Pod design for 200 hp to go on 7m sharkcat

[sharkcat 23]

I'm hoping that some people on here could point me in the right direction, it seems the 200 yammie 4's I've brought for my 7m sharkcat wont fit in the engine wells, its a very snug fit and wont allow any room for movement. Would anyone on here have a design, preferrably in alloy, for pods that would suit the job. Mostly going alloy to try and save a bit of $. I can either weld it myself or get an alloy welder I know who"ll charge me $45 p/h to do it.

[Drew70]

Hello
These are the pods on my 28 sharkcat, critical if you build them that there is a bracing plate inside the pod connecting the motor mount wall then across the base plate and then onto the transom wall of the pod to stabilise the integrity of the pod
hope this helps
Cheers
Drew

800918009280093

[sharkcat 23]

Thanks for the help Drew but I couldn't open your attachments.
Doug

[Drew70]

Try Again with pictures

[sharkcat 23]

Drew,
They look like what I need, would you have any drawings on them, dimensions, location of braces, wall thickness etc.
Doug

[Noelm]

How about a completely different tack, modify the motor wells to allow the motors to fit? that way, the motors just bolt on as per normal, but the well can be cut and remodeled for perhaps little cost (maybe)

[Drew70]

Doug
Dimensions are:
10 mm plate
Width top spray guards - 800
Width at base of pod in water - 600 mm
Length - 700mm
Total height (measure at top motor mount) 570 mm
Top of pod is 200 mm below rear spray guard (motor mount) and 100mm below spray guard where attaches to transom
Internal 50 x 50 mm brace running from centre back through to front (attachs to transom)
Two braces where outboard attaches 10 mm thick , built up another 10 mm for the lower 100mm

[tropicrows]

Noelm, thinking outside the box. That was my my thought but you beat me to the post.

[cormorant]

You need steering angle or tilt?
Will it cope with motors further back on a off the shelf setback bracket? The one below solves tilt as it raises engine vertically above your existing wells. You can weld up solid non adjustable versions or buy them off the shelf as well. To keep the insurer happy if there was a failure you would want a engineered design if welding yourself.

What motor seller sold these to you without noting the issue as it has been common since 4 strokes came out?. Early cats hate overweight heavy motors and their big cowls.

Pods are a issue unless foam filled as any hole can leave you with a sinking boat as they place the weight a long way aft and unless you extend rear walkway you can get lots of misting as well. Really hard to fight fish over the back when they are back a long way.

http://www.bobsmachine.com/Products/jackplate_hydraulic.cfm

[WalrusLike]

Those pod pictures remind me.. My boat, and just about every other I have ever seen has a grungy pocket of dirty water or dried residue in the motor well.

Why can't the drain holes be slightly lower than the well bottom with a slight ramp down to them?

In glass boats it's just a minor tweak of the mould and in alloy its just a bit extra cutting/welding.

Or doesn't it annoy anyone else?

I mention it here because you might be able to implement a fix if you use the pod method.

[Beatsworkin2]

can u put pictures of wot problem is pods will work on cat but if u already have engine wells there will be a long way from the back of the cockpit to the aft point of ur engines which can cause a problem and yes walrus like there r many manufactering problems due to poor plugwork but it is not as easy as pulling a mould out of productionto fix a mistake seems as people are buying shitty american boats with no laminate in saying this a qaulty boat like grady white wont give u any change out of 100k in saying all this cats r awsome thank god for bruce harris

[Beatsworkin2]

is ur boat glass or aliminiam and yes wl u make a good point

[sharkcat 23]

Thankyou for your replies, the issue is once the motor is tilted into the engine well there is absolutely no space for the motor to turn. Can someone explain to me the issue with pods on a cat, I know several cats come out with pods on, Kevlacat for example, is it just a weight problem as I thought pods can add bouyancy which would help offset the weight issue. I hadn't thought about reshaping the wells, it may work out the way to go, I would expect it to cost about the same either way. If I did go with pods I would put a platform between to two as I think it looks a better finish and to get to those fish that want to get around the back of the boat. The cat is an earlish fibreglass Bruce Harris model.

[Noelm]

OH, so the motors fit when in the down position, but have to be straight ahead when tilted? that was a very common "feature" of that model, even with 2 strokes, especially when the big V6's came out. Cats that had wells, don't like pods, simply because the weight is moved further back, and the lever action, makes it even worse, modern cats (like Kevlacats) were designed with pods in mind, however, they are still not too flash with the right size motors on them, the 5.2 is really only suitable for modern day 70HP 4 strokes, and the 6.2 bbarely supports a 90HP 4 stroke.

[sharkcat 23]

Noel,
Just thinking about your suggestion of modifying the existing wells, from the measurements I've taken with the engine straight and turned, I need to have approx 150mm (as a minimum) room each side. I can see that on the inside of the well that could be done without to much trouble, but from the outside of the well to the outside of the hull wouldn't be that distance to begin with.

[Noelm]

The well to outer hull is pretty close on the outside, however, the motors should be OK when in use, correct? so, if you only need to tilt just a bit for tailering, you may be fine with what you have, lots of those had the motors fixed straight ahead when tilted right up, but on most boats, the motors can be down when on the trailer.

[Fed]

I'm sure I've missed something vital here but I don't understand why you can't leave them straight when you're tilting them up?

[WalrusLike]

I'm sure I've missed something vital here but I don't understand why you can't leave them straight when you're tilting them up?

Fed I am just guessing but there may be times when in shallow water you need to have them up a bit and still steerable.