Shop said I could put engines in and they could align them for me as part of the job if that's what you are referring to?


The drains in the compartment in the very front under the bed are not near the hatch or cuddy floor so even if hatch was left open, without a cover, and the cuddy floor flooded with 2 feet of water they wouldn't fill up or drain anything. They will be getting plugs to isolate them from the "unknown" drains to the rear for sure that way I can have some much needed guaranteed dry storage in there! As far as the drains that are in the lower bilge on either side of main stringer that run forward, I can't see where anything up front that would potentially collect water could even drain into anything that connects to them. There is no reason I can see for this... The only variables with these observations is IF there are hidden drains UNDER the cuddy carpet that I can't see without taking it all out OR something in the down in the forward gunwalles where the cuddy starts that I haven't found. You are right about idiot proofing maybe there is a scenario this drain system was designed for that I haven't thought of yet?! Lol!

No, while the motors are out, replace the couplers if at all questionable. Look at the splines and see they are flat (good) or sharp and pointed (bad)

I'm not quite sure how you are going to install the motors and then take it to them to align????

I'd see how those rear drains are constructed before putting plugs in every hole. Might be blocking water in there if you don't know where it's coming from. Have you always had water in the bilge last summer?

Buy an alignment tool for $70. Then ya got one forever.

Who has them for 70 bucks? I'd like to have one.

Ok I see that makes sense, I'll cross my fingers on that one lol...

I'm not quite sure, he said they could do it though. I asked how they know where the engines mounting gets re drilled in the new center stringer and he said they are "real good at making templates of everything" so they would go back in the same spots. He also said when I pull the drives and they come out nicely without any resistance that things were aligned properly already. I'm assuming that I can "place" them in or temporarily loosely bolt them in so they can align them and do the final bolting or adjustments (the shop is 2-3 miles from my house). I'm clueless about the "alignment" process to be honest but that's what I was envisioning anyways...

The water is not coming from anywhere in the front so as long as I dry it all out with my ghetto fabulous fan plugged into the access hole in the cuddy then I plug it all up with the plugs I should be good...

I did have water come out of those bilge drains but only when lifting the bow high when initially parking it when we got it or on the two times I was on the ramp launching it. When we got it home after buying it I noticed it was draining out the drain plug so that's what prompted me to leave the plug out on the ramp and back down to see if anything else came out (which it did). I do not wash out the cabin with water and it is always covered fully also so nothing is leaking into there that I do not know about. The boat FOR SURE had water up in there when I got it and was probably stored all the time that way... The only time water was introduced into those drains after that is when I washed out and scrubbed the bilge (which the water backed up forward and into the drains) and also in the forward compartments under the bed I washed out with the hose and let water drain back into bilge from there. From that point on I have always parked it nose high. When I redid my block system this weekend (pic above) a little more water came out of the drain plug hole so that must have been trapped in there as well. My skegs are literally 2-3 inches from touching the ground with the drives fully in and parked this way. I'm about ready to hire a crane and lift this thing and dangle it from the bow in my driveway to drain it! LOL!

Ebay!!! some even have the gimble bearing removal tool!

$27.99:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/BRAVO-ALPHA-...4b4b02&vxp=mtr

Or the "kit" for $82.99:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mercruiser-A...5f2f13&vxp=mtr

Looks like a glorified clutch alignment tool and probably works just as easy to me..? Maybe I'll give that a try or is there more to this?

Thank you guys . I'm going to be all over that if I can figure out how to buy it ... no pay pal for me.

Thats Whoya..he is a member here... Good guy to deal with.

Done! Ordered the whole shebang? Sp.?