short shafted

[53150]

I recently purchased a 14' ski boat as a project boat. It is an older Glasspar Marathon that needs a 15" outboard extension. The motor on the boat is a very nice running 1980 70hp Johnson with a 20" shaft. Would I be better off to try to swap shafts and all thats involved or to swap motors. Like I said its a really nice running engine so I hate to get rid of it, and Ive been told that there were some 15" models of the same motor.<br /><br /> Thanks <br /> Will Vaughan

 

[JB]

Re: short shafted

Howdy, Will.<br /><br />Short shaft engines that size are awfully hard to find.<br /><br />I would make up a laminated 2" thick marine plywood transom overlay (bolted to the outside of the transom and sticking up 5" above it) and keep that wonderful Johnny looper.<br /><br />Good luck.

 

[rolmops]

Re: short shafted

 

[Joe Reeves]

Re: short shafted

Will.... In order to "swap shafts", you would also need to swap the exhaust housing (hsg between powerhead and lower unit), the inner exhaust tube, water tubes and quite a few other items plus the drive shaft. Really not worth the expense of work involved.

 

[53150]

Re: short shafted

Would it be better to bolt on a new transom to the outside of the boat or build a new one in the original location? The very top of the transom is starting to get soft and I was planning on replacing it at the end of the summer anyway. Like I said my engine runs great and I hate to get rid of it. Also the deal with the getting my exhaust housing welded up worked great, you guys were right.

 

[JerseyJim]

Re: short shafted

what about a jackplate? Like a 6-8 inch jackplate... that would get the engine OFF the transom, and allow a l;ittle bit of lift, right?

 

[rolmops]

Re: short shafted

Hello.<br />A doubled up transom would add strength and weight.It would be a lot simpler than replacing the whole thing.I don't think it is a good idea to bolt a jack plate onto anything less than a full strength transom.<br />It might be possible to double up the area where the engine is bolted on,with a good overlap of course.That would keep it simple, strong and yet not too heavy.<br />Good luck.

 

[53150]

Re: short shafted

Thanks for all the info guys. I'm really wanting to fix this thing right its a nice looking little boat. I'm thinking the harder way is going to be the proper way.I've not done much fiberglass work, but I'm very experienced woodworker. Will that be enough to pull me through replacing the transom the correct way?