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  1. #1
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    setup and rigging questions for 23' sanger alley cat.

    I just bought a 23' alley cat, it has the original 2.4 mercurys that came on the boat and has been set up like this for a long time but i have some questions about it...bear with me, it the first twin cat i have personally had.

    1) the port engine stays in fwd all the time, he said since the boat was new they would manuever it around the dock with the stbd engine then when they got pointed the right way he would fire up the port engine. has anyone ever heard of this?

    i want to shift both engines, i havent looked closely at it yet but i assume i can hook both cables to the same shift lever? it has a hot foot and the little mono style shifter often seen in jet boats.

    2) the port motor is 1/2"-3/4" higher than the stbd motor, why would that be that way? they are sitting on manual jack plates.is it ok for me to level them?

    3) when i adjust the engine height, most people say 1 1/2" above the bottom,my engines are behind the tunnel, so do i adjust to the bottom of the tunnel or the bottom of the lowest running surface on each side.

    4) it currently has 24p cleavers on it, shouldnt this thing be turning something like a 28? i havent ran it yet so ill update with more info asap when i get speed and rpm numbers.

    5) it has the twin ram hydraulic steering on wingplates, i want to change the steering wheel, will it always clock back to nuetral position or wil the steering wheel be in a different place all the time?


    any help to get me started is greatly appreciated.
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  2. #2
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    Gorgeous boat you have there, made even better with the original motors on it!

    It makes sense what he was talking about with the motor left in gear, but I would personally want to be able to shift it. You could hook both up to the shifter you have now, better way would be to get a twin engine shifter. I know Incontrol made one, now sold by CP Performance and Diamond Marine may still have them. I think Rex marine makes one as well. Easier to manuever if you can shift both motors, IMO.
    You should have both motors at the same height I would think. Don't know why it would be lower on one side, maybe previous owner never checked it?
    You want to set the propshaft according to the bottom of the sponson, not the tunnel. I think a good start would be set the propshaft even with the bottom and go up or down from there depending on how it performs.
    As for the props, run it and see what happens. Play with the engine height and see how well it performs. I know I've seen 23 Alley cats with twins running choppers, never saw one with cleavers. My father had a 21 Alley cat and it loved alot of setback and I think a 28 chopper, porposing was an issue with it around 40-60mph and the setback and chopper helped alot.
    Hydraulic steering does not allow for the steering to be in the same place all the time. It will always be in a different spot.
    Good luck with it. Run it and let us know how well it goes!

  3. #3
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    Counter-rotating motors of that vintage may be "forward only". The first ones did not shift, had no neutral or reverse. The need for counter-rotation preceded the technology for a shifting counter-rotater. And no, you CANNOT simply run it in reverse. Well, you can, for about 2 minutes, maybe....
    Cool boat! Keep the info flowing.
    18 Talon/2.4 carb SOLD
    26 Deck Boat/250 Merc

  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by 99fxst99 View Post
    Counter-rotating motors of that vintage may be "forward only". The first ones did not shift, had no neutral or reverse. The need for counter-rotation preceded the technology for a shifting counter-rotater. And no, you CANNOT simply run it in reverse. Well, you can, for about 2 minutes, maybe....
    Cool boat! Keep the info flowing.
    that is what he said, i found out last night that it doesnt even have a shift shaft in the counter rotating motor, he said something about it not being possible to do, but why not? the counter rotating just means there is a different gear set correct? i thought these offshore mids are the same as the 2.5 ones. if so could i just add a shift shaft and run a newer counter rotating lower unit? the poper heads have never been removed from the mids, i have every document ever made for the boat from the original reciept from sanger when it was bought new, the only thing that has been done to them is the counter lower unit was rebuilt in the 90s and new spark plugs. so is it possible to update this setup to where i can fwd/rev both engines safely?

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by noots View Post
    Gorgeous boat you have there, made even better with the original motors on it!

