Hi JB,

Pity the CV joints weren't of good enough quality and didn't preform better. At least you have an option. Great work.

Cheers,
Stephen.

Having given up for the moment on converting a stinger drive to a surface drive for the future Stiletto , due to a lack of a decent universal, I have made a starboard tack and started modifying the original cable drive. I had a cable drive like this in the 70s and it worked very well in a deep V with an OS .45 RSR motor, so I thought I'd have a go at turning the present one into the same type.

I turned the original imperial brass tube down slightly to fit a larger 7mm ID brass tube to carry the bushes, and pressed it into the larger tube. The 2 - 20mm long bushes were made from Acetal, and drilled to 5mm for the cable shaft, then one pressed down the tube to the end of the extension and the other just proud of the end, to support the shafts' plain end in the tube and allow a slight clearance for oil .

The rear of the tube will have a V bracket to support the tube, which will be bent to suit (the same as the old ex ic one in the pic) and that and the cable will be cut to length. A collet style coupler will be used to connect it with the motor. With this method you can achieve a similar result to a stinger or outrunner drive, - just a bit less streamlined. You can bend the tube to be parallel to the keel to get the best performance.