erikgreen
Captain
- Joined
- Jan 8, 2007
- Messages
- 3,105
Hi, all;
I'm completing a refit of my boat, including a tear-out and rebuild of the motor mounts at the front of my Mercruiser 260 (Chevy 350) engine.
Basically what was there were two 6x6 pillars of fiberglass and wood standing about 7 inches off my hull bottom.
I'd like to replace them instead with a steel mount welded together that provides that 7 inch lift off the hull. I want to do this for more clearance to reach around and under the motor. Plus they won't rot (I know, they may rust....)
Note that I'm not suggesting replacement of the standard front motor "legs" since this would force me to include a vertical adjustment method in my welded mount, which I'm thinking would take a lot of effort to build and test. A simple short frame 7 inches high that attaches to the engine stringers, the bulkhead forward of the engine, and maybe somewhere else should be doable.
What I'm looking for is anyone who has done this and has a pic or a plan. I know you can get "offshore" motor mounts for mercruisers, but they're not adjustable, plus I haven't seen one that isn't designed for dual engines.
Here's a rough sketch of what I'm thinking (sorry for using MSPaint):
The mercruiser "legs" are in gray and the proposed steel mount is in blue.. the solid lines are square tubing and the rectangle on the stringer is piece of channel over the stringer top. There would also be a horizontal bar running from side to side at the same place the front "leg" attaches near the top.
Sane idea or no? Anyone done this? Should I just build the frame to attach directly to the engine and shim it to the right height?
Erik
I'm completing a refit of my boat, including a tear-out and rebuild of the motor mounts at the front of my Mercruiser 260 (Chevy 350) engine.
Basically what was there were two 6x6 pillars of fiberglass and wood standing about 7 inches off my hull bottom.
I'd like to replace them instead with a steel mount welded together that provides that 7 inch lift off the hull. I want to do this for more clearance to reach around and under the motor. Plus they won't rot (I know, they may rust....)
Note that I'm not suggesting replacement of the standard front motor "legs" since this would force me to include a vertical adjustment method in my welded mount, which I'm thinking would take a lot of effort to build and test. A simple short frame 7 inches high that attaches to the engine stringers, the bulkhead forward of the engine, and maybe somewhere else should be doable.
What I'm looking for is anyone who has done this and has a pic or a plan. I know you can get "offshore" motor mounts for mercruisers, but they're not adjustable, plus I haven't seen one that isn't designed for dual engines.
Here's a rough sketch of what I'm thinking (sorry for using MSPaint):
The mercruiser "legs" are in gray and the proposed steel mount is in blue.. the solid lines are square tubing and the rectangle on the stringer is piece of channel over the stringer top. There would also be a horizontal bar running from side to side at the same place the front "leg" attaches near the top.
Sane idea or no? Anyone done this? Should I just build the frame to attach directly to the engine and shim it to the right height?
Erik
