What if I just keep running it like photo shows, will it fall off lol.

It might and probably take out the prop while doing it :(
If that's epoxy you can try soaking it in acetone to soften it up or paint stripper....then maybe take a thin chisel and start working your way under the lip of the cone peeling it back. I don't think there's any way to salvage the cone for re-use though if that was on your mind...
You can also try and cut the tip of the nose of the cone off and expose the pocket under there and fill that with acetone or paint stripper to get it going from both sides...

After thinking about the prop ?? that would be an expensive loss. I don't think it would actually fall off because the other side of the drive is solid nothing missing. Just say 50 mph pushing against the nose cone I cannot see it falling off there But maybe during a turn possibly.. I think I am going to add some more marine tex so I don't have any issues. Marine tex bonds very well fast. . It would be better to do this off the boat during the winter months

Mine started looking like yours and one day it was gone. No damage to prop so I always surmised it actually came off when I dropped it into reverse.....

To clarify though mine looked worse than yours by the time it came off

if you want to remove it you can try a torch. heat the nose cone and it will soften the bond. dont heat it till it melts but you can heat it a fair amount. we do that to take filler out of body panels all the time. when you heat it it lessen the bond of the nose cone to the epoxy so start at the edge and as you heat it work a putty knife under it and keep working it in. eventually it will free up

That sounds like the way I will do it at the end of the boating season. I have a acetylene turbo torch I use at work for brazing refrigerant pipes, of course I will have to watch how much heat I will apply. The worst case scenario is 2 used lower DWP bare cases.

Hope it works out for you.

Opening the water inlet holes, if they don't just punch out as suggested as a solution, a drill bit twisted with fingers is a great method for fine work.

You'd be surprised and most would shy away but if they aren't weld in place the filler is the weak point. You can bash the cones with a steel hammer and it will start to fracture the filler. In the end your going to be doing some paint work anyway... You can also carefully cut through a little of the cone and then use a chisel if it's being really stubborn. Trim the drive down onto some wood blocks to make it rigid.. and then remember the last time the wife said no to an upgrade and start swinging. Towards the front of the nose cone not at the seam.... Usually less than 10 good hard wacks and you'll see the filler start to crack....

For now I added some marine tex along the seam so I can finish the boating season. On the side water pickups , is it possible someone filled that whole complete section with putty.. seems a bit on the hard side. A drill bit by hand did nothing., I guess I can use a drill with a very small bit??

If you keep them on for the next 6-8weeks of season, I think you would be able to focus better with a proper solution, and not be pressured to cut corners to keep it seaworthy.

https://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/...er-intake.html

Interesting perspective about drilling new holes. Merc suggests 4 vs 8. So maybe reviewing the whole plan of water inlet...maybe there is a better location to have them.

If you want to drill out the original locations, make sure you drill at the correct angle. Account for the shape of the inlet holes.

I would use smallest drill bits strong enough to do the job without breaking.

Try a sharp pointy center punch to align the drill bit.

Increase drill bit size until you've reached your desired hole size.
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Don't discount a little Dremel type tool with a small round burr to open up the angled inlet portion for the holes.