I/O (Sterndrive) Conversion to Outboards

[tpenfield]

OMG . . . It fits

I jockeyed the boat over a bit and put the gantry in place. There is a couple of inches of clearance on each side as planned.

The outdrives came off today. Tomorrow will be the seat assembly and then it will be time to pull the engines.

 

[Scott Danforth]

Take a video of the motors running for the sale

 

[Lou C]

Great work Ted, love watching the progression of your projects!
And when you're done you will have the exact boat you wanted!
You got me to thinking, could I get a pod for my old F/W, and go with a 175-200 hp 4 stroke....nah....boat's too old....but would be nice.....and after all many of these bow riders that come with OBs now, that's exactly how they do it, you can tell it's really an I/O hull with the pod and OB tacked on, but I'm guessing it's wise to add knee walls to the transom due to the cantilevered weight on the transom....

 

[tpenfield]

Hi @Lou C, Your boat would be a fairly straight forward conversion IMO. You put a lot of work into saving it, IIRC. IF you like it, it may be less $$$ to convert vs. buying a new(ish) Outboard boat of similar size/style.

 

[tpenfield]

Update Du Jour . . .

I'm into Day 2 taking the rear seat assembly out. IT weighs a lot . . . I'm guessing 500 lbs. Anyway, it is hinged at the rear with 2 hidden hinges. 4 bolts per hinge on the engine side, and I assume the same internal to the swim deck. The bolts are about 1-1/4", so to clear the bolts the seat assembly has to move forward. The only problem is that there in not clearance at the rear or the front to clear the seat assembly from the bolts. The best I can figure is that the front of the seat assembly would have to be raised up to a point where it can clear the obstructions. Not sure if the is 45˚ or more like 60˚.

So, I was planning to lift the thing more level than tilted. . . . got to re-think things.

Pictures below . . . Rear of assembly - hidden hinge

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Front edge of seat assembly, the wetbar prevents forward movement.

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My 'tip of the hat and a hearty handshake' to anyone with some ideas on how to get this thing free of the hinge bolts. I do plan to cut the bolts down upon re-installation so things won't be as difficult.

In other news, I finished the hardwood floor that I've been working on for the past month. So, the Honey-Do list is pretty short now. The boat is becoming Job 1.

 

[Scott Danforth]

Can you drive the hinge pin out? Is the pin held with a tack weld or a punch dimple? Can't zoom in enough on your pic

 

[tpenfield]

All set . . .

A little bit of cutting, some prying, and some lifting and I was able to pull the seat assembly off the hinges.

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The bolts are welded to the hinges. I did not try the hinge pins, but thank you @Scott Danforth . . . that would be a good idea. Maybe on the re-assemble.

Here is the rear seat being lifted and the boat pulled away inch-by-inch.

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It was pretty windy today, so the rear seat kind of wandered in the breeze. I tied a couple of lines to keep it stable.

I have a pallet and some dollies under it. I'll have to find a good place for it, as it will not be going back on for a while. Not sure if I should put it back on before the outboards are installed or after . . .

Here are the engines all accessible now. The port engine will need to come over a bit on the lift. Starboard will be first.

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I'm also trying to clean up the outdrives and get the 10 years worth of AF paint off them. I had sort of forgotten that the outdrive is anodized. Here is the anodized finish on the top cover.

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Time for a beer or 2 . . .

 

[Pmt133]

Well thats why it took so long, you need to have a beer or two while doing these sorts of things.

 

[redneck joe]

You are this far in i would think re-engineering those hinges would be in the next design scrum...