Merc Bigfoot 50 - Install & Prop

[Tom Walsh]

My first post on this board , I have been following (lurking) for sometime
and not contributing because I am a novice Sailor and don't have much in the way of sail experiance or tecchnical knowledge. I have had a 96 26x for two years now , before that I had a 26d( great sailing high pointing mac) for 3 years, and before that a venture 25 for a year. I love my x for it's do it all ability. I have tried to keep it light to facilitate easy towing, and better sail performance. got an aluminum trailer, small batteries and not alot of junk, I put a 25hp honda on the transom that is a great motor and a light wt like me. But I have had the urge to have a fully capable x.
My top speed with the 25 honda is 12 - 12.5 mph lightly loaded, 2 people 6 gal gas. I bought a new 2003 merc. 50 hp bigfoot, its being shipped to me and I will rig it with a little help from my friends. I am going to order controls and cables from Iboat.com , new merc smc4000 control with 15 foot wire harness and t+t switch , ignition/choke, and alarms $200.
I need to know the length cables to order , I plan on quicksilver cables as that is what the controls and motor are designed for. Does anyone know
what length cable (I'M THINKING 14 FT)? The other question is about the control, is the handle changable from right side to left side? I am pretty sure it is. It must be the same controls some of you are using.
THANKS Tom Walsh

[James V]

I had my dealer install the motor. The cables will need to be the high price stuff, supper flex, as noted in other threads, to many close turns. Hope you got the 14 X 10 SS prop. Sure is nice at low speeds.

[Catigale]

Welcome Tom - and hope you enjoy the Board as much as I do!!

[hvolkhart]

I just installed a Merc. 50 HP my self.
Check out this site for your controls and cables. I ordered 10 control cables from the same place. http://www.simplicity-marine.com/ultraf ... ntrols.htm I ordered the B184 Merc.
For the control you are able to use this to mount it into the steering council. You have to grind the opening on the bottom where the cables are running inside the stainless tube and allow enough room to swivel. The cables are run through the Stainless steel tube and along the sealing of the aft berth. From there I drilled a hole (4) right next to the steering rod and added a cover (from West Marine).
I did not Loop the cables in the Motor connection area as it is recommended by most cable manufacturers but it works fine.
You also need to get an Ignition switch wiring harness from your Mercury dealer. I went with 14 on this. A 10 would have done also. I coiled the el. wire onece and Im hiding it behind the cover boards in the aft of the rear berth.

[Sloop John B]

Tom, I think holvk is advising on how to rig an M model. I can only make a couple observations. Get Mercury controls and cables. On length of cables, simply measure from your starting battery to the motor on the path it will follow and add several feet for slack. Mine is quite a long run (around 14 feet) and you will require a 'guage' that is a little thicker than normal in that case.

Your Bigfoot will raise up and go 'clunk' into the bottom of your helm seat. The black cowling is a little too big. Many members here have the same problem and simply refrain from raising it up all the way. Some have cut away a slice of the helm seat, but I wouldn't do that.

I suggest mounting your throttle and shifter on the port side of the pedelstal. This way you push forward to go forward and haul back to backup. Could be there are models that would allow the same operation on the starboard side. Anyway, keep the starboard side of the pedestal clean from stuff so you have a way of getting around the thing. This is the likely path of travel from the way the helm seat swings up to port.

Be patient, identify someone who is cooperative with your same rig, and private message him to death on the details you will need. For instance, getting a backing plate on the back of the transom, if you don't already have one

[tidalwave]

I oriiginally wanted to install the throttle controls (Ultraflex) within the wheel housing of my 26M. But after about two weeks of on-and-off trials I found that it was essentially impossible to get the internal controls high enough within the housing so that the control cables could get down the SS pipe without too tight an angle. (The X has a fibreglas pulpit which makes an internal installation a breeze...plenty of room).

I ended up using a standard Merc control box mounted on the outside of the wheel housing and ran the control cables inside a 'wire loom' plastic tube with SS U-fittings to hold the cable...it runs straight back to the engine.

Other brands of OBs seem to have a much more compact control setup---which allows you to run the control cables internally...so if you want an
internal cable run....DON'T install a Merc Bigfoot on an M!
When I bought my . I had seen the factory DVD and photos showing a Merc BigFoot installed with an apparent internal cable run...
My dealer didn't provide Merc OB's...so I wasn't able to see the external controls a Merc requires.

After installing my Merc...I carefully studied the Mac factory DVD and photos...the camera angle is always set so that the external controls for a Merc are carefully obscured from the camera!...in one photo, you can see a portion of the external cables leading down from the housing...but the cables do not lead to the motor...it appears that they unhooked the cables from the motor and carefully set them foreward in the cockpit so the camera wouldn't show them.

[Divecoz]

I own an 05 M and have a Merc 50 BF with the controls on the SB side and all wiring and control cables down the Pipe. . Bought the boat from Bill and the Motor was installed by Ox-bow Marine in Wisc.

[Richard O'Brien]

I oriiginally wanted to install the throttle controls (Ultraflex) within the wheel housing

Other brands of OBs seem to have a much more compact control setup---which allows you to run the control cables internally...so if you want an
internal cable run....DON'T install a Merc Bigfoot on an M!

