See the enclosed drawing for the dimensions of my plywood test tank as requested. I’ve designed the tank to be as small as possible, in order to keep the amount of water/weight down. The idea was that I wanted to be able to work on the engine and prop without having to remove the outboard from the tank. Casters at the bottom of the tank allow it to be moved in the workshop, even when filled with water. The ball valve tap allow for easy drainage. Both the inside and outside of the tank have been coated with 3 layers of clear epoxy for protection and to make it watertight. The tank is entirely made of 1/2 inch ply with epoxy fillets in all corners to strengthen it.
I’ve used this tank for engines up to 10 HP with no problem. My 18 HP fastwin however has a larger prop diameter and is slightly too high. I resolve this by placing a 1″ wood batten on the top of the 3 laminated layers holding the outboard clamp. This raises the outboard 1″ so it fits in the tank. If you intend to work on larger engines I would suggest raising the height of front of the tank as indicated on the drawing.
I accasionally use a lid on the top to (sort of) keep the water in the tank when the engine runs at high revs. If the amount of water in the tank is not an issue for you, or if you do not need to tilt the engine to work on the prop, I would suggest to keep the aft end of the tank vertical, or even better, slope the top inward to keep the water in while running your engine.
Feel free to use and modify to your own needs.
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This topic was modified 2 years ago by Fastwin18.
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