Twin I/O to Twin Outboard Conversion Project

[tpenfield]

A further comment on the joystick feature . . .

My previous boat did not have a joystick, just twin engines. I was pretty good at docking in tight situations. I could slide the 33 foot boat into a dock space with just a few feet to spare (the car equivalent of parallel parking). My current boat can certainly do those things even without the joystick. However the sideways crabbing movement is really nice and overall I have gotten used to doing things around the dock with the joystick.

Another consideration is that I believe that all of these boats (325 of them made from 2014 - 2022) were built with joystick docking. So, if my boat did not retain that feature, it might be a negative on the selling side (if/when that happens)

 

[tpenfield]

Now that I have the design fairly well finalized, I wanted to do some force calculations to see if things looked reasonable. I know on outboard conversion projects, there are often discussions about will the structure (bracket, transom, etc.) be strong enough

Here is my diagram of the forces . . .
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I went on the high side for the twin engine weight (700 lbs each). The weight of the extension pod is my estimate based on material content.

3,450 lbs at the top of the transom seems like a lot, but based on the number of fasteners, it should not be bad at all. Considering the highlighted fastener locations below, there will be 10-12 bolts in tension and about 30 bolts in shear doing the bulk of the 'work'. Pretty much in the 100-300 lb range per bolt. In layman's terms . . . that's not moving.
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In other news . . . the boat is now out of the water for the season.

Next steps will be to winterize the plumbing and engines and begin the 'dismantling' phase. My plan is to do much of the project's work in October-November. I am going to be using the same space in my 'sort-of-heated' garage that I built my extended swim platform about 6 years ago. The extension pod (EP) is about the same size as the swim platform was. (8 ft x 5 ft)

 

[tpenfield]

It begins . . .

The gantry is done. A bit bigger than I was initially planning, but it should be more than adequate.
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Next steps will be pulling the engines.

 

[montero]

My Redneck intuition tells me that lower angular reinforcement are bit flimsy. Not really them itself but connections .

 

[DogCavalry]

My Redneck intuition tells me that lower angular reinforcement are bit flimsy. Not really them itself but connections .

My combat engineer experience says likewise.

 

[tpenfield]

My Redneck intuition tells me that lower angular reinforcement are bit flimsy. Not really them itself but connections .

Yes, I put some temporary pieces (oak) on the lowers while raising the structure up. They are actually fine, but I'm going to run some more substantial supports when I true-up the uprights.

The structure is way over designed, a lot heavier than I was hoping, and more than my aging bones and muscles could lift. It took me a couple days to build and then a couple days to raise up. Once I got it up to the height shown below, I was able to winch from the garage door header and raise it up completely. I also had a trailing line (black rope) providing some restraint the other way, so the thing wouldn't come down hard or topple as I pulled from the garage.

I'm going to add some caster wheels at the bases so I can move it around as needed. I'll be moving the boat back & forth as needed as I lower the engines out. When I'm done with the gantry for the engine lifting, it will moved over to where I have an older sailboat to aid in that restoration.

 

[tpenfield]

I finished things up this morning . . . rain/wind forecast for the next couple of days.
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I'm using 1,000 lb rated movers dollies as the casters. The gantry moves around fairly well.

 

[BlueBell]

Nice job.

What's the max it's likely to lift?
And how far does it have to travel?
Oh, and what does it weigh?

 

[tpenfield]

Nice job.

Thx.

What's the max it's likely to lift? = 1,000 lbs.
And how far does it have to travel? = 0 ft. The boat will move away once the engine(s) are lifted
Oh, and what does it weigh? = My guess 300 lbs.

 

[tpenfield]

The gantry fits over the boat . . . .

There are a couple inches of clearance on each side . . . enough to pull the boat in/out as things are lifted.
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Next steps will be to lift the rear seat assembly and then pull the engines.

I plan to take all of the anti-fouling paint off the outdrives and pretty them up. The aluminum has a black anodized coating (SeaCore option), so I believe I have to use a fairly mild (non-caustic) paint remover.

Any suggestions on a paint remover product? (TIA)

 

[DogCavalry]

Something like Goof-Off?

 

[tpenfield]

Something like Goof-Off?

I'll try it.

Acetone works pretty well, but it evaporates so quickly that it does not have much time to soften the paint.

 

[BlueBell]

Glass beading or shelling would be hugely effective.
And you may find the bare aluminum attractive.

 

[tpenfield]

Glass beading or shelling would be hugely effective.
And you may find the bare aluminum attractive.

Just to be clear . . . This outdrive is anodized a shiny black, so I'm not sure that anything 'blasting' would be a good idea . . . too abrasive? I may try some acetone soaked towels to see it it softens the paint enough.

EDIT: I used acetone on a small area . . . a scrub pad did OK in getting through the layers of paint, but I cannot really tell where the paint ends and the anodizing begins. anyway, using solvents may take for ever, so I'll continue to search for a paint remover that is anodizing friendly.

 

[BlueBell]

Sand blasting would likely break through the anodizing.

OR

You could just leave them as is.