If you have an old lawn mower sitting around, perhaps you should make it into a boat outboard motor. Converting a lawn mower engine into an outboard motor is not the simplest task. Prior knowledge of outboards is a must, and experience with working with the interiors of motors is a necessity. The whole process may take two to four days depending on how much you work and how much experience you have. The process will involve disassembling the lawn mower and creative assembly of an outboard.
Items you will need
Garage tools
Aluminum pole
Aluminum tube
Propeller with short shaft
Drive shaft
Welder
Metal cutter
Metal bender
Rope
Power drill
Step 1
Unscrew or unbolt the casing of the lawn mower. Unscrew or unbolt the lawn mower engine. Lift it out.
Step 2
Unbolt and remove the blades and short drive shaft from the motor. Stick the long drive shaft in. Slide the hollow aluminum tube over the drive shaft and weld the top to the motor. Hold the propeller up against the bottom of the drive shaft and match up the gears. Make sure that turning the propeller turns the drive shaft. Secure the propeller and weld or bolt it to the aluminum pole, depending on what sort of propeller you purchased.
Step 3
Bend the aluminum pole around 1/3 the way from the bottom up about 50 degrees. Weld the bottom -- or shorter -- end 1 inch from the bottom of the aluminum tube facing upwards towards the motor. This will be your tiller.
Step 4
Drill a hole at the bend of the aluminum pole and thread the rope through. Tie it off. Mount the outboard to a setback bracket on your boat and tie the rope to the bracket.
Writer Bio
Luke Kim started writing in 2008, with work published in magazines such as Korea's "ICON." Kim has written extensively for SEO consultants and has abundant experience with writing in most technical fields. He has a B.A. in English from Northwestern Polytechnic University.
