Aft Pulpit Outboard Motor Rack

Jun 3, 2013
3
Beneteau 381 Houston
My "standard" aft pulpit isn't strong enough to hold a 5hp motor. How complicated is it for a contractor to add the vertical stainless steel support new boats are equipped with?

Thanks!

Daven Voorhies
 
Mar 20, 2012
3,983
Cal 34-III, MacGregor 25 Salem, Oregon
its not complicated at all, but its expensive.. people that TIG weld on boat stainless and aluminum and such arent doing it on a budget... yours or theirs. and sometimes the cost cant even be justified other than the welder costs 20 grand. but then, who else are you going get to do it?.....

you can buy these and a length of polished stainless tube from a marine supply and do it yourself for about 1/5 of the cost of having it welded. you will also need a base plate to attach it to the boat
they are sleek, hold very well and looks presentable...
 
Jul 28, 2010
914
Boston Whaler Montauk New Orleans
I must say, I'm a bit surprised that a Beneteau 381 stern rail wouldn't be strong enough, having bareboat chartered a few Beneteaus in that size range with outboard motors hanging off of them.
 

DougM

.
Jul 24, 2005
2,242
Beneteau 323 Manistee, MI
I have seen an alternative where people have mounted an outboard bracket on the top rail and another on the middle rail with a vertical length of stainless tubing between them. it's a bit stronger than the factory mount which simply has a piece of stainless rod sandwiched between the two halves. I've considered also extending a vertical support to,the swim platform using stock bracket parts.

With my 8hp 4 cycle, I have been uncomfortable carrying it on the stock motor bracket, but it works. I hate to pay a welder to do anything custom, and it would probably require removing the stern rail and that's not an easy task either.
 
Jan 22, 2008
8,050
Beneteau 323 Annapolis MD
I'd have to think the OP means the railing "wiggles" since it does not have any angled supports. Same problem as my B323. I have the Edson bracket as per the Defender suggestion. It does not strengthen the railing, but it does add weight and it does hold my Honda 5 nicely. Stiil, though, the pushpit needs bracing. I'd say use Centerline's parts suggestion. I've never seen them, and might be a solution to what I want to do. If they OP says he has a problem, I think you should try to help him, not to tell him he does not have a problem.
 
Last edited:
Sep 15, 2009
6,244
S2 9.2a Fairhope Al
if that welder burns up your boat who do you expect to pay for it ...the liability is high when you are welding ...every one thinks just tack it here and tack it there but in reality that is not how it works...and they serve a 5 year apprenticeship just to get good enough to do the work required and make it look like it was done well .....it is truly one of the arts of the trades not just casual tack.....

regards

woody
 
Dec 26, 2012
359
MacGregor 25 San Diego
Honestly I'm not sure how a welder would even be able to do the job without removing the rail unless you took the boat to a yard that does welding as well. The equipment just pulls too much power to be plugging in on the dock, not to mention the fun of trying to do an out of position weld on tubing while hanging off the side of a boat. Not my idea of a fun job, and I do weld for a living.
 
Oct 17, 2011
2,809
Ericson 29 Southport..
Tig welding on S.S. and aluminum can be done at a tea party. The only nuisance would be the light. No sparks, little heat, a little smoke.
Now those awful splatter-guns guns that kids use though would not be good,(mig). No one in their right mind would run a mig gun on a boat. Or stick.
 
Nov 26, 2008
1,970
Endeavour 42 Cruisin
We carry a 120 lb dink on davits plus a 9.8 hp outboard on the rail.

Added braces from transom to stern rail. Added spectra line from 10' up the backstay down to the ends of the