New outboard motor

[Dionysis]

Guys, I have a problem... I recently bought a new Mercury 15 hp 4 stroke outboard for my 14' john boat. Well..... it seems to be a bit too heavy and weighs the back end down to an uncomfortable level for me. I'd like to see if I can install it on my Hunter 26.5 but the only problem is that it only has a 15" shaft and the current sailboat motor is a 20" shaft. My question is does anyone know if it is possible to run a 15" shaft on the sailboat, if so what modifications need to be made if any.

Thanks.

 

[Benny17441]

It is possible and maybe in a lake it would not cause the propeller to come out of the water as often. Regarding how well it would be to position and manage controls I will defer to H26.5 owners.

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

Your engine was built by Tohatsu. I think you can purchase the longer shaft and have it installed if you do not have the know how to do it.
One word of caution. Transoms are built to specs upward to handle 10 hp only. So do not use full throttle. Also you may have to beef up the motor mount and attachment to the hull as well

 

[JRT]

I'd sell the motor and get the correct size you need. I have a 2 year old 6HP Tohatsu, short shaft also and I thought I would retro a long shaft to it, the cost was over have the price of a new one and I still wouldn't have the charging capability.