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Re: homemade outboard

68.4.211.130

Its raining dogs and cats out here in so. california. I needed to do some welding before I proceeded to the next step. since I weld outside and its raining I did not get anything done today.
On the homemade boat issue my biggest worry is that it will sink with my wife and I in it, but with the outboard the worst is that the motor will end up on the bottom. (Good idea about the tethering the outboard to the boat, I will definately do that)My biggest worry about losing the outboard to the water is the joint between the pipe and the door hinge. It is not supported by braces, it is under a bit of stress, and I am welding two different types of metal there (galvanized steel and some other type of steel). Soon as I can I am going to weld the inside of the pipe as well to the door hinge if I can get the welder handle enough in the pipe.
The lower end is kind of a difficult issue. Your drawing and idea is excellent and would no doubt work. (that photo shop program you use looks really efficient by the way) I especially liked the way it took advantage of the bearing bolts to hold it in place, something that I was having trouble figureing out using the pvc. It does use an access panel which I need and is more hydrodynamic. I am not sure how to preceed there yet. I wanted this outboard to be made junkyard style, out of parts that are easy to get with minimal customization. I want it as simple and as easy to fix as possible. If I slap somethig together junkyard style and it meets the minimum 5 mph that I am looking for then I am happy, if not then I will have to make some performance modifications. I have been thinking a bit about the pvc parts and want to try something with them first. Even though I could not find threaded ends,(I did buy a non threaded 4" tee with caps and pipe) I dont think that I would need to glue the end caps in place. The T is desinged to have a pipe go in it then the cap on the pipe. I want to cut a length of pipe like 2" long to mate the T and the cap. I will glue the cap to the pipe for both ends of the T. But where the pipe goes into the T, I will use a seal like your rubber innertube idea. Since I do not have a inner tube avail but do have rubber surgical gloves, I will try to make an o-ring or something like that out of them-if that fails I will buy an innertube and try that. I plan to then grease up the pipe and then hammer the cap/pipe into the T and then test it to see if it is watertight. One question though is if it fits really tight and is watertight great, but will I be able to pull it out again? I have considered drilling a hole in the center of the cap, putting a bolt thru it, sealing it-this would allow me to grab onto it to pull the cap off. The PVC T idea no doubt is not very hydrodynamic, but I think it might be easier for me to put together and if it works great, if not I will use the fiberglass (I have never worked with fiberglass by the way). Looking ahead of these problems, one has been bugging me. How to attach the prop to the 5/8" shaft. Since this is a critical part, I want it to fit nice and straight with no wobbeling. I have even considered having a machinist do this for me but would prefer to do it myself if it can be done adequatley. Its hole is less then 5/8", the guy who sent it suggested that I bore it out to 5/8". I am concerned about boring the hole perfectly straight thru, once that is done, I have to drill a hole thru the prop and shaft that is straight thru..not easy to do these things with a hand drill. Another idea was to put a threaded bolt thru the shaft hole in the prop that fits snug, put a nut at each end of the prop, tighten. Then somehow attach the bolt to the shaft so that it is straight and level-thats the problem, if its even a bit off and the prop shaft is spinning at 2000 or more rpm its going to vibrate and wobble big time. Ideas?


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