Bellows repair.
 

I'd like to pass on a maintenace product that I have used and am really pleased with. Sooner or later, the "bellows" in your outdrive will crack and leak due to age, wear, etc. As most of you know, this is a serious problem, which will require replacement of the bellows. Two years ago, in mid-season, I had a problem with water dribbling in through the bellows on my '95 Barchetta. I pulled her out and found a minor crack/tear on the bellows. Not wanting to pull the boat out for what I expected to be an expensive and possibly lengthy replacement, I searched for a safe "band-aide" to get through the season. I found a product called Bostik 920. I pulled the boat out, raised the outdrive to expose the crack, made sure it was dry, and applied this material to exposed edges. I lowered the outdrive enough to close the crack gap then applied a generous second coat, left it to dry in that position. I made it through that season without a drop of water coming through the bellows. Last year I inspected the bellows before launching and it still looked good, although I applied additional Bostik 920. No problems all season long. We will see what happens this year. The material is flexible, but really tough. It can be found on line through a catalogue company called MSC. Just search on MSC, then search in their catalogue for Bostik 920. You can pay by credit card. You may be able to find at a marine dealer also. I DO NOT RECOMMEND DOING THIS FOR A PERMANENT SOLUTION FOR A BELLOWS IN BAD ENOUGH CONDITION THAT IT NEEDS REPLACED. LIKE ALL BOAT COMPONENTS THAT WEAR, YOU NEED TO KEEP MONITORING. Paul Z.

Sounds like a good product for minor repairs Paul.....Let us know what it looks like this spring?

Paul,

Thats a good bandaid to get you through a weekend. But I can tell you it will cost you more in money and headaches to keep it up. I'll explain.

I bought my Mariah last year. Ran great and had tons of fun in it. Then I get a knocking sound at idle. Then I start losing gear lube. I decide to pull the drive. You guessed it gear lube in the bellows. U-joints shot, gimbal bearing gone, yoke seal toast and the gear end yoke was fubar. This was due to water getting in the bellows from a previous owners attempt to patch instead of fix. All told it cost me $650 in parts. I provided the labor.

Another problem is if your u-joints give it up or the bellows completely desintergrates you'll have yourself a 3inch hole that I can guarantee your bilge pump will not keep up with.

Get it fixed.

~J