s bend is the only way to go.. works great.. all my boat kits i sell come with the s-bend drive line glued in place. been doing it for 5yrs no issues and stu's crapshooters have been using it for alot longer than i have without issue.
the cable busting is due to lack of lube.. not due to bending.
on the motor mount i run them flat.. not angled.. i feel it gets the motor lower in the boat and brings the center of gravity lower.. personal opinon
chris
Wood, thanks and intersting theory..I have heard that before of the "s" bend setups. particularly the hull in question of mine is a 30" rigger and a flat motor would actually be a better fit. However...I am using the stuffing box, (glued into the hull) then the stuffing tube going through that, so it can be replaced. Big question now, is how do I do a stuffingbox, stuffing tube setup...and be able to replace the stuffing tube. if I read your response correctly, the tube makes its bend, after an inch or two away from teh motor/coupler...correct? if thats the case, I won't be able to use a replaceable "s" bend stuffing tube, inside a straight stuffing box, glued thru the hull.....thats where I am a little confused...
Thanks and hope to hear your, and others response
Patrick
Make the outer tube from the collett to just below the hull bottom. Bend in a shallow arc one direction all the way up. With that set up the inner tube only must bend one way, then the "S" bend will be out the bottom towards the strut and not inside the outer tube. If you make the ark shallow there's no problem in pushing the inner tube in place. One tip here is to lightly champher the outer edge of the inner tube so it won't gouge the outer tube and will slide easier.
hope this makes sence, without a photo it's tough to explain.
Greg
GReg, thanks. so if I am reading this correctly....the stuffing BOX (short outer stub glued into hull) has a slight bend to it...it is not completely straight, correct? Then the inner tube, the stuffing tube will go through this, up the hull bottom to teh motor collet? and the S bend will be only out the bottom? OR the stuffing tube, itself is the s bend...and only a short section of it is straight, which is where it passes through the stuffing box, which is glued to the hull. ? this is what I gathered from your exlanation. By any chance, any drawings you could attach, or sorts on microsoft-paint, or?
Thanks