    It makes sense what he was talking about with the motor left in gear, but I would personally want to be able to shift it. You could hook both up to the shifter you have now, better way would be to get a twin engine shifter. I know Incontrol made one, now sold by CP Performance and Diamond Marine may still have them. I think Rex marine makes one as well. Easier to manuever if you can shift both motors, IMO.
    You should have both motors at the same height I would think. Don't know why it would be lower on one side, maybe previous owner never checked it?
    You want to set the propshaft according to the bottom of the sponson, not the tunnel. I think a good start would be set the propshaft even with the bottom and go up or down from there depending on how it performs.
    As for the props, run it and see what happens. Play with the engine height and see how well it performs. I know I've seen 23 Alley cats with twins running choppers, never saw one with cleavers. My father had a 21 Alley cat and it loved alot of setback and I think a 28 chopper, porposing was an issue with it around 40-60mph and the setback and chopper helped alot.
    Hydraulic steering does not allow for the steering to be in the same place all the time. It will always be in a different spot.
    Good luck with it. Run it and let us know how well it goes!
    thanks for your help!, im going to level the higher motor to the lower one and adjust from there, my dad has a set of 25 choppers i plan to bring with me on a day where ill be testing all day.i just figured the cleavers were what it needed because i see so many other cats with them.

  6. #6
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    btw,the motors are 1985 fuel injected 2.4 formula 200s, i should have cleared that up at first.
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  7. #7
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    had a 23' alleycat for 8 years.. GREAT boat..
    Click image for larger version. 

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  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by packinair View Post
    had a 23' alleycat for 8 years.. GREAT boat..
    Click image for larger version. 

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    I would have the injectors serviced by Brucato,they may have never been cleaned or tested,you will pop the top off a piston if one quits.you also need to test at least the compression across all cylinders to see if you have any bad apples in your two baskets.
    if im not mistaken those motors you have are early 240hp efi motors,with them tuned and running right and a set of big choppers that thing will haul the mail.check all hoses and hardware on the transom mount water pick-ups as a dry rotted hose there or obstruction will cause a barbecue.
    Last edited by wideglide55; 10-11-2012 at 07:06 PM.

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by simplyorange View Post
    that is what he said, i found out last night that it doesnt even have a shift shaft in the counter rotating motor, he said something about it not being possible to do, but why not? the counter rotating just means there is a different gear set correct? i thought these offshore mids are the same as the 2.5 ones. if so could i just add a shift shaft and run a newer counter rotating lower unit? the poper heads have never been removed from the mids, i have every document ever made for the boat from the original reciept from sanger when it was bought new, the only thing that has been done to them is the counter lower unit was rebuilt in the 90s and new spark plugs. so is it possible to update this setup to where i can fwd/rev both engines safely?
    I am pretty sure a shiftshaft, some powewrhead gaskets and a couple of sportmaster lower units will solve your problem. The technology (parts) did not exist in the early CLE years to counter rotate and shift ( has to do with how the thrust is handled in the L.H. lower) A later model bearing support and thrust system may allow you to build your lefty into a shiftable lower. Somebody on S&F will have the answer for you. Nice boat.
    Wriggleys gum makes me think of boating, "Double your engines, Double your fun"



  10. #10
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    it has a set of 32p cleavers on it right now, i thought tunnels preferred cleavers over choppers? the previous owner said 24s but i got around to checking them and they are 32, they are the 240 hp formula motors, i just changed the switch boxes in one motor, replaced all of the vacuum lines and put CCM reeds in both motors. injectors have a nice spray pattern, i have a friend with an injector cleaner that im going to hook them to and flush them just in case.im still undecided on what im going to do with the lower unit, i wanted a pair of cle's, but im gonna have ot taken down and checked to see if i can rebuild it to shift. if i can i may just cone them with bobs cones.either way i plan to run low water pickups on the lower unit until i need the transom mounts. also im removing the hotfoot soon and installing 4 lever top mounts in a console.

  11. #11
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    does it have fuel separators?if not invest in some as they are cheaper than pistons and blocks, with 32s you wont be able to have both in gear near the dock and other boats as your idle speed will be like 12-15 mph.
    32p/1.87/750rpm/10%slip=10.9mph
    Last edited by wideglide55; 10-12-2012 at 08:05 AM.

  12. #12
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    Nice rig

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