I did mine in '08 via Merc's instructions. It was pretty inexpensive and very straight forward. I had suspected one was leaking (turns out it wasn't). But I replaced both with stainless pins so their was no risk of rust damaging the new seals. My gimbals remain tight and leak free.
I use my anchor/windlass a ton. All chain has some serious advantages, most of which are very obvious. But I don't run all chain for a few reasons:
- It can bring in a ton of mud, and there is plenty where I boat.
- Feeding out and in really shakes the bow roller. This may not be a problem...
Brokers in my region are largely terrible. I don't say that lightly or with hyperbole. It is just the way it is. They generally know absolutely nothing about the boats they are selling, and very little about boats in general. They are also often very slow to respond to buyers and...
Remember to use appropriate respiratory and eye protection when hitting that area with a wire wheel or similar. The fiberglass which is just below the gelcoat is exceptionally bad for the lungs and eyes when it gets in the air.
Also, don't forget acetone is incredibly flammable, so take...
Sales tax on private sales? To me that seems unconscionable. In my state, at least for now private sales are untaxed. You might look into the laws in your state to see if there are any loopholes or workarounds.
Yep, I'm thinking Lazy Daze has it right about a dinghy, raft, gangway, etc. Might take some figuring, but a lift kept and flushed sterndrive boat is very beneficial to the one that is not.
The pins don't have to go bad. Keep up with the corrosion battle and torque the bolts on the gimbals regularly (simple and takes less than a minute per drive), and they will last for thousands of hours. As far as the repair kits, if the steering pin does fail, they work famously as long as the...
I was talking about my guess on the numbers of the 390 Sundancer. I'm very familiar with the 38 Fountain Express. You could also get the Fountain with staggered drives, Marc Racing motors, and even diesels with Surface drives.
I've done mine a few times in the 20 years I've owned it. It's not a terrible job since my door does not slide under the helm. But I'm always worried about the big awkward heavy doors being damaged during removal or re-install. Also, on mine it takes some finesse shimming to get it smooth...
That's a beautiful boat. I think the reference to the blue hull was in regards to the sides not the bottom. They can be kept nice, but it definitely requires attention. Freshwater actually tends to be a little more difficult as it usually spots more than salt.
That steering wheel on a sterndrive boat will work just fine when docking. It really will... just like a big heavy single engine boat. But using the shifters instead works way better. I can dock my 310 worlds better and in much worse circumstances than I ever could with my 260.
All of the above is great advice. In particular, the part about taking the boat out of gear. Everybody says go slow and we mean it. But sometimes we forget to say you have to take it out of gear a lot to go slow enough.
Also, twins really do help with docking when you get the hang of it...
Very interesting conversation. I have some thoughts on this.
For my manner of boating (a lot on Lake Powell)... The ability to back into a beach and cruising speed and range are important, outdrives perform well. I am in freshwater and the boat is primarily stored on a trailer and indoors, so...