Loose Pylon, too loose? |
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Tofasttoocare
Newbie Joined: April-17-2011 Location: Portland, ME Status: Offline Points: 35 |
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Posted: May-08-2016 at 11:16am |
I discovered the other day when I was getting the boat ready to pull out for the season the pylon is loose. I can pull on it towards the drivers side and then towards the passengers side and the pylon moves a quarter of an inch. I have attached a picture of the gap that opens and closes on the bottom pylon mount. Is there something broken down in the fiberglass that I can't see or is a little play in the pylon normal?
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1996 SNOB
350 Chevy Pro Ski TBI PCM 1.23:1 |
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tryathlete
Platinum Member Joined: April-19-2013 Location: Lake Villa, IL Status: Offline Points: 1797 |
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There's no way that any play is a good thing. I always worried that some of the abuse I did to my old Supra with the extended pylon pulling 5 people on a tube would create that exact situation. It didn't happen in my case, but it looks like it is happening in yours. I wouldn't use that pylon any longer until you have a chance to get it looked after and probably reconstructed. That's scary if you ask me.
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Hollywood
Moderator Group Joined: February-04-2004 Location: Twin Lakes, WI Status: Offline Points: 13510 |
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Woof. That is a weekend long project.
Pull engine Clean & remove gel from bracket area Fiberglass bracket down Replace engine |
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Gary S
Grand Poobah Joined: November-30-2006 Location: Illinois Status: Offline Points: 14096 |
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I thought on the newer boats that it was all supported by the engine cradle,didn't realize it has a mounting point moulded into hull too.
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TRBenj
Grand Poobah Joined: June-29-2005 Location: NWCT Status: Offline Points: 21109 |
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Tighten the cradle bolts. Allowing them to loosen is what damaged the hull mount. It should tighten the pylon until you can address it as HW stated above.
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KRoundy
Platinum Member Joined: August-23-2010 Location: Lake Stevens Status: Offline Points: 1702 |
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+1 on this idea. Crank down the engine cradle u-bolts and see if that helps. That area down there is not supposed to move. The comment about towing tubes from a pole - that's a joke, right? It is actually dangerous to pull anything but a wake boarder from a tower or pole. |
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Previous: 1993 Electric Blue/Charcoal Ski Nautique
Current: 2016 Ski Nautique 200 Open Bow |
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tryathlete
Platinum Member Joined: April-19-2013 Location: Lake Villa, IL Status: Offline Points: 1797 |
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Yeah I was joking about pulling 5 people on a tube from my extended pylon. What kind of fool would do that! That'll take that lower mounting point and yank it right to the bottom of the lake followed by the boat with a 4" square hole in it.
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KRoundy
Platinum Member Joined: August-23-2010 Location: Lake Stevens Status: Offline Points: 1702 |
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I thought so.. :)
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Previous: 1993 Electric Blue/Charcoal Ski Nautique
Current: 2016 Ski Nautique 200 Open Bow |
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Tofasttoocare
Newbie Joined: April-17-2011 Location: Portland, ME Status: Offline Points: 35 |
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Thank you for the responses. TRBenj, I haven't put a wrench on them but the u-bolts don't appear to be loose. There is no visible movement between the pylon and u-bolts. I will check them though. We put a barefoot boom on the pylon last year so that may have contributed to the looseness. We were careful to adjust the cable to the proper length when we installed it.
When I remove the engine/trans and pylon will I need to grind the fiberglass away all around the "L" bracket? Is it an "L" bracket bolted into a block, or is it just held in place by fiberglass? |
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1996 SNOB
350 Chevy Pro Ski TBI PCM 1.23:1 |
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Tofasttoocare
Newbie Joined: April-17-2011 Location: Portland, ME Status: Offline Points: 35 |
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I started doing some research into making this repair and was able to find a thread on this exact problem. http://www.correctcraftfan.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=13300 I am questioning weather i should attempt this repair given i have no fiberglass experience and it is on a pretty critical part of the boat. Is this something a beginner can handle or is it best left to a professional?
So far I have figured out that I need to use a Marine Epoxy resin, but after that I am not sure what to use for mat and how it should be layered and oriented. Are there any threads out there that deal with basic fiberglass instruction? |
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1996 SNOB
350 Chevy Pro Ski TBI PCM 1.23:1 |
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Gary S
Grand Poobah Joined: November-30-2006 Location: Illinois Status: Offline Points: 14096 |
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Here is the thread link
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