I tore out the plywood/fiberglass drip pan under the V-Drive and replaced it with a home-made fiberglass basin that can hold all the v drive oil capacity and does not receive any water that runs aft. Bilge water drains around that fiberglass basin on its way to the deep bilge. There is also a bronze wire mesh that filters out the rough debris.
More pictures at: https://picasaweb.google.com/111274927949602013478/Vdrive
Uh, I was under the impression that the plywood and fiberglass doubled as reinforcement/stiffening of that area of the hull for the Vdrive and the torques and vibration there. I wouldn't just remove it without knowing the engineering loads it was designed for.
Does anyone else want to chime in on this? I could easily be wrong.
Wayne
It will be interesting to find out what the original intention was for that structure. If it was reinforcement, mine was not doing much because it was mostly rotted plywood under the fiberglass.
I have a theory that's based on an observation that those cross braces keep the dimensions between the mounting holes for the V-drive from changing when the boat goes in the water. My hypothesis is that water pressure on the hull combined with the weight of the keel which goes from compression to tension pulls them closer together. The braces help distribute the pressure on the hull over a wider area and prevents dimensional distortion in that area.
Pete
Interesting hypotheses from ya'll.
The boat's in the water right now. I'll take measurements of the area while in the water, then compare with same measurements when it's hauled to see how much the shape changes. Then remeasure after it's put back in the water. I expect some shifting, but have no idea how much.
The new v drive beds (solid fiberglass ) are longer with more contact along the hull than the old beds. My intention was to spread the loads over larger area of the hull than the old beds, which were rotted wood and had to be replaced.
We'll see what happens. The beauty of fiberglass is that it can be easily modified. :)