[Rhodes22-list] Tips on removing motor lift?

[Rosie Krueger]

Hello all,

We're planning to remove the electric motor lift from our 2007 Rhodes and
install a Panther manual adjustable bracket instead. Before we proceed with
the project, I am wondering if anyone has any tips about removing the
electric lift setup.  I read through the "Converting Electric Winch Motor
Lift to a Manual System" thread, but that mostly seems to involve changing
the method of power for the existing lift tracks, rather than removing them
entirely.

We have a few reasons for switching.  Like others who made the manual
conversion, we don't like the vulnerability of relying on the electrical
system in a moment when we might really need the motor.  But worse, the top
of the existing lift system significantly interferes with the tiller handle
on our ePropulsion Spirit electric outboard.  The tiller handle folds up a
bit, but not far enough to allow the outboard down as far as it could go,
even with the tilt set as far back as possible.  We've also found that the
current positioning allows potential for the outboard and rudder to
collide. The Panther bracket should push the motor far enough off the back
of the boat to resolve that issue.  We did consider getting the epropulsion
throttle controller for the outboard, but that was about 2x the cost of the
panther bracket and wouldn't have solved the motor/rudder issue.  (We
already had the tiller controller from our prior boat - if you're
considering buying this outboard for an R22, definitely just go with the
throttle controller from the start).  With the light weight of the
ePropulsion, we also don't particularly need any of the assistance from
either the electric lift or a manual pulley conversion.

Anyway, all of these reasons have us feeling confident in making the
switch.  However, I never feel confident messing with holes in the hull. It
seems like it should be just a matter of unscrewing the screws on the
tracks from inside the lazarette, but I'm not sure if there's any adhesive
or other surprises awaiting us after that...So, if you've ever taken the
lift tracks off and have any advice about the process, please send them my
way!

Also, assuming the process goes successfully, we'll have a used electric
motor lift to part with - feel free to reach out if that's of interest to
you!

Happy Spring!
Rosie