1967 omc outdrive boot

[saltygirlCALI]

I bought a 1967 columbian with a omc boat a couple months ago runs good, hull is in good condition everything worked but a couple small things like the outdive lift motor fixed them and took it out to sea ran like a champ! I bought it to fish off of in the ocean but recently in transport the outdive boot popped off the outdrive when i started calling around locally to fix it everyone i called said they wouldn't touch it with a ten foot poll and that is a dangerous design for the ocean....is this true? is this boat worth fixing?

 

[Redrig]

So the boot just popped off while you were towing it ? Yikes , that could have ended badly

 

[bruceb58]

If all you need is the boot replaced, it's not a big deal. There are MANY OMC stringers on the ocean with that exact same design.

Typically, those can't just pop off unless it was installed incorrectly. They usually tear once they get older. If it really did pop off, I would be checking your stringers to make sure the engine didn't move off its mounts.

 

[saltygirlCALI]

it appears to have popped off the inside where the clamp is used i can stick my whole hand threw it may be ripped i will double check that and check the stingers too thank you!!

 

[saltygirlCALI]

yes it popped off while towing...i know lucky i had it in 7-8 foot swells the day before....

 

[Redrig]

I would do a very thurough exam of the transom , stringers ,ect. That should obviously not just happen like that

maybe the rough swells the day before put too much stress on a component......... good luck

 

[southkogs]

Sounds like the clamp broke (and you can still buy 'em) or as Bruce said was installed wrong. Was the trailer bouncing or anything like that?

 

[saltygirlCALI]

thank you i will check that stuff out asap i live way out in the country and all the roads are pretty bumpy and funky but i have a decent trailer and strap it down well...I am just amazed and confused that the boat mechanics even though they have never seen the boat refuse to fix it and say it dangerous I dont get it.....

 

[HT32BSX115]

I am just amazed and confused that the boat mechanics even though they have never seen the boat refuse to fix it and say it dangerous I dont get it.....

They know what happens when that rubber "boot" tears or gets a hole in it (like, if you hit something submerged etc) . If the hole or tear is big enough, a bilge pump will not come any where near being able to keep up with the "leak"...........so it can basically sink the boat!


When you get it all fixed, make sure you have good life jackets on hand and a good VHF radio when you head out!

Good luck,


Rick

 

[bruceb58]

Rick,

Back in the early 70's when we first started to cruise Puget Sound and up into Canada, people actually prefered the OMC stringer to Mercruiser because when you hit a log, the whole drive would rip off but leave the intermediate housing and the boat floated. With a Mercruiser, when the drive got ripped off, it left a hole in the transom.

We had a friend with an early OMC stringer that had the external steering rod. One day he hit a log and the drive got ripped off but it was still hanging back there by the steering rod.

 

[southkogs]

We had a friend with an early OMC stringer that had the external steering rod. One day he hit a log and the drive got ripped off but it was still hanging back there by the steering rod.

... I'd prefer not to test that theory, but that's the steering I have.

OP - one of the more likely reasons your local marine shops don't want to look at it is because it's an OMC and an old one at that. The mechanic I used on my outboards for almost five years wouldn't look at the OMC Stringer when I got it - wouldn't even walk over to it.

The boot is nuthin' to creep out over. I really don't think it's all that much more susceptible to trouble than bellows on a Merc (just my opinion). The one on my boat is ancient ...

 

[Howard Sterndrive]

Rick,

Back in the early 70's when we first started to cruise Puget Sound and up into Canada, people actually prefered the OMC stringer to Mercruiser because when you hit a log, the whole drive would rip off but leave the intermediate housing and the boat floated. With a Mercruiser, when the drive got ripped off, it left a hole in the transom.

We had a friend with an early OMC stringer that had the external steering rod. One day he hit a log and the drive got ripped off but it was still hanging back there by the steering rod.

A friend of mine had a mechanical shift stringer -he recalled looking over the transom after a rock hit and seeing his stringer drive hanging by the shift cable. lol

 

[southkogs]

Oooooohhhh ... feel the Stringer "love" in the room?

 

[bruceb58]

Oooooohhhh ... feel the Stringer "love" in the room?

Let's not go overboard.

 

[HT32BSX115]

We had a friend with an early OMC stringer that had the external steering rod. One day he hit a log and the drive got ripped off but it was still hanging back there by the steering rod.

I totally get what you're talking about. I guess I am referring to a 1967 boat with maybe a rotten transom and rotten "stringers" that might break etc before the drive itself does! (they possibly broke just driving down a bumpy road according to the OP!!.............which may also be why those "mechanics" didn't want to "touch it with a 10ft pole" !!!

Yeah................. One of the things I don't like about Puget Sound! There IS a LOT of debris in the water!!

 

[bruceb58]

I totally get what you're talking about. I guess I am referring to a 1967 boat with maybe a rotten transom and rotten "stringers" that might break etc before the drive itself does! (they possibly broke just driving down a bumpy road according to the OP!!.

True..I agree with that. Thought you meant that the stringer boot design itself was inherently dangerous.

 

[southkogs]

Let's not go overboard.

No, no. Just grabbing at the positive vibes for the short time they're available.