[bigdon]

I own a 1992 mariah diablo with a mercruiser 185 i/o. Sometimes i have to boat thru shallow water. With my outdrive raised to its uppermost operating level, what is the safest depth i can boat in, moving at idle spped?

[WetWilly]

Ahoy bigdon and welcome to the club!

Per the brochure, it says your draft with the I/O up is 12", although I would verify this info by measuring it yourself in shallow water with all the weight you would normally have in it at the time (passengers, gear and fuel) to be safe .

WetWilly

[ShabahZ280]

And you don't want to drive for extended periods of time with the outdrive all the way up. That's putting a lot of strain on the u-joints and the other mechanicals of the outdrive, since it's meant to run at a much lower angle.

Plus that depends on the surface of the bottom, soft mud/sand might not be that bad to ground on, but with a rocky bottom, you'll find out very quickly that you shouldn't be entering into water that shallow. As well as you'll be spending a lot of time repairing the bottom of your hull.

[180diablo]

I remember a run in with some rocks after a lack of attention to where the buoys were guiding me. Ended up being on the wrong side and hearing some "thuds". No damage that I saw, but scary needless to say.

I know this might not be the best option, but how far of a distance do you have to travel in that shallow water? Why not shut off the motor raise it to full position and paddle it along? Providing of course, you have another person in the boat.. heh.