Bad day on the water. Need some help, please

Well, this happened about 5 minutes into my first run of the day (Everything had fresh grease right before this run)
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Here is what is left of the motor mount/stuffing tube mount
Attachment 170341
What I was considering was to get one of these stuffing tube mounts from OSE https://www.offshoreelectrics.com/pr...prod=ose-83029and cleaning up the area where the original stuffing tube mount was so that I could epoxy in the new one.

This is my first fiberglass boat so I could really use some advice if I am on the right track or if there's another way I should consider fixing this. Thanks.

Did you buy it new? And, did you buy it from an authorized ProBoat dealer? If "yes" to both questions, call Horizon Hobby IMMEDIATELY.


~ More peace, love, laughter, & kindness would make the world a MUCH better place

Agreed, if this is under warranty, call Horizon and get it covered by them.

Something caused heat built-up in the port side stuffing tube. At some point the composite support melted and the cable knotted and snapped, hard to say which happened first. This was either caused by a motor mount misalignment, an improperly bent brass stuffing tube, or a defective flex cable that was out of balance.

The boat is 2 years old. I haven't modded it at all and this was actually only the 3rd set of batteries that it has ran. I ran it twice when I bought it in July of 2018 and it's sat in my garage since. The last time I ran it in 2018 I removed both drive cables and hung them on my peg board. Before running it Monday I greased everything before reassembly.
I edited my first post so it does not appear it was my first run ever.

Wish I had better news, but I think you're screwed. Even if it was slightly past the warranty period, I'm sure they would have worked to make things right...but, 2+ years old, not sure they'd do anything.


~ More peace, love, laughter, & kindness would make the world a MUCH better place

Yeah, I was more interested in repair advice, not warranty (that ship sailed a long time ago!). My plan was to Dremel off the area where the stuffing tube mount was, then use epoxy to mount the one I linked to from OSE. Does this sound like a good plan? I've already ordered new wire drive for both sides and I've been reading up on the whole Teflon vs no Teflon debate.

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Originally Posted by FearSys

Yeah, I was more interested in repair advice, not warranty (that ship sailed a long time ago!). My plan was to Dremel off the area where the stuffing tube mount was, then use epoxy to mount the one I linked to from OSE. Does this sound like a good plan? I've already ordered new wire drive for both sides and I've been reading up on the whole Teflon vs no Teflon debate.

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What you're thinking should work so long as the stuffing tube lines up with the Collets. If you're ordering the Wire drives from Jeff he'll send you the collets for the motor also. I have them in my Zelos 36. I also still run teflon tubes inside the stuffing tubes. When I saw pictures from the past of torn up flexes in a couple of 36's the wire drives were the first mod I did along with a set of 1716 Dasboata props .

I've broken several wire drives in my Zelos. They don't tolerate shifting motors after a crash like a cable can and they put a fair amount of downward pressure on the drives because of the spring tension the bend in the wire creates. I ultimately decided to switch back to cables and have had fewer problems.

Regardless of what part you decide to use, the repair will be the same. Clean-up the hull, chip, grind, or sand away the old epoxy. Sand the surfaces where you'll be epoxying new parts, then wipe down with acetone to make sure there's no grease or oil. Anneal a new brass stuffing tube to get the bend you'll need to reach the stock motor position, then cut it to length. Yes, the carbon tube support you linked to will work fine. Because it's pre-made, you'll have to position it where it touches the hull. If you make your own, you can set the height and position it where you want. Once everything is lined up in place with the flex cable and motor installed, tack the support in place with CA glue, then epoxy it in place with something like JB Weld or a slow cure 2-part epoxy. I like West Systems G-Flex. Then epoxy in the stuffing tub at the rear of the transom.

When setting up your new parts, make sure the flex cable is perfectly aligned and slips into the collet with minimal defelction. You don't want it binding because its rubbing on the side of the stuffing tube.