Ain't she purdy!

Phil

I do the same thing. I'll find a used and abused cowling on ebay for cheap and then camo it. In fact I have the cowling for my 25hp Yamaha at the hydrographics shop right now. Hope to get it back this week. It will be MO Bottomland.

Eric
 
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Thanks for the input. I think this will be the color... My real question is... Is it a real bad idea to drill holes in the cowl for zip ties to attach grass? The only reason I can think that it would be, is that water and dust would have more paths to get in, and that would equal a dirty motor.View attachment IMG_20171029_180417205.jpg
 
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Phil Nowack said:
My real question is... Is it a real bad idea to drill holes in the cowl for zip ties to attach grass? .
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Added holes, may induce cracking to occur in the cowling. Unless one is very careful when drilling, the gel coat has a tendency to spider crack. This cracking of the gelcoat can migrate all the way across the cowling and into the structural layers. I had good luck using adhesive backed pads to attach grass with zip ties. These pads come in different sizes with the larger ones having more holding power. As long as the surface is smooth, dry and clean when installed, the adhesive is really pretty weather resistant usually lasting around 5 seasons before needing replaced. I've used both the 1"x1" and the 1.5"x1.5" size and prefer the larger.

If you decide to drill holes, sealing up with some caulking on the inside will take care of dust and water intrusion.

View attachment 3m-cable-tie-base-ctb1x1nta-c-photo.jpg
 
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To be serious for a moment why not paint then pop rivet zip ties to the cowling and use raffia for camo?
My thinking is pop rivets and zip ties will not allow water or dust to enter. Raffia should last for years especially when used with high quality ultra violet ties.
 
Bill Clark said:
To be serious for a moment why not paint then pop rivet zip ties to the cowling and use raffia for camo?
My thinking is pop rivets and zip ties will not allow water or dust to enter. Raffia should last for years especially when used with high quality ultra violet ties.
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I was thinking same thing as Bill... or even spot epoxy some a few wire "rings" around the perimeter of the cowling with openings (kind of a poor man's military molle webbing) to add grass, etc.... no addition of stress concentrations that way.
 
Honestly Bill, for me I like the natural grass and holds up as well as the rest of the boat . And it is free and readily available. On the grassed motor pictured I bolted on a steel straps, and zip tied to that.

Good idea KT!
 
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Joe Bruno said:
What about mossy oak or camoclad wraps?
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I will wrap lower cowling and other parts other than the upper cowl. But to wrap the upper, doesn't blend in a well as the real think in my opinion.
 
I have a piece of the aviary netting (that my boat is covered with) set aside with raffia tied to it. When I set up to hunt I place the netting over the outboard (which is painted) and it adds some 3d camo to the motor.

On my sneakbox I did not paint the motor and use a camo burlap cover I made and then wrap a bungee around the motor to add real grass as I see fit. I've shown the netting/raffia setup to a few friends and they all want to copy it.
View attachment IMG_9941.JPG
 
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I have a Yamaha 25 on my DB13 - Like Craig said - use the netting with some Raffia grass and then add some seasonal local grass too. However- my motor was already painted when I got her.....
 
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