can somebody please help me!! I live in New Zealand and we have recently imported 2x 1850 beavertail boats complete with 35hp vanguard engines and beavertail 90 degree drive units. We bought these boats for waterfowl hunting on our lakes and salt water estuaries.
As far as we are aware these are the only boats of this type in our country and information about the drive system is very hard to find , so I have got some queries about the drive unit...
Should the drive unit be completly sealed to elimanate any water getting in? We have done a few hours boating now and when we pulled the bung out of the bottom of the unit there was about a cup of water inside. The main bolts that hold the clutch unit on have oversize holes going through the drive cover and I presume that this is where the water is getting in. Should these holes be here so the drive unit can breath or should we seal them up?
Can we spray a water inhibitor such as CRC556 or WD40 inside the drive assembly to stop water corroding the drive pulleys or do these products damage the drive belt??
Secondly the hand controller unit on the end of the tiller does not seem to be watertight, water has found its way in and corroded the controller switches?
Has anyone else experienced these problems and how do we fix them
Thirdly who can we contact about spare parts for these motors , we would like to buy spare props and drive belts
Any comments or help would be much appreciated.
regards
Cameron

My guess would be it should be sealed, but there is that drain hole so I dunno.

There arent that many people anywhere runnin Beavertail surface drives, you may end up wishin you went with a more well know company.

thanks woodiebuster , are other brands of surface drive with a similar belt / clutch drive sytem sealed??
the drain hole has a threaded bung in it and the unit has a cover that has a silastic seal on it but there are these four big holes in the back of the cover around where the mounting bolts come through..... seems a bit strange to me?
Why do people not run Beavertail surface drives in the states? are they not popular for a reason?
thanks for your response, as I said in my first post , as far as we are aware they two boats/motors that we imported are the only 2 in the country so information is a bit hard to come by!!

Beavertail got into the surface drive field several years after the rest of them. They had been building longtails for sometime now.

I'm not sure about the beltdrive setup on a beavertail but I get water in my Gatortail often but it comes in through the clutch cover on the back of the motor. I also hunt saltwater and have not had an issue with the pulleys. I would try and call them or send them an email.

Not many Beavertail surface drive owners that post much. Water can get into the belt housing. The cover should be sealed to prevent water getting into the lower drive. I would guess the oversize holes are to allow the clutch to vent heat. Post a pic. Store the boat indoors or get a waterproof motor cover that covers the handle. Look at the mudbuddy website for travel covers and have a local tent and awning place duplicate one for you. Clean the switches with contact cleaner and remove any rust. Replace if neccessary.