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    runny/liquid grease in bellows?

    Pulled my drive (Alpha One Gen 2) today after being in the water since May. Tiny little bit of what looks like liquified grease in the bottom of the bellows. Definitely green grease but runnier than usual. Doesn't stink link gear oil. U-joints and gimbal seem clean though. Not sure if this is...
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    Can skeg damage cause vibration/noise on plane?

    So Georgian Bay got me yet again. We were puttering down a channel quite slowly (~7-9 MPH) not on plane, when we dinged the outdrive (Alpha, Gen2) off a rock. Middle of the channel but the water is down right now ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Anyway, I inspected from the swim platform and the prop seems OK, no...
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    Merc 4.5, any reason I can't just dump the block and manually fill with pg antifreeze?

    Going into my second winter with a Mercruiser 4.5 250hp. Last winter I winterized more or less "by the book" and drained the block, topped up the block with pg antifreeze by the topside blue plug on left of engine (looking aft), then ran on muffs to introduce antifreeze through the whole system...
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    Found an odd spot along the hull/deck shoebox joint, concerning?

    Found this spot along the hull/deck joint. Is it a leak? Not wet currently. What would remediation look like; remove rub rail and re-seal the area?
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    Top gimbal bearing o-ring on drive shaft sheered off?

    Hey all. I was re-installing my alpha one gen 2, on my second attempt after having the paper gasket pop out. Anyway, I noticed to top most o-ring (closest to drive) had an entire section sheered off all the way around. It was like a thin o-ring was cut off it and just hanging out on the top bit...
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    Re-re installing alpha one, what can I re-use?

    So my first install attempt ended with the paper bell housing gasket pushed out on the one side. Removed drive and preparing to re-install. I think extra grease from water passage o-ring forced it out along with over torque from a crappy torque wrench. Question is given none of the o-rings...
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    New canvas bow cover rolling at edges, solutions?

    Hey all. Just got a new bower cover for my bowrider and the front lip of the cover, just passed the snaps, like to roll up :\ I am not a huge fan of this because it won't let water roll off. Any one faced this? Any creative solutions to getting the edge to lay flat?
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    AlphaOne Gen2 large gasket install

    Getting ready to install my outdrive and have been reading up on glueing in the large round gasket that seals off the bellows. The manual doesn’t mention where the adhesive should go. Do I put it on the “front” face of the gasket facing the bellows or around the sides of the gasket or both? Not...
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    First time patching gelcoat, couple questions

    So my seadoo with fibreglass hull had a quarter size chuck out of the gelcoat around the intake. Previous owner had tried to rtv the chip back into place. Anyway decided to take a crack at patching it with new gelcoat, first time, upside down, on my back, across curved surface. Anyway. It’s...
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    New (2020) Alpha One Gen 2 wont come off

    Boat is in forward gear, trim rams removed, speedo tube remove, 6 bolts removed. Dang thing won't budge. Any ideas why a newer drive would be stuck? What are my options, just the 2x4 trick?
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    How does the raw water cooling system on the 4.5L dump water when the tstat is closed?

    I've been trying to understand the cooling system on my new-to-me 4.5L. Instead of a traditional thermostat housing that has 4 hose returns to both the elbows (when tstat closed) and to both manifolds (when tstat open) the 4.5L has a "crossover" assembly that houses the tstat and only has...
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    Oil dipstick question for 4.5 owners, which way around?

    I seem to be getting different oil readings on the front and back of the dipstick. If the hashmarked section is facing the stern the oil reads within bounds, if the hashmarked section is facing the bow it reads high. Just finished an oil change and not sure which one to trust.
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    Better muffs for Alpha One drives?

    Have a mercruiser (4.5) for the first time in a few years. After I drain the block of water, I plan to run it on muffs for AF but the muffs I have don't form a good seal and leak badly. I am worried about losing most of my AF before the engine gets to temp even if pre-warmed. I currently have...
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    What is this thing on my Alpha One where a nut should be?

    I was expecting six nuts to remove the drive and just found this on my new-to-me boat. Any idea what it is and how to remove it? 2019 or 2020 Merc Alpha One Gen 2 for reference.
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    Those with MPIs what do you do with your leftover storage gas mix?

    First winter with an MPI (Merc 4.5), old boat was carb’d. Curious what you all do with the left over gas storage/fogging mix?
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    How would you seal these screw holes?

    I’ll be resealing the screw holes in my deck shortly. Carpet snap screws are pretty straight forward, however there is a composite panel over my gas tank cavity with the screw holes being under the panel. I am concerned if I coat the screw and install most of the sealant will come off on the...
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    Boat construction question on gelcoated underdeck surfaces

    When a modern boat has a fibreglass stringer system and gelcoated under deck surfaces like a ski locker, engine compartment etc what am I looking at? Is the stringer system laid in the hull then everything is glassed over and gel coated? Or is it more modular, and the gelcoated surfaces are part...
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    Help understanding survey conductivity ratings

    Hello all, I am curious what you make of these lines from a survey I just had performed. I know you can't read into conductivity too much, but would you be concerned? Overall the boat was rated as "average" condition. In the details/testing: In the summary under section - C “C” refers to...
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    Glastron vs FourWinns with the consolidated plant

    I know people like to poop on Glastron but I am genuinely interested in the differences now that Glastron and Four Winns are rolling out of the same plant. I was comparing a 2020 Glastron GT 205 and 2020 FourWinns H210 and while the hulls are clearly different designs a lot of the interior...
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    4.5 mpi winterization tstat or muff fill?

    Possibly buying a new boat with a 4.5 250 w/ alpha 1 after owning a VP 5.0 for years. After dumping the water via the single point drain system is it best to introduce antifreeze via muffs or through the blue plug on the thermostat? Maybe both work and it doesn’t mater? Not familiar with the...
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