Two questions:<br />1. My OB is mounted on a 24' pontoon boat. When I have the boat level (on a trailer), and the motor down, the motor is actually oriented so that it faces slightly upward, I'm guessing about 5-10 degrees. (I don't have a power trim, motor is either up or down) When the boat is in the water, it leans back, because like most pontoon boats, it is backheavy. This means that the motor is now facing even more upward, probably 10-15 degrees. Is this correct? Or would I get better power/efficiency if the engine is oriented exactly parallel to the water. Are there any established guidelines?<br /><br />2. I recently pulled the lower unit on this motor and noticed that when physically removing the lower unit, the water tube actually telescoped out about 6 inches before separating from the lower unit. At first I thought this was a 'feature' to make lining up the water tube easier on re-assembly, but now I think it may be a problem. Shouldn't this tube be fixed in position? With the lower unit off, I can easily slide it up and down with very little pressure. The top of the tube feels like it fits in some sort of 'slot', but it isn't tight or anything. It just slides until it hits something metal up near the powerhead. Is it supposed to have a seal or something up there to hold it in place? If I have to fix this, I have a bad feeling that it is going to be a bear. By the way, the motor pumps water fine and doesn't have problems with overheating, though I always wonder if the amount of water flow isn't a little too light.<br />Even if this isn't a problem, I'm curious where exactly does this tube go? (and don't tell me it carries water to the powerhead, duh!) Like, a detailed explanation of the water flow loop.
