Imco end caps w/ Latham steering
 

I recently purchase a 32 Fountain Fever. It was supposed to be turn key. After using it for 3 days everything was good. When we put it on the trailer, i trimmed it up some, not all of the way. When i got home i noticed one imco end cap was broke and the other was cracked. It has Latham steering. The seller had recently put the motors and drives in the boat before selling but refuses to assume any liability. The shop that brokered the deal is trying to help but i can’t seem to get the issue resolved. I just had new Imco end caps overnighted to the shop and they just told me the pins do not go through the Latham ends. This is were i am stuck and not sure what to do. I have had this boat for a month and used it about 3 days and now seem to be in limbo and do not know what to do to get it fixed and back on the water. I was told at Imco i could have the bolt machined and it can be made to work but i am not sure about that either. This has gone from a lifetime dream to a nightmare. Any help would be greatly appreciated

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Imco uses a shoulder bolt. It clamps in the top of the end cap and floats at the bottom so when you tighten it is not trying to pull the top & bottom ear together.

Best bet is to find a shop familiar with that setup.

It also looks like the rod ends might be binding. Clevis ends won't do that.

They were extremely tight.

My Fountain has Imco steering, I added it myself several years ago. It uses Clevis joints, not rod ends like you have. I can take some pictures and send them to you. PM me with your number.

Fountain Steering
 

Here is what the Imco Assembly looks like on a Fountain. Also, where is your tie bar ??
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My tie bar is on the lower part of the drives.

You need to look at the following items:
Joints binding, tie rod ends, when in trailer position. Trimmed too high for the geometry of the set up.
Tie bar center line on drives is causing the steering to bind.
I remember changing my tie bar to a shorter tie bar and mounting below steering attachment points. All you geometry on the system needs to be in line. Yours is not. You can have your tie bar cut and tapped. Install the clevis joints. If it were mine, I would probably replace the end caps, unless you find a reliable machinist than can fix those. Get a hold of Imco and see if your steering alignment is correct for their end caps. You may have to make some other changes. Like convert the end caps to Latham style

Thanks Helmwurst, the alignment is good and we made sure it’s centered so when one ram is all the way in the other is all the way out. The pins are going to be machined and shimmed.

Sure looks to me like somone used the wrong bolt for the imco caps and tightened them up which tried to pull the wings together and broke them off. Whoever installed the steering is at fault IMO. They used inproper hardware weather they knew it or not is the question.

Good luck!

In the scope of boating this is not a big problem, this is very basic mechanics. Whoever did the hack job and used the wrong bolts was a mechanical idiot, those ears are not meant to be clamped together. Put your new caps on, have some nice stainless bolts machined to work, line up your rod ends and you are good to go

I would put the tie bar right below the cylinder mount on the same bolt. Otherwise they could fight each other as you turn because they swing a different arc. I would get the bolt that Imco sells with their mounts and make the clevis's fit that.

Since you need new mounts anyway, I would just get Latham Mounts and all the correct hardware from them.
Then just use stock rear caps for the drives which are easy to find used.