Top photo: the driveline all together and ready to reinstall. From the forward end is the Aquadrive mounted on its bulkhead followed by the PSS seal and the 1 3/4" Vernatube epoxied in the 2" Vernatube, a new cutless bearing sticking out of the tube, and finally the Max-Prop.

The Aquadrive is all painted, actually too painted. I had to remove paint from a couple of mating surfaces before assembling the thing. I sawed the bulkhead out so that it can be repositioned to precisely match the new engine position. The Vernatube worked well. I cut two small rings off the end of the 1 3/4" tube and glued sections of them on to the end of the long tube. Following sanding, they make a nice lip. The body of the tube where the seal bellows fits required a bit of filler and sanding to make the surface smooth. The PSS seal has new O-rings and will be replumbed. I will thicken up the aft end of the stern tube to about 3/8" and then install two set screws seating into dimples in the bearing. The Max-Prop is out of a vinegar bath to remove encrustations. It will be sprayed with Pettit Zinc Coat as recommended by Max-Prop. I am also going to tap in two grease zercs like the newer Max-Props have. That will alleviate having to disassemble the thing just to grease it.

Lower photos: the driveline back in and awaiting bog around the tube and tabbing around the bulkhead. I did not want to do anything more to it until the epoxy putty set up. The positioning of the two CV joints section of the Aquadrive is critical and was much easier to accomplish by fiddling with the bulkhead than fiddling with the engine mounts. With a digital micrometer, one takes measurements top, bottom, and on both sides between the adapter at the back of the transmission and the heavy ring on the forward end of the Aquadrive. The average must be precisely 130-131 mm. Furthermore, the two collars you see on the CV units must line up. Finally, one must not exceed a maximum number of degrees out based on rpm. I am right at four degrees which is fine for the rpm of this engine.

Rebuilding the hull around the tube will begin next week.