I recently bought a 1985 Chaparral 215 XLC and the previous owner had just made a new non sealed or painted carpet over marine plywood doghouse, but it seems to be a lot bigger than needed. It makes the deck seem tiny and I would like to reduce the size a bit, but I am not sure if this could easily prompt the motor to overheat. There is currently 1 exhaust fan installed, but it is damn near useless as the transom is not enclosed. Originally it was probably fiberglass enclosed, but it has since been cutout and the previous owner said he just shoved a piece of plywood back there. There is a jump seat for each side of the engine, but they also take a lot of space so I am looking to build a fold away seat that can be hidden inside the transom, so I guess any advice given should be as if the entire transom is mostly sealed and vented with 1 electric fan and the other side just has vents with no electric propulsion.
I have a Chevy 350 "I think 260 HP" with a 17059286 Quadrajet Carb, raw water cooled, Non Cobra OMC stern drive. Boating in Florida so water temp can be pretty high, along with 100% humidity and a heat index of about 115 for 3 months in the summer, if that matters.
From port to starboard and stern to bow there is probably 4 inches of total play in both directions. As far as height, I haven't crammed one of my smaller kids in there armed with a tape measurer yet, but I would guess there is 12" or more from the top of the carb flame arrestor to the bottom of the doghouse.
Port to starboard there is a 24 inch piece 1x1 screwed to the deck to prevent the engine cover from shifting if it is not hinged or bolted in place. The 4 inches of total play is basically 2 inches past each of these braces. I am assuming I could trim the overall width so the fit is a bit more snug to the supports, so long as the doghouse does not touch any part of the engine?
Bow to stern there isn't anything "the hinges aren't installed" other than the transom gunwale. Again, I am assuming I can get this a bit shorter, so long as the doghouse doesn't hit any part of the engine?
I am not sure if I would change the height yet, as that would leave me with a void from the engine cover box to the bottom of the gunwale, though I can think of 3 million things I can use that space for! So, plan on me reducing the height from the carb to the bottom of the cover down to 6".
So what do you think, can I make this bad boy smaller, or would I be buying a new engine afterwards?
I have a Chevy 350 "I think 260 HP" with a 17059286 Quadrajet Carb, raw water cooled, Non Cobra OMC stern drive. Boating in Florida so water temp can be pretty high, along with 100% humidity and a heat index of about 115 for 3 months in the summer, if that matters.
From port to starboard and stern to bow there is probably 4 inches of total play in both directions. As far as height, I haven't crammed one of my smaller kids in there armed with a tape measurer yet, but I would guess there is 12" or more from the top of the carb flame arrestor to the bottom of the doghouse.
Port to starboard there is a 24 inch piece 1x1 screwed to the deck to prevent the engine cover from shifting if it is not hinged or bolted in place. The 4 inches of total play is basically 2 inches past each of these braces. I am assuming I could trim the overall width so the fit is a bit more snug to the supports, so long as the doghouse does not touch any part of the engine?
Bow to stern there isn't anything "the hinges aren't installed" other than the transom gunwale. Again, I am assuming I can get this a bit shorter, so long as the doghouse doesn't hit any part of the engine?
I am not sure if I would change the height yet, as that would leave me with a void from the engine cover box to the bottom of the gunwale, though I can think of 3 million things I can use that space for! So, plan on me reducing the height from the carb to the bottom of the cover down to 6".
So what do you think, can I make this bad boy smaller, or would I be buying a new engine afterwards?
