...Particularly outdrives. We may be acquiring my grandpa's boat from my Aunt and Uncle, it has a Merc 188 outdrive (according to what my dad can remember abt it). They say the transom seal is rotted/ripped. So the question is, how difficult are they to replace? It's not gonna be me doing it, I'm 600 miles away/ It's going to be my sister's fiance, who is relatively mechanically inclined, and has my entire tool chest at his fingertips, and I'm a phone call away (but dont know much abt boats, even though I build them for a living)...So you think it can be done fairly easily? It's an older boat, but we think it has the hydraulic trim, so that would be one more thing in the way.

 

uBoat: Noun
A hole in the water surrounded by wood or fiberglass that the owner continually pours money into.

The two best days in a boat owner's life are the day he gets a boat, and the day he sells it.

That's all I know about boats.

 

Well if THAT'S all it takes to help him out...
Boat: Bring On Another Thousand.

 

Since Shovel head beat me to the saying "The two best days in a boat owner's life are the day he gets a boat, and the day he sells it."

I will add that the transom seal and transom repair is not too difficult. I did it to the boat I used to own. Making sure the repair is good and keeps everything inline is the most important thing to do. Get a good repair manual and it will tell you (him) how to remove the out drive and align everything when going back together.

 

Good advice..... that was how I did it and it worked quite well.

 

they float if maintained properly.

 

Have him take a good look at the U joints, or just put new ones in.
U joints can let go and take out some expensive aluminum.

Check the whole unit for slop, most have some kind of replaceable bushings that the outdrive pivots on, they do wear out and get sloppy.

Change the oil.

Salt water use? If so put new zincs on it.

 

yes and no. if he is not in a hurry, observant YES. outdrives are like watches. get the proper Haines or suitable book, follow the step by step directions for the easiest way. bellows are most important, worry about parts no longer available would be my concern. also:

would be what you don't see- keel rot. if it has been sitting, stick a screw driver in the center built up part from the base of the bow (start of where a boat gets flat) down to the widest part about a foot shy of the stern.

20 footer on down, this would be taking a slotted screwdriver as in a light stab here and there, on the inside of the boat-down the ribs to noticable bump if fiberglass.

wooden boats, look for water stains in between ribs to the floor. transom edges have to be sharp looking, not fuzzy (inside)

aluminum skins have to be held fast, no sags or loose patches. if it is a 70s boat, there is only mat fiberglass- no seperation is tolerated. hope that helps!

ahem* a skipper who still has her wallet......

 

A merc 188 is a 302 2 barrel ford engine with a bolt on outdrive and when you say transom seal is ripped i have to think you mean the exhaust and or drive shaft bellows/boots. The transom plate normally does not cause any problems on that style of set up.

You will need to pull the 6 nuts that hold the outdrive and the two lift cylinders at the the outdrive and then with it level pull it straight back/off. There will be a gasket and 2 oring's on that to replace.Behind that there is the a unit that pivots on two pins and is also connected to the transom plate by the two boots and a water supply hose that should be replaced as well. The boots can be fun to change and normally need to be stretched a little to slip them on also they use a glue in a tube to make sure they seal and stay on. The water supply hose is just a piece of heater hose but the proper length is critical to prevent it getting kinked and cutting off water flow to the engine. On the boots you need to make note of the clamps position so that you get them back exactly right or you may not have the access to tighten them up.
While the outdrive is off separate the upper and lower units and change the water pump on the lower or at least put a fresh impeller in it. When the outdrive goes back on to the boat you must use spline grease on the drive shaft and watch that the shifter linkage coupling is pointed straight back so it will slip together.
As was said before check the 2 U joints while it is off and grease them before the outdrive goes back on.
The parts for that setup are very common and should be easy to come by unlike my 1969 Sea Ray 200 hp merc II setup with thru the hull exhaust.

 

They're not too complicated, IMO.
Last summer a couple of us had to pull apart a Bravo drive (and every line on the engine) to clean out the water passages. One of the guys we were with sucked it full of sand and pebbles.
All the gears and shafts and whatever else had to come apart.
Don't remember much as we were all pretty tanked! But it went back together without issue and we had parts scattered everywhere!

 

Disagree. I have a pontoon boat. very nice. I can't wait till each weekend get here. We catch lots of fish, we've had several fish fry's with alot of family and friends and will be having another soon. We're going to try to get setup to camp on our boat this summer.

I find that usually people that make these kind of statements either try to buy junk boats and expect them to run like a good, well maintained boat, or just simply have never had a boat before.

 

Wow, lots of responses...some helpful, some not so much (you know who you are, lol) I've heard good and bad about owning a boat. I have heard many times the old "hole in the water ya throw money into." line. We'll see how it goes, but for a 70's boat I'd say its doin pretty good if thats all they 'say' is wrong with it. I will send him this link, so he has some ideas as to what he is getting into. And yeah, rattlerbob, my Uncle referred to it as outdrive boot, I saw online where they called it transom seal, I assume its the driveshaft boot.

I will def. have him check out uni's and keel/hull (proper terms i think) areas for rot. It's a tri-hull, pretty sure fiberglass. I havent seen the boat since I was prolly 5-6 yrs old (25 now)

So thanks again guys, for the info, and for a couple laughs, and if anyone has anything else to add, its always appreciated

 

Great Lakes people are ...well great! like Carlos said- marine folks still drive their friends around without asking for gas money. just cause it is fun. ahhh memories. enjoy!

 

Oh yeah, my buddy has a place up in Marblehead on Erie, good times up there. Love goin to the lake, would love to take it out there, but thats why my sis's fiance wants it for now. I, however am living in Virginia, so it'll be out in the Chesapesake Bay and James River whenever I get it down here

 

You're right. When I was younger we had a boat and lived about 20 minuets from the lake. Loved it then. When I grew up I bought my own (used) boat and fixed it up. Loved the boat but I also live 2 hours from the lake and that really made it hard to just do a quick day at the lake. For me that is what makes owning a boat a bad thing unless you have the time to spend the weekend there and do it often.