Merc steering question/splashwell

[2cycle]

Hello, I am in the process of removing a Merc 1500 from a 70s Glastron and mounting on a '72 Cobia Sportster. The Cobia has a smaller transom mount area than the Glastron, and after some measuring, it looks like the steering arm that goes from the teleflex cable to the motor is going to hit the side of the splashwell on the Cobia and inhibit full turning radius to the right. Are there different length steering arms made that alleviate this problem, or would you cut out a hole for the steering arm/cable to extend into to give full turning radius? The Cobia and Merc are contemporaries, so I am assuming there has to be some modification to get around this?

Thanks for the help/advice!

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Merc steering question/splashwell

i did the same thing but with a 1350. you have to insert the steering into the tilt tube while mounting, on you will never get it in. i had full turning.

 

[2cycle]

Re: Merc steering question/splashwell

Tashasdaddy,

Thanks, I guess I'll just have to see how it shapes up when mounted. The transom mount area is about 28" across and the motor is 16", so I thought if centered it would give me app. 6" on each side and the arm on the Glastron looked to extend out a little over 7".

Was your Cobia a bowrider and did it seem like a heavy boat? This boat seems fairly heavy. The design is interesting in that the bow is more elongated that what you see today. There is literally probably room to seat 4-5 in the bow area. I need to paint the 1500 and then mount, so I'm really looking forward to seeing how it will perform. I know in another thread a while back you mentioned that you had one Cobia with a 1350 and another with an OMC 115? Did both plain fairly quickly?

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Merc steering question/splashwell

they were the best all round boats i ever owned. yes they are heavy, which gives a great ride in rough water. there was only about a 3 mph difference between just one person and being loaded with 5 or 6. we have pull 3 experienced deep start sylom(SP) skiers, and 5 with 2 skis. only reason i sold the most recent one, is we went to a smaller tow vehicle, so i went to an aluminum hull. you can expect 45-50 mph. start with the av plate 1 1/2 inches above the v of the hull, and we always ran a 19 pitch. gives better hole shot.

 

[Chris1956]

Re: Merc steering question/splashwell

2cycle, The steering link arms are adjustable. If you are only an inch off, it may be enough. If not, there are likely shorter link arms available. You may need to slide the merc all the way port, to install the shift rod. Alternatively, install it while the motor is hanging, before you drop it onto the boat.

BTW, the Merc clamp brackets for 80-150HP of those years were all the same. It is therefore likely that the steering will fit w/o modification.

 

[Texasmark]

Re: Merc steering question/splashwell

Couple of things tas mentioned.

Before you mount the engine, can you see if you have to jack it up on the transom to get the height he mentioned? If so, where is the steering arm with respect to the side of the splashwell when jacked up? Maybe that once set to the correct height, it will clear the boat.

If you don't like your hole shot a ported prop will/can give you the best of both worlds (hole and top end) or smart tabs.

When mounting, as he said, mount the cable to the engine first (before mounting the engine to the boat) and no sharp bending of the cable (assuming that you have a Teleflex-Morse single cable that mounts thru the transom bracket pivot hole). If you kink the cable it will not steer right (high turning resistance) and you can never get the kink out of it.

On your question about turning radius, what you would affect would be your ability to manuever at slow speed. At WOT you seldom turn more than 10-15 degrees.

If you can't turn fully lock to lock, then while manuevering, you can turn as far as you can, stop, back up in the opposite direction and hit it again. May take two or three cycles to execute your turn, but do you really want to cut up your new boat?

Had a friend with a Cobia back in the '60's and was a real nice boat.

Mark

 

[2cycle]

Re: Merc steering question/splashwell

Thanks Texasmark and Chris1956 and TD for the replies.

 

[Texasmark]

Re: Merc steering question/splashwell

 

[2cycle]

Re: Merc steering question/splashwell

Tashasdaddy,

Was your Cobia an 18 footer? The boat just seems really heavy. I had the 1500 on an 17.5 ft Glastron tri-hull and it would run 36 at WOT. Do you think the V-hull will make that big of a difference vs. the tri-hull and assuming the Cobia is heavier? I'm just really anxious to get it done and on the water to see if it can be set up to hit those sppeds that yours did. The boat really has a lot of room in the bow too, which I like. Were those boats made in Florida?

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Merc steering question/splashwell

mine were 18 footers, and the cobia deep v hull will make a big difference. they were and i believe still being built in the orlando, sanford area. original plant was sanford, fl. had a cousin who work in the plant.

 

[2cycle]

Re: Merc steering question/splashwell

Tashasdaddy,

Thanks agian for the info. I just noticed in looking around for these that there were a lot of them in Fl. I bought mine off Ebay from Tampa. It previously had a Chrysler 140 so I'm thrilled to be mounting the Inline 6 on it. Gotta love the way those towers look on any boat!