Happy Friday before Labor Day.
Update 1: Fri, 9/2, 3:30 PM EDT - Modified to reflect recommendations by @Ralph Johnstone in the post after this one. Changes marked with ETA1. When I finally start the job, I will document what I did and add a new post for the procedure + result.
Thanks for the call yesterday, @Crazy Dave Condon; appreciate your time, expertise, and stories. I'm going to focus on the motor mount, motor support, and motor angle suggestions this weekend. Will follow up on the other suggestions after that.
@Ralph Johnstone, finally had a chance to open and assemble the Extreme Max transom saver. It's solidly-built. Am going to dry-fit it to see if it can support the motor without movement when tipped forward / up. Will take photos and report findings. Still open to removing the motor for transport and storage during the offseason; am thinking the transom saver would be nice to use during the season when the motor is installed and the boat is on the trailer.
Re: the current repair plan for the motor mount, see below.
Update on what I have on hand for metal stock:
Backing Plates
Pausing here; need to hit the road to procure supplies.
ETA1: No need; had everything on hand after reading @Ralph Johnstone's update!
Rob
Update 1: Fri, 9/2, 3:30 PM EDT - Modified to reflect recommendations by @Ralph Johnstone in the post after this one. Changes marked with ETA1. When I finally start the job, I will document what I did and add a new post for the procedure + result.
Thanks for the call yesterday, @Crazy Dave Condon; appreciate your time, expertise, and stories. I'm going to focus on the motor mount, motor support, and motor angle suggestions this weekend. Will follow up on the other suggestions after that.
@Ralph Johnstone, finally had a chance to open and assemble the Extreme Max transom saver. It's solidly-built. Am going to dry-fit it to see if it can support the motor without movement when tipped forward / up. Will take photos and report findings. Still open to removing the motor for transport and storage during the offseason; am thinking the transom saver would be nice to use during the season when the motor is installed and the boat is on the trailer.
Re: the current repair plan for the motor mount, see below.
Update on what I have on hand for metal stock:
- Aluminum: 2w x 1/2d
- Aluminum: 3w x 3/8d
- Stainless Steel: 3w x 1/4d
Backing Plates
- Seems like the 3” aluminum would be a good choice for replacing the motor mount backing plates, mainly because it will be much easier to machine onsite.
- Backing plate sizes would be 3" x ~13" for the starboard (outer) motor mount bolts, and 3" x ~15" for the starboard inner motor mount bolts. These sizes would span the entire underside of the flat section of the transom / swim platform. I believe this should stop all of the flexing if the backing plate is fastened with a proper adhesive (see below). ETA1: Per @Ralph Johnstone's suggestion, I am going to orient the new backing plates from port to starboard (was originally planning to use the fore/aft orientation with wider longer plates). Will update the plate lengths when I take new measurements.
- Will use my friend’s milling machine to round all four edges of the transom side of the backing plate using a corner rounding end mill with a radius between 5/16 and 3/8 (I'm working from a photo he sent me with a tape measure behind the end mill).
I can replace them with larger plates during the offseason, if the sizes I specified don't stiffen the horizontal transom section sufficiently.ETA1: This comment has been deprecated; the port/starboard orientation should be a proper fix.
- Existing bolts seem fine. Will remove them, clean them, and reuse them.
- ETA1: For the new plates, will drill and through-bolt with washers and stop nuts.
- ETA1: Will use Loctite 567 for the bolt/stop nut connections.
- ETA1: Will use a suitable non-silicone sealant for the bolt/motor mount/transom connection.
Existing motor mount backing plates are tapped. I could tap the new ones after drilling them, or just through-bolt with washers and stop nuts. Open for suggestions.I have Loctite 567 thread sealant on hand, but could use a marine sealant for the bolts. Open for suggestions.
- For bedding / attaching the new aluminum motor mount backing plates to the underside of the transom, I'm thinking Loctite Marine Sealant after reading Practical Sailor's marine sealant review: Marine Sealant Adhesion Tests - Practical Sailor
- @Crazy Dave Condon said that the current backing plates likely used 5200. This is likely to present the biggest challenge re: performing the repair this weekend, given that I am having trouble locating a local source for an appropriate debonder / remover for PU adhesives / sealants like 5200.
- ETA1: Given the change in orientation for the new backing plates, I no longer need to remove the old backing plates. Instead, I will cut/grind/scrape about 2" of backing plate and 5200 from the end of each existing plate to make room for the new ones.
- ETA1: Turns out I had some
- I ordered a bottle of Re-Mov from the vendor, but it won't be delivered until next week. ETA1: This will be handy to have on hand, but it looks like I won't need it this weekend.
If I am up for the drive, I can get BoatLife RELEASE from Jamestown Distributors today. It seems likely that this is what I will end up doing.ETA1: Today I learned that Jamestown Distributors no longer has a retail store at their distribution location, which means the days of same-day pickup have come to an end. If I end up wanting BoatLife RELEASE, will have them ship it to me, but it's not needed this weekend.
ETA1: No need; had everything on hand after reading @Ralph Johnstone's update!
Rob
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