That got me 2, count 'em, complete brand new SEI Mercruiser Alpha One gen1 clone outdrives, 2 drive installation kits, 2 gimbal bearing kits complete with new bellows, boots and gaskets, 2 anode kits and 2 new 11x15 props. Not too bad for all that, especially considering shipping the drives was north of 7 bills...ouch... Cheaper than me picking them up so...

Coupla months ago I found 2 sets of rams-- to buy 2 new pairs with hoses and all, over $600-- I paid just a little over $200 and both pairs are in very good shape...

This about tops off my to-buy list, I can't think of anything else I need to finish up the repairs, other than some free time--

Speaking of boots and bellows- can anyone point me to an Ikea-style pictorial set of instructions or even a decent video on how to go about changing them? Last time I searched I found a half dozen videos with some guy standing behind a transom with the drive missing, explaining what to do to change them. But not one of them actually did anything but stand and talk. Not much help! Looks to be a serious pain in the butt to be honest...

Sound like you must be making progress on the project. Sorry can't provide any help with out-drive videos.

making progress-- funny... the only actual progress I've made so far this year is acquiring more tools in hopes of making progress...:)

BUT, I've been carving out some free time in the form of buying 3 more laser engravers since November, and having my daughter come in on Thursdays to help with engraving and other assorted chores. The extra machines keep jobs specific to one type of engraving from piling up while waiting on other jobs to finish, and my daughter, once I get the jobs set up, is a workhorse. She'll do in one day what would take me 3 to 5 days to finish. I'm also turning cold-call customers away that other engraving shops can do...

--It's helping! For the first time since last July I can actually take 2 full days off in a row this weekend! -- But actually, Sunday will be my only full day off, I'll work at least 6 hours Saturday before we can head for the harbor, and I'll put in at least 6 hours Monday night after we get home..

This weekend if I knuckle down, I should be able to finish up the sandblasting of the sides and transom, and maybe even a couple coats of coal tar on them. I should also be able to get 1/3 to half of what's left of the bottom abraded and patched up where needed.

--that's in a perfect world

So to keep in the good graces of the harbor owner, yesterday I head to the harbor to move the big boat trailer to the new storage place I found. Murphy's law in full effect. As I'm towing the thing I'm getting the sensation that the brakes on the trailer, or the congear, are grabbing. I knew it wasn't the congear brakes because they're locked. The trailer brakes aren't locked, but since dunk 1 they've been frozen and haven't worked, rust I'm assuming. Other than that, no problem.

Except when I'm about 5 minutes from getting it lined up in the parking 'stall'. Suddenly it seemed hard to move forward. But the congear was jacknifed pretty good so I start my next backing, and the truck is spinning tires. I reach over to see what I can see in the passenger mirror, and I see I''ve just dug a 4' long trench in the dirt because the right wheels are locked up. And I'm still 15' out past my lane into the main drive. So I figure the right brake must have broken free.

Nah. That would've been too easy. Instead, I notice the bearing hub oil cap is broken and mostly gone. And the hub is hotter than the blue blazes. So I had go back to the lake , grab a sheet of particle board and my jacks to see if I could get the trailer to slide on the wood, or to get the wood to slide across the ground. I didn't care which. Funny, once I got the wood in place, trailer dropped and start moving the trailer backward, the wheels rolled, even on the dirt. I guess the heat was part of the problem when it seized up, but I was able to move it back and forth with no problem. Thankfully. It also means I may not have damaged the axle itself very badly, and maybe a bearing change is all that's needed. Now I just have to learn how to change the bearings out...

After that adventure I went back to the harbor, and I finally put the new power washer to the boat test yesterday. I've gotten a sandblast kit for it with 3 sizes of nozzles just in case, and some quick release fittings that allow me to attach the spray heads right on the handle without the wand, and the wand is now fitted with the same quick release fitting as the spray nozzles. Everything just pops on and off. And it all works wonderfully. I also picked up a 'dial-a-flow' thing to reduce water and pressure, and a 4500 psi rated turbo nozzle with a .040" tip... Holy bajeezus! That nozzle tears away any paint with rust hiding under it like gangbusters! It also proved to me that my test patching using coal tar epoxy with 1/8 chopped strand fiberglass was a failure- it's strong as hell, but the glass strands worked themselves out of the epoxy- I read somewhere that fiberglass doesn't mix well with certain paints and such. Evidence was the surface of my test patches were almost nothing but glass strands, which meant very little of the base epoxy to adhere to the boat! -- The turbo nozzle just peeled off most of my test patches. - But what it wouldn't do was remove ANY of my MarineTex patches, which are 1, 2 and 3 years old. I'm now totally confident in using it to fill the holes and low spots in the steel. The starboard side of the boat was the worst for holes, and it's facing the west sun, so for nearly years it's been roasting in direct sun up to 104°, and I believe we've had a few below 0 winter days, and none of the temp extremes have seem to affect the MarineTex's bond to the steel. Remarkable stuff. But then, at $115 a quart it should be! -anyway, as to the power washer I couldn't be happier, it IS going to speed up this process big time...

Next weekend my plans are to connect up the sandblasting kit and blast the sides and transom. Time permitting I'll work my way from the transom back on the bottom proper, hopefully getting back about 15' worth. I'll patch holes and spots as needed with MarineTex, Then spray on some diluted phosphoric acid to inhibit the rust- then next weekend roll on 3 coats of coal tar on what I got done, which with the drying time between coats will run into a day two... the weekends after that I'll repeat the process until done! Somewhere in between I'll need to move all the blocks to repair what they've been hiding. While waiting for coal tar to dry I can get the new gimbal bearings, bellows, stern drives and props all installed... If I can keep my weekends free and Murphy's law nonsense to a minimum, this boat should be back in the water no later than mid August-- Finally!