I/O (Sterndrive) Conversion to Outboards

[tpenfield]

Ted must be busy grinding

I am glassing today . . . not quite warm enough, but I got a heater going and using 2.25% MEKP . . . seems to be working . . . but it is not quick.

 

[tpenfield]

The sun is shining so I'm doing some more glassing. I did the crossbar pieces over the past couple of days, and today I glassed the center stringer . . . 4 layers wet-on-wet.
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With the sun out, temperatures in the boat are 80˚F, even though it is only 60˚F outside. To keep the coldness out I put some plastic over the transom cut-outs and set them in place. It's a good thing I didn't toss them

 

[redneck joe]

I thought you were leaving the keyhole open for access?

 

[tpenfield]

I thought you were leaving the keyhole open for access?

"set them in place" to keep the cold out. They will be gone once I don't need them.

 

[redneck joe]

Forgot you were in Yankee weather....

 

[Scott Danforth]

Ted, will you be adding shelving to hold the beer er provisionings in the old bilge area? if you need a design for a service elevator, let me know. we did one that brings a blender and booze from below deck galley up to the cockpit. 2 ball-screws, a kevlar belt and a small DC gear motor. it would raise and lower up to 150#

 

[redneck joe]

^^^^^^

If you don't do this i will be quite disappointed.

 

[tpenfield]

The center stringer support is done. I do plan on putting in a floor of some sort to make for a decent storage area. The new stringer will play a role in supporting a floor.

I did another test fit and decided to go up a 'wee bit' on the spacers. (0.45" up from 0.35"). The thinner ones were a 'smidge' too tight on the sides.
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The alignment with the keel was dead nuts on as per my laser line tool, so I hope to replicate that with the thicker spacers.

 

[flashback]

Removable teak grates for the floor would be nice, give it a bit of a nautical look.

 

[tpenfield]

Installation Update . . .

I got the extension bracket aligned with the different (0.45") spacers. As such, I drilled the 'pilot' holes and put the 'installation guide pins' in at the 4 corners of the extension bracket. They will need a little bit of play in order to align with the matching holes in the transom.
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Now with these pins/bolts I can install the extension bracket without worrying (too much) about the alignment.

The sun was getting low on the horizon, so no time to bond the spacers to the E-B. That will be for tomorrow (sunshine permitting.)

I'll do an installation practice, check the alignment, and then drill the rest of the bolt holes. I ran a test of the 'open time' on the putty @ 60˚F and 2% MEKP. It stayed open for at least an hour and was showing signs of hardening at 90 minutes.

So, that will be my target . . . get the extension bracket installed and reasonably fastened within an hour of activating the putty.

 

[redneck joe]

Point of technical order I belive 0.45 is defined as a tad, not a smidge

 

[flashback]

Won't the nuts on the pins need a recess in the transom?

 

[tpenfield]

Won't the nuts on the pins need a recess in the transom?

No there are (will be) spacers that are thicker than the nuts . . . The transoms of the boat & extension bracket do not come in contact. (the bevel sides interfere with the fit). Thus the hull & deck adhesive putty to fill the gap.

 

[tpenfield]

@flashback , here is a diagram that I used to show the need for spacers to some folks on another forum ( some people . . . ). Essentially, the beveled sides, as built, ended up being a 'tad' too wide for the transom. As such, the extension bracket would find itself off-center during test installations. So, spacers and putty were the solution.
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The spacers are 0.45" and the nuts holding the 'pins' are about 0.33", which is a good thing, since I need the nuts on the pins to hold them in place, else they'd get pushed out during the installation process.

 

[redneck joe]

So yall know the extent of my ignorance on these matters but wouldn't it be better to fill the gap with material rather than spacers ?

 

[tpenfield]

Speaking of pins and spacers . . . I made some adjustments to the 'pins' in order to make the installation easier and repeatable.
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I ground the ends of the bolts to make them look/act more like pins. I also have them slightly loose to the have some play needed for the initial alignment. The picture above shows the pins and the spacers. I was able to do a couple install/removals yesterday fairly easily.

I drilled a bunch of holes in the transom and will be fitting the E-B (once again) to make the matching holes in the extension bracket.

I need to chamfer the holes and apply some resin in to seal up the barrel of the holes, which has 1.5" of foam in the core. I did find some wood in the structure (outer stringers have a wood core) and the beveled sides have a wood core.
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There are a few holes to go, but they are better drilled with the extension bracket securely in place.

 

[tpenfield]

So yall know the extent of my ignorance on these matters but wouldn't it be better to fill the gap with material rather than spacers ?

"Spacers & Putty" . . .

 

[tpenfield]

Speaking of bolts . . .

I still have bad memories of 'galling' on some of the stainless steel fasteners when I did my extended swim platform on the Formula 330. It seems like the preferred solution to avoid galling is to use some anti-seize on the threads. Bolts/nuts are 316 stainless.

Anyone got other remedies/solutions to galling?

 

[tphoyt]

Torque wrench? Tighten to spec for your fastener size might be of help. I usually end up going to far my self. It’s a Pita and I never learn.

 

[Pmt133]

Graphite works well as well. Allegedly coarse threads are less prone to it.