Two quick questions

[Justinde]

1st: When the motor is at full tilt, I can lift the leg and the powerhead assembly has movement- to the point that it his the cowl. Is there an engine mount missing?

2: When I uncovered the boat, the tarp I thought was waterproof is not, and I had about 1 foot of water in the boat. It has been there for about 2 months. The floor etc is all new, but will this dry out over the next couple of days or is there a problem looming? The fibreglass/floor/transom etc is all new.

Cheers

 

[wagnerz]

Re: Two quick questions

Pertaining to question 2 - you might be in trouble.

 

[Frank Acampora]

Re: Two quick questions

Question #1: If when you pull up on the lower unit the engine leg hits the bottom of the rear shroud, the lower motor mount is broken. This will happen regardless of position of the engine. If it does not hit the rear shroud, then it is normal compliance in the tilt system.

Question #2: If the water only accumulated in the passenger area of the hull and not the inner hull (area between the floor and bottom of the boat) then there is no problem. Just drain it.

It takes a long time, sometimes forever, for water to dry out of the inner hull. If there is a well at the transom with one or two rubber plugs in it, tilt the bow of the boat upward as far as possible and remove the plugs. If no water drains, then you are golden--likely no water has gotten inside the inner hull. If water does drain, leave the plugs out and the boat elevated in a warm, dry place for a long time.

 

[Justinde]

Re: Two quick questions

Thanks Frank. The water is draining well, and the repairer ( that did the work last) has done a smashing job of the floor- with a great waterproof membrane, so it should dry over the next couple of days.

In regards to the engine mount- it doesnt matter the position of the engine- it hits, so probably a broken engine mount as you said. Is this a hard job, and a necesarry job to do?

Cheers

 

[Frank Acampora]

Re: Two quick questions



Difficulty on a scale of 1 to 10 is about 6-7 because you must support the engine. Does it need to be done? It is not an absolute or the engine will crash, but with the broken motor mount, the engine will shift on turns and will hit the rear shroud on deceleration. It is something you should plan on doing.

NOW: A new motor mount costs around 100 bucks and occasionally you can find a used one on ebay for less. However, you can also repair your existing mount and make it not only better than new but probably never fail again.

To remove the motor mount, you first remove the rear shroud (DUH). Next, remove the four bolts on the lower kingpin cap and pull off the cap. NOW comes the hard part. You must remove the two 9/16 head bolts (some engines have 3/4) under the upper cowling. These hold the upper motor mounts. You then lift and tilt the whole engine to give room to access the rear lower motor mount bolts. Remove two on one side and loosen two on the other then slide out the mount. Careful: Some of these will be corroded badly and may snap on you. That's why I charge 50 bucks plus your old one to replace a lower mount.

Now take the two pieces or three if the rubber biscuit is disconnected from both aluminum plates and buff them until clean and rough. Glue with a really good industrial strength rubber cement and be careful with the alignment or you will not be able to get it back in. After the glue has set, drill two 1/4 inch holes or metric equivalent all the way through both aluminum plates. Countersink the thick plate for an appropriate flat head bolt and leave about 1/8 inch recess for rubber compression. Tap both holes for 5/16 and insert the bolts. Peen them where they exit the thin plate and grind off any excess until flush with the plate. Voila' Brand new motor mount.

Actual motor mount photos to follow as soon as I find them

 

[Justinde]

Re: Two quick questions

Thank you so much Frank. The weather here is a cool 25degrees-celcius guys- and the wind is nice. The carpet is bone dry now, and we are due this weather for a couple of days by the looks. Drying her out should be fine. The engine mount, on inspection after another fine reply from Frank, is indeed Fubar. I was worried about access etc, but it seems fine other than engine support..... thats what friends are for hey!

I'll put it on the to do list, but won't feel uncomfortable taking the family out with it as is.

Next is the real Link & Sync on water.

Thanks again Frank- you are a guru.