Mounting the motor

Prior to mounting the motor, I completed attaching the pieces and openings to the motorwell.  I also varnished the interior to protect the epoxy.  Here you can see the steering cable, the bilge drain and the hole for electric cables.  I mounted the battery cut-off in the motorwell so I could access it from outside the boat while it sits on my lift. It is also close to the battery in this position.  The fuel hose and another bilge outlet are opposite this side.

After repairing the lower unit and replacing the water pump, it was time to mount the motor.  I stopped with the wiring on Saturday because I could borrow my neighbor to help me get it mounted.   As anyone who has dealt with an outboard knows, they are a bit unwieldy. They are top heavy and don't have anything stable to grab on to.  They also way about 200 pounds for an older 65HP.  Newer ones can go to 300 pounds.  The motor was on its side on a dolly.  So, what we did was position the dolly near the rear of the boat and just tip it up vertically.   From there, we manually hoisted it a few inches to get onto my hydraulic car jack.  With my friend balancing it I was able to hoist it above the transom.  We then scooted and rolled the jack over to the boat and lowered the motor.  It all went quite well.

I don't plan to permanently bolt the motor through the transom until I have test run the motor.   I have a bit more work and wiring to do before that happens.
The last bit of challenge was attaching the steering.  There were two issues.  One, it is impossible to insert the steering cable through the tilt tube with the motor on the transom.  Things just don't line up.  Second, the steering rod that connects the motor to the steering cable hit the motor when the motor was turned to the right (left turn.)   To insert the steering cable, I loosened the clamps and just tilted the motor sideways which allowed me to align the tilt tube with the cable and insert it.  It is fortunate that the steering cable hole in my motor well is open at the top so I could lift the cable to align it.   The steering rod, which I bought on eBay, was straight and needed a kink in it to clear the motor.  A couple propane torches were able to get the rod red hot so I could bend it.  You can see the resultant kink in this picture. 

It now turns fully left and right from lock to lock.   Next up are the controls and more wiring.