Where to get a nose cone for 2in lower uint

[Emustard]

Hello I am looking for a small nose cone/low water pickup for a mercury 9.9 lower unit the hub size is 2.25in so want something small and not to bulky. Any help would be good.

[omcstratos]

I'd check with Ron Hill. He supposedly is casting them again. Maybe he will see this and chime in...

[champ20B]

Hello I am looking for a small nose cone/low water pickup for a mercury 9.9 lower unit the hub size is 2.25in so want something small and not to bulky. Any help would be good.

I recently did a successful nose build-up on a Yamato 80. I sharpened the edges of the skeg and the upper housing. To build the nose, I simply extended it to a single vertical point while maintaining the arc radius along the side of the housing toward the nose. How I did it was to strip it all to bare rough aluminum with 80 grit. I then cleaned it off with acetone. I took some marine aluminox two part putty (the kind that comes in a stick that requires kneading) and formed a nice symmetrical nose on around the front. After it cured, I sanded it down to a nice finish with 80 again feathering it. I cleaned it off and applied a layer of fiberglass extending about an inch past the nose form onto the bare metal. After it cured I added reinforced putty (the kind with short strand fibers and Kevlar) over all of it to the parallel portion of the torpedo of the case. When it cured, I sanded it with finer and finer paper feathering it to a fine finish. A coat of filler primer and aluminum engine enamel finished it nicely. It all costed me about 30 dollars and a day of off and on work.

[mercguy]

Hello I am looking for a small nose cone/low water pickup for a mercury 9.9 lower unit the hub size is 2.25in so want something small and not to bulky. Any help would be good.

since the factory water pickup is under the cav plate on that lower unit, you are gunna have to drill into the housing to get to the backside of the lower water pump housing, in order to feed water to the pump. Not sure what you are trying to achieve with that engine, by raising it up that much higher? The pinion gear in the early units (pre94) won't stand up to alot of stress, so be careful....

[champ20B]

Hello I am looking for a small nose cone/low water pickup for a mercury 9.9 lower unit the hub size is 2.25in so want something small and not to bulky. Any help would be good.

Streamlining a gearcase is a good way to increase economy and naturally pick speed up at least a little. But one strong point to consider in doing this is function in environment. If you are running in a deep water area that is low in obstructions ( logs, stumps, ects) it is a good choice. But if you go into areas that are riddled with possible obstructions, youd be better off with the traditional club foot design as it is intended to withstand a certain amount of impact. A sharp, pointy gearcase can be a questionable safety concern upon striking a log or stump. Damage can be more at hand as well under such a circumstance.

[Emustard]

It's old not sure of the year, I think it's a 9.9 to 15hp gear case and I'm hoping to put it on my evinrude 20big block. How easily do they brake and is there a fix?

[Emustard]

Sounds good, how is it standing up have you tested yet? do you have any pictures? Thanks

[mercguy]

It's old not sure of the year, I think it's a 9.9 to 15hp gear case and I'm hoping to put it on my evinrude 20big block. How easily do they brake and is there a fix?

if it IS a 9.9 gearcase (made from 86-2005), it is the same unit used under the 6/8/9.9/15's.............why would you want to use it under a 20 Rude? The driveshaft is about half the size as the 20 Rude would have. I would find another option....

[Emustard]

I think its older than That, It's an 8 spline shaft 2:1 gear ratio. I want a low profile gear case, and can't find one anywhere that would be easy to adapt to a evinrude. I don't think there are any cheaper options than this.

[omcstratos]

since the factory water pickup is under the cav plate on that lower unit, you are gunna have to drill into the housing to get to the backside of the lower water pump housing, in order to feed water to the pump. Not sure what you are trying to achieve with that engine, by raising it up that much higher? The pinion gear in the early units (pre94) won't stand up to alot of stress, so be careful....

If you have to relocate your water pickup like that, I'd personally run a transom pickup instead and keep your stock gearcase. You are well below speeds to need a nose cone.

[Emustard]

Your definitely right I I'm well below speed to need a nose cone but with my current lower unit I can't jack it any more or I run out of water. I really want it for the low water pickup.

[89HST]

put a pick up on the transom and plumb it into the water cavity on the gearcase, none of these little motor lowers are going to live under that 20 hp.

[Emustard]

Ya that's what I'm thinking of doing but I rather have the pickup under the nose so I get max pressure. Has anyone tried this because people say it won't work but I was told it should have know problem handling it and that it has been done before. The only thing they said is idle way down to shift so you don't brake the shift dog.

[omcstratos]

Half the time, I usually shift then start the motor up.

[omcstratos]

And the transom pickup will provide plenty of pressure. At speed, it actually forces water in if you have your pickup angled just right. (Transom side of the pickup flush with bottom of boat. Lower unit side of the pickup 1/8 to 1/4" below the bottom of the boat.)

[Fastjeff57]

Right! I run a Merc 850 power head on a Mark 55/ Merc 400 tower with its (relatively) tiny impeller. With the rig in the photos, the motor actually overcools! The intake is mounted on the cav plate, but it could as well be transom mounted.

Jeff

[Emustard]

I have seen a couple of People do this it looks pretty good only problem is I need it to be portable. What I mean is I want to be able to take the motor off and on with only two bolts. I will look into that idea but still would like the low water pickup in the nose.

