.

 

[Newhook]

Re: Drain hole covered by motor bracket zinc - suggestions?

oldboat1,<br /><br />No, the hole that I am referring to is the actual drain hole on the very bottom of the transom - the one that allows for the boat to drain when tipped up. The transom is only sheet aluminum at that level. It is hardwood sheeted in aluminum above it for the attachment of the outboard. <br /><br />I was looking at it again and I do not want to fool around moving the motor up only to discover that it is too high. The cav. plate is exactly level right now. Unless I get a better suggestion from the forum I am going to mark the outline of the hole on the zinc bar, take it off and grind away enough to allow the plug to seat snugly. The other option that I was looking at was to take a small section of pipe, put a flange on it, put that in the old hole, attach it with weld-bond and put a smaller plug into it. That would mean relying on glue to keep the new outfit in place. I am a little wary of that.

 

[oldboat1]

Re: Drain hole covered by motor bracket zinc - suggestions?

Newhook -- Thanks for the clarification. I think I would definitely alter or relocate the zinc rather than changing the drain hole in the hull. Can the zinc be moved? (i.e., There are outboard zincs of different shapes and sizes. There is one that goes on the ventilation plate, and that might be preferred over the one you have.) I think the dealer should be able to help you out.

 

[j2nh]

Re: Drain hole covered by motor bracket zinc - suggestions?

Similar situation when I switched from a 30 Merc 2 stroke to a 30 4 stroke. In my case the drain on my 13 foot Boston Whaler was covered by the trim and zinc. Long story short I went to the hardware store and purchased some 1X3 pieces of Aluminum plate, drilled them for the mounting holes and used them as spacers between the transom and the engine. Problem solved. In my case I only needed about a quarter of an inch to make it work. I don't know how much room you need but something like this might work.<br />Regards<br />Jim

 

[Newhook]

Re: Drain hole covered by motor bracket zinc - suggestions?

J2nh and oldboat1<br /><br />Thanks for the suggestions. L2nh, you have exactly the same bracket on yuor motor if my memory serves me. If I read correctly, it seems that you placed the spacers on the back of the transom over the bolts to bring the motor back a little thereby creating a little space, like a washer. Do I have it right?

 

[j2nh]

Re: Drain hole covered by motor bracket zinc - suggestions?

Yes. I actually used alluminum plate about 3" wide 1/4" thick and ran it between the holes on each side of the transom. I went with the "straps" to add some support to the Transom. I could have used washers but was a little concerned about stress on the transom by just having a washer between the motor and the transom. I think I paid 10 bucks for the aluminium at the hardware store. If you do go with washers make sure they are large ones and use stainless. This was the "easiest" fix I could come up with. The motor swap was done by a local dealer and you would have thought they would have checked the drainplug but oh well.<br />Regards<br />Jim