Das Boot

Last post, I wrote at the very end that the boat was broke. A shaft was what I suspected at that time. It turned out to be a close guess but not quite. The Mercruiser Alpha One Outdrive is driven off the back of the engine by a plate that is bolted to the flywheel. The plate has a splined receptacle (a hole with grooves running the length of the hole) which receives a splined shaft from the top of the outdrive. The shaft is made of hardened steel, and the plate and receptacle are of aluminum, a slightly softer material. The reason for this is so that if you hit something, like a log, the receptacle will shear its grooves, saving the crankshaft of the engine.

Unfortunately, the plate is a bit difficult to replace. The outdrive must be dropped (the easy part) and then the engine must be unmounted and slid forward so that the bell housing can be removed, exposing the flywheel and the plate. Then the plate is replaced (part cost approx $200) and it all goes back together again. Labor cost was about $200 also.

I also had them clean the hull, as it was growing a lot of green fuzzy stuff. They scraped it all down, and then washed the hull with Muriatic Acid. That removed the staining. I took it out for a test drive afterwards, and was quite pleasantly surprised. The boat came up on plane much quicker, and went quite a bit faster than it had ever done before. The hull must have been dirty from when I got it. Less drag means more speed, and easier cruising.

The guys at the marina did the work, and I must say, they did a nice job. The boat runs great. I am gradually getting everything sorted out, and when this oppressive heat wave calms down at the end of next week (hopefully) we can start to enjoy the water again.