Hi all,
I’m getting ready to replace the motor mounts in my N30U and for the most part the job looks pretty straight forward except for the starboard forward in the boat motor mount. Left to my own devices I am going to remove the transmission to get to it. I am looking for tips from anyone that might have already replaced these mounts. Any hints on the other two would be greatly appreciated as well. They appear to just need cleaning and paint.
I figure another advantage to having the transmission out is servicing the stuffing box (an idea from a Peter G. post). From what I’ve seen of the boat and the care the previous owner took of it I actually wouldn’t be surprised to find ultra-X in there but it would be nice to know what is in there.
I read someplace that there were special wrenches that might have come with the boat to deal with the stuffing box. Does anyone have a picture of these? I’m not above heating a wrench with a torch and bending it.
Lastly, and not really related when I first bought this boat I posted a question about not being able to get the bilge boards up while the boat was out of the water. I have come to the conclusion that the issue is hull flex because of how the boat was placed on the poppets.
I’m probably going to skew the shaft alignment a little after the mounts are replaced and then check it again when the boat is in the water. How many people actually check the alignment every time the boat is lifted with a sling as the owner’s manual says it should be.
Regards,
Bill Mortensen
Summer Song #335, N30U
Noank, CT
I agree with Joe… replace the drive plate while you have easy access to it. When I did my transmission 2 years ago, the plate looked fine (my mechanic at the time was surprised at what good condition it was in too), but it was 34 years old, as was the rest of the transmission that needed to be rebuilt, so I erred on the side of caution, not wanting to have to take it all apart again in a few years for a failed plate… so for the extra dollars ($125 for the plate if I recall correctly) the old one was out and the new one in in under 5 minutes.
As far as the engine mounts - I would advise changing all 4 of them at the same time. Though 2 of the mounts look fine and just in need of paint, they most likely are just as old as the 2 you are planning on replacing, and the rubber dampeners, etc break down, losing its resiliency over time and becomes less effective. The current (though excessive - to me) guideline is now to replace the mounts every 5 years or so…
It is easy for me to advise replacing all, because for this project I had the yard to it… the hard part was getting them to actually come and do it, but once they did, they did a good job!
Peter Grabow
S/V CAKE WALK III
1987 30U 430
Jersey City, NJ