Pat, Kittiwake has a CV set up. The previous owner took the steering knuckle from a honda and bolted it to a floor, lined up with the shaft. The half shaft then bolts to the engine. It is a pretty slick setup. I will take a picture this weekend.
It worked on my boat. Those sure look like fancy newfangled crap to break down to me. I am all for systems that can be found at the local auto wrecker when they invariably fail.
We are buying our first middle size boat. We are looking for a second-hand flybridge cruiser about 36' and are confused as to whether we should look at a Stern or Shaft drive. We have heard conflicting reports but mainly negative ones about the problems with stern drives. The boats we are looking at are about 16 to 20 years old. We are going to be using the boat for weekend trips with our children in the nearby broadwater at the Gold Coast. Anyone have any suggestions.