Well that was close

[Timm R Oday25]

There had been a growing crack in the mounting block where the outboard bracket attached to for several years . Last fall , I opened the crack in the fiberglass to discover 40 year old mulch

After a few attempts, I made a replacement and went to mount it on the transom .
when I crawled under the cockpit to mount an expoxy soaked sheet of plywood and a 1/4” sheet of stainless as a backing plate , I found this was the only thing keeping
My outboard from falling into Lake Michigan

 

[degas]

Wow. Good catch, nice work.

I once had a chat with a professional boat maintainer. His philosophy: if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

I don't adhere to that. Every time I go to repair or upgrade something, I also make sure that everything around it is in good shape, too.

I recently replaced a rope clutch. I coulda just dropped in the replacement and sailed away. But I also drilled out the holes in the cored deck to fill them in with epoxy. And I sealed the exterior with butyl tape, which the original didn't have.

Yeah, that means that most jobs end up taking more time and more money, but it buys me confidence in the boat (and not potentially donating gear to the lake bottom).

 

[Will Gilmore]

You lucky bastard.

Of course, it is much more than luck. Knowledge and attention also contributed to your catch.

-Will

 

[SteveHughessails]

Now I have to check mine.