[omcstratos]

I have seen a couple of People do this it looks pretty good only problem is I need it to be portable. What I mean is I want to be able to take the motor off and on with only two bolts. I will look into that idea but still would like the low water pickup in the nose.

With a transom pickup, the only extra step from taking off the two bolts is to pop the water hose off from the fitting at the gearcase. It takes 1 extra minute. The rest stays attached to the boat.

[omcstratos]

Right! I run a Merc 850 power head on a Mark 55/ Merc 400 tower with its (relatively) tiny impeller. With the rig in the photos, the motor actually overcools! The intake is mounted on the cav plate, but it could as well be transom mounted.

Jeff

The pickup will provide you with all the pressure you need. And the impeller will actually regulate the amount of water. Kind of like a low pressure pump to a high pressure pump setup. Hope this makes sense.

[Emustard]

That's true.

[JohnsonM50]

Actually you could form a cone w/ good quality epoxy, run a tube down the front of the unit drilled into the plenum under the pump & encase it in. If you hit something you will need to repair it but can probably count on that anyway. Don't worry about the normal pick up just add a low & go it will work. Abour 3/8-1/2" should do. Or forget a cone & go transome mount.

Epoxy cone, more than 5 years & many hours run time,, theres no low pick up in it tho.
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d151/mes355/DSCN0493.jpg (http://s35.photobucket.com/user/mes355/media/DSCN0493.jpg.html)
A piece of square stock Al. w/ a tube brazed in.
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d151/mes355/019.jpg (http://s35.photobucket.com/user/mes355/media/019.jpg.html)http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d151/mes355/DSCN0369.jpg (http://s35.photobucket.com/user/mes355/media/DSCN0369.jpg.html)
SS elbow threaded into a 1/4 thick reverse feed plate copy. I ran the hydro forgetting to plug the pitot w/ a motor that didn't need it.. the water squirts way above the top of the motor.

[Emustard]

I think that's exactly what I am going to do, it's easy to work with so shaping should not be a problem. Now my only other problem is where to get a prop for a 15 merc with a 8 spline drive shaft.

[JohnsonM50]

cut the hub out of a bad prop & adapt something.

[Fastjeff57]

Hey, JohnsonM50, your photos inspired my own water pickup!

Thanks,

Jeff

[JohnsonM50]

Cool, we met at an AOMCI meet in Pottstown, you had a 60 2cyl I looked at.

[Emustard]

What epoxy would you suggest using? Would you put any matting in with it for strength?

[Fastjeff57]

..."Cool, we met at an AOMCI meet in Pottstown, you had a 60 2cyl I looked at. "

That was you! Still got it, and you can have it (if you want it). Let me know and I'll bring it to the Feb show at Bob Grubb's place.

Jeff

[JohnsonM50]

Ive had good luck with PC-7 & PC-11 for hi heat as well as JB Weld. I would avoid the quick dry's, heard they could be a compromise. Marine Tex was awesome but I heard they changed the formula & I noticed its softer than long ago when it would destroy planer blades if you tried to plane it. I didn't use any mat but not a bad idea at least near the surface.

[JohnsonM50]

Yup it was. Thanks for the offer, I'll be glad to take you up on it. Got good mid/gearcase for it.. no boat that big yet but a big hydro may come along or I've been wanting to build something... Still haven't seen Bobs museum either.

[champ20B]

What epoxy would you suggest using? Would you put any matting in with it for strength?

What you can do for a good cone build on a budget.....

1. strip the case to bare aluminum and rough it with 80 grit cloth.

2. wipe it off good with paper towels soaked with rubbing alchohol then dry.

3. go to walmart in the fishing/marine section and get a stick or two of repair putty. It is a green stick in a pack and is about 12 or 13 dollars and really works well.

4. keeping your fingers wet, knead the material to a uniform color (greyish) then press on the nose of the gear unit as desired. be sure to horse-shoe it around the nose for a good hold. You can shape to the desired contour eyeballing as you shape it. Let it cure.

5. After curing, shape it more with sanding. Clean off the gearcase well of dust.

6. Apply resin with a brush (10 drops of hardener to an ounce of resin) and place brush in a cup of acetone to preserve it.

7. press on fine woven fiberglass mat.. then apply another coat of resin over that. be sure to overlap the resin/glass at least an inch past the homemade cone onto the actual metal on the case for extra hold.

8. After that cures, sand it just a little, clean it off, then apply reinforced body putty. ( this putty has short strand fibers and Kevlar in it.... A four inch wide x 1/2" thick pile mixed with a 1/4" bead of hardener across it mixed thoroughly).

9. After that cures, sand and feather it.

10. Finally, cover it with spray on filler/primer paint and later cover with desired color engine enamel..........AND YOUR READY!!!!!!!!!!

[JohnsonM50]

What you would find next is how do you center the point & make it all symetrical? Make a s straight edge w/ a block on 1 end, the block should Have a V cut in lengthwise that is well aligned w/ the straight edge. Clamp it to the prop shaft so that the straight edge goes forward in exact alignment w/ the prop shaft. Meaurments determined by your gearcase, it needs to be outside of the widest part [needs to be reset per side of skeg]. With this in place you can measure in anywhere to get it 'on'. By eye would work but with this your sure.