[interceptor]

Hey Bill,
I took your suggestion and used an old skateboard to install my drives. Works great. Prop the drive skeg on the skateboard and line the spline shaft up with the gimble gearing. Raise / lower the trailer as needed and slid in.

Only problem was I screwed up and didn't get the shift cable engaged on the port engine so out it came , realigned the cable and shoved it back in. The starboard went in fine then we saw the waterjacket o - ring laying on the ground so out that one came only to find the o - ring in place so we reinstalled it. The o - ring on the ground was a old one removed last fall.

Congrats on the new boat ! Looks nice!

ed

 

[Guest]

Ed,

You wouldn't believe how much crap Christine gave me for that idea. Something to do with balancing a several thousand dollar drive on a $25 skateboard, it'll never work, etc. But it worked great for me, as long as you keep it balanced and work slow. I'm planning on building some kind of wood frame on casters that will support the drive better. Maybe have 2 fixed wheels in the front and 2 swivels in the back. I should probably measure it out while the boat's home.

I'll be bugging you for ideas on painting drives since that will be a winter project for me at the end of the season.

 

[interceptor]

I've always thought a lifting fixture that mounted in the trucks square receiver hitch would be neat. Something that could extend out under swim platforms and have a small hoist to raise and lower with.

Regarding painting the drives.....there done and should hold up to the elements better but they are not a thing of beauty. I look at them this way, they are a piece of functional machinery not a work of art on a table at home.

ed

 

[Spider]

I built a stand for my alpha drive out of 4X4's and 2X8's. Going to put wheels on the back of it to make rolling it around the garage easier. As for painting it, I found that if I put one of those little halogen lights on each side of it and leave them there for a while they heat the metal up nicely and the paint sticks better. I move them back while painting, then put them back up close afterwards to bake the paint in between coats. Came out pretty nice.