The trick to installing the Mercury bigfoot is
1. Use 10-12' TF Extreme 3300 cables by Teleflex.
2. Don't use the Uflex Mercury adapters for Quicksilver cables. Instead you must use the Teleflex 3300 Mercury adapters for the Motor side of the cable.

The Uflex adapters go on the Contol end of the cables and take up too much space. the nice thing about Uflex controls is they will work for almost any motor. I have a Yamaha 70 I'm working on, and all I have to do is change the holes in the uflex cable attachments. As Soon as Heath re-enables the Mods submissions, I'll publish the new information.

One caveat for your Merc control Tidalwave. My mechanic said that the Merc factory controls are bulletproof.

[Tom Walsh]

I have bought the Merc controls and control cables. My original questions were,
1. Is the handle for merc control changable to allow for starboard mounting on my 26X? It is.
2. The correct cable length, 14 feet is what I got.

I know alot of guys like the Uflex but the Merc was my choice because for $200 it has the wiring harness attached, the choke, the power trim alarms and tach wiring. Thats easier and cheaper than to piece something together, cable is cheaper too, and designed for the outboard and control box. I recommend anyone shopping for parts and accessaries check out Iboats.com.

I pick up the motor tomorrow and when I get a warm weekend day I'll hang that sucker on my transom. I looked at the motor today at the freight terminal no thrust washer or prop nut , next job is to find the right size prop nut kit and thrust washer. Thanks for the help and support

Tom Walsh 96X -- Son Of a Sailor

[Moe]

The silver soft-hubbed BigFoot prop I bought for our Whaler came with the thrust washers, tab washer, and prop nut.

--
Moe

[tidalwave]

I wish that Uflex, who I talked with a lot...when I found that the Merc cable connectors would not let me make a clean interior run, would have mentioned using their cables with a Merc engine adapter, rather than Merc cables with the too-long control end fittings.

I wish that your advise could be kept in an open thread for any new owner who runs into this problem. I think I ripped out several handfuls of hair trying to solve this problem without success.

[Richard O'Brien]

I have bought the Merc controls and control cables. My original questions were,
1. Is the handle for merc control changable to allow for starboard mounting on my 26X? It is.
2. The correct cable length, 14 feet is what I got.

You didn't say whether you bought internal, or outside mounting controls, Tom. In any case if they are for internal, or "flush mounting" the answer is yes. You just have to buy the other bezel too, showing forward on the port side. Most controls are designed for starboard mounting for right handers I guess? I have only looked at the X binnacle, but it looks like there's plenty of room, and 14' is what everyone recommends for the X, Right you X owners.

[Tom Walsh]

Now I believe I have everything I need to install the 50 hp bigfoot. The controls are smc 4000, (as I said in my first post I would use). SMC means side mount control, an external control with right or left changable throtle control lever. It has trimswitch, elect. choke, ignition
wiring for horn alarm, kill switch, and 15 ft wire harness that'll plug right
in to wiring on motor. $200.00 with 14 ft merc cable no adaptations needed,

I bought a Solas Amita 3x14x11 (the item description, claimed 5-10% more thrust.) $90.00 no thrust washer or prop nut kit. Picked up today at a local dealer, $12.00 for thrust washer, $10 for propnut kit. When I get it all together I will report back on success or lack of.
thanks ... Tom 96 Son Of a Sailor

[Tom Walsh]

I have had my new merc 50 bigfoot on my 96 26x now for a couple months now. I am very pleased with the motor and the installation that I did.

The Merc controls and cable are perfect, everything went together easy, controls operate smooth (better than the honda I had before). Merc cables fit good, 14 foot. Wiring for tach is all ready to go on the harness. The new 26m has a changed pedestal so this same set up may be easier for the do it yourself guys who buy a new M, the tube pedestal was too tight (per post of others).

The 3x14x11 prop at 5400 rpm pushes my boat to a top seed of 20.5 mph empty ballast tank light load, two men aboard, full ballast was 18.3 mph. I bought a 14X9 prop to see if I could get my rpms up and better speed. It didn't work, 14x9 gives 16.5 mph empty ballast, 2 aboard and will turn over 6000 rpm. With full ballast was 15 mph 6000 rpm.

Who wants an almost new 14x9? Quick silver prop with hub kit cheap.

Tom 96x 50 BF Son Of a Sailor

[Dimitri-2000X-Tampa]

Tom, a little bit late, but my controls are mounted to the starboard pedestal, however, the little label that shows F and R and arrows is actually backwards as if it was designed to be installed on the port side. Lever works the right way though. Do you have bottom paint on when acheiving those speeds?

James, where did you get a 14X10 SS prop and how much? I wonder if the stiffer SS 14X10 actually generates more thrust than the aluminum 14X10...maybe closer to the thrust of an aluminum 14X11.

When I bought the boat, it had a 14X11 on it and I couldnt get over about 5300 RPM so I replaced it with a 14X10. However, at the time I think I had an extra 150lbs of weight in the bow and the dole fins on the motor. I think I may try the 14X11 again now that those things are gone. I agree that the 14X9 wouldn't have enough pitch since I can hit 5900 RPM with the 14X10. Only exception to that may be if you always have 7+ people on board and run WOT with full ballast. Note that I had about 600 RPM increase by reducing the pitch by 1 inch....contrary to the books which say more like about 200 RPM difference.