Adjustability of OB Motor Mounts

[David S]

On my 79 O'day 22 I have a hard time raising my old 9.9 Evinrude manual start (yes it is heavy). The motor mount has a release lever, but it is so hard to release while trying to lift the motor up, I have to put my foot over the transom and push on the lever to release it from the catch slot. I don't have any pics of this motor mount, I assume it came with the boat when new, I don't know the name brand of this mount.
If there are posts with pics of OB motor mounts may be someone can lead me to those posts. I would like to find a mount that is easy to lift up the motor, any clues?

David S

 

[Joe11688]

On my 79 O'day 22 I have a hard time raising my old 9.9 Evinrude manual start (yes it is heavy). The motor mount has a release lever, but it is so hard to release while trying to lift the motor up, I have to put my foot over the transom and push on the lever to release it from the catch slot. I don't have any pics of this motor mount, I assume it came with the boat when new, I don't know the name brand of this mount.
If there are posts with pics of OB motor mounts may be someone can lead me to those posts. I would like to find a mount that is easy to lift up the motor, any clues?

David S

David,
What you need is a transom stand off block. You could probably make one. The material that you use to construct the block is up to you but what this block does is allow you to swing the outboard up on it's own built in tilt. You may need to turn the outboard so that the tiller handle is down and pointing toward Starboard. With the outboard bracket mounted to the block, all you need to do is raise the bracket to the appropriate height and leave it there. If you mount the block in the right place, you should be able to tilt the motor up with the lower unit completely out of the water as I do on my O'Day 222.

You're going to need to figure out the dimentions and the angles of the block. Boat transoms and shapes are all different. The bracket needs to be straight with the centerline of the boat and the block needs to be shaped to allow this. The thickness of the block is another consideration. If the block does not protrude out away from the transom enough, there might not be enough room away from the transom to tilt the outboard up and lock it in place. Mine just makes it and I have a Johnson Long shaft 8 hp two stroke.

My friend Ray built two blocks in place of one for his 86 O'Day 26. He made them out of solid pine and fiberglased them. It worked for him.
Myself, I would build a block out of PVC Trim board. PVC TB can be glued with PVC cement and spray painted with Krylon.

You could make a "one off" out of fiberglas. The outer surface of the block where the engine bracket bolts is slanted at a downward angle. Don't ask me why. It's just an observation. I have seen a few factory made blocks on various boats including an O'Day 272 and it has these same downward angles.

 

[Bosman]

Some examples:

 

[David S]

Thanks guys,
Trinkka, yes mine has 2 transom stand off blocks which I have recently replaced, 2 blocks due to the design and width of this particular bracket, it is interesting how the blocks geometry changes from one to the next due to the transom foreword slant and curvature. I didn't get to speak to the former owner and don't know if they had any issues with this, they may have had a long shaft OB. My old 9.9 Evinrude short shaft has freedom of movement an all directions without any obstructions. In calm water it pushes the old girl ( no offense zeehag ) along quite smartly.

Bosman, your fourth pic down is similar, wide like mine. What is the brand name and distributor?

Trinkka, I like the bracket in your third pic down, my question is how hard is it to push the release lever to raise the motor? Looks like it has several locking positions, and is that black taped object there for safety reason? What is the brand name of this particular bracket and who is the distributor?

David S

 

[Joe11688]

Trinkka, I like the bracket in your third pic down, my question is how hard is it to push the release lever to raise the motor? Looks like it has several locking positions, and is that black taped object there for safety reason? What is the brand name of this particular bracket and who is the distributor?

As I mentioned previously David, I never need to touch my outboard bracket once I have it set. I'm able to just tilt the outboard up on it's own bracket. I wouldn't want to have to depend on that Fulton outboard bracket for raising the engine up. They make a more heavy duty bracket which has a better handle on it than the one I have on my boat now which is a Panther bracket.

Tilting my outboard up on it own bracket isn't too bad David. I only need to swing the outboard around with the handle down, and pull the top of motor toward me and reach around with my left hand to lock it in place. To tell you the truth though, there isn't that much room to get that engine tilted up like that. It just makes it.

That black taped bar is my engine lock bar. I spray the lock with WD-40 and use duct tape and black vinyl tape over the lock to keep the water out.

That particular bracket is the Fulton bracket that came with my boat. My friend Del gave me a Panther bracket which I installed last year. I was amazed when I found out that the bolts all lined up. The 8" Beckson Deck plate that I installed on my inside transom made it simple to change out the bracket. Here's a pic of the Panther outboard bracket that Del had on his Hunter 27. It's a lot newer than the Fulton bracket that I had on there. I gave my Fulton bracket to one of our new YC members who owns a Mac 26. His bracket looks older than the Fulton and it's not adjustable.

 

[Bosman]

David S, PM sent.

 

[Charlie Jones s/v Tehani]

I also have to step on the release to lift the engine. Was difficult, so I added a wooden step pad to it. After that my 5'2" wife could do it.

 

[Ward H]

My 17' boat had a bracket similar to the photo TSBB posted. I cut a 2x2 a foot long, put a lanyard on it for my wrist and used that to push down on the catch from a standing position. No way was I going half overboard to to step on that release.

OB brackets have springs to assist in the lifting of the motor but if you get a heavier motor than the braket is designed for, you need to make up for what the springs won't lift.
The bracket on my 25 O'Day has hydraulic assist. Makes it real easy to lift the 120lb motor.

 

[David S]

OB Motor Mounts

David S, PM sent.

Bosman,
Thanks, I read your PM and looked at both websites,yeh the language is all polish,couldn't find anyway to get it in English. :cry:

Trinkka,
Thanks for the PM reply, I'll email next time, you seem to favor that for sending pics. Maybe Post Reply would be better to share all that good info for everybody else. I'll try to find Panther and Fulton motor mount company or distributors.

I do not have stern rails on my 79 O'day 22, where can I go to find info on them?

Thanks guys, David S

 

[Joe11688]

Trinkka,
Thanks for the PM reply, I'll email next time, you seem to favor that for sending pics. Maybe Post Reply would be better to share all that good info for everybody else. I'll try to find Panther and Fulton motor mount company or distributors.

I do not have stern rails on my 79 O'day 22, where can I go to find info on them?

David,
I'm not sure if Rudy carries stern rails for the O'Day 22. He may have them. You could give him a call and find out. http://www.drmarine.com/
If you can't find one you could always have one made up for your boat by a marine welder/fabrication shop.

Rudy carries a real nice engine bracket that is real heavy duty like the Garelick but cheaper in price. The tag on this bracket says that it is not rated for four stroke outboards, but according to Rudy, some guys who have bought these brackets of him who own O'Day 25s have been mounting four stroke outboards as large a 15 hp and they have had no problems with them.
Myself, I don't buy into the notion that you need a bracket rated for a four stroke from what I've heard and seen. In MHO as long as the bracket is in good condition and rated for the weight of the engine, it can handle a four stroke outboard. If anything, I would make sure that the transom can handle the weight and torque of a four stroke engine.

If you find that you're going to need to raise the bracket each time you want to get the outboard out of the water, these brackets have a better handle for doing that.
My friend Wayne has a similar bracket on his Seaward 22 and he has a Tohatsu 9.9 HP four stroke extra long shaft outboard on it. He claims that his bracket has more pitch adjustments than the Garelick bracket.
He was more concerned about the thickness of his transom, so he beefed it up. He showed me a small cutout of his transom and it was only 1/4". I would have been concerned about that myself. I think he made the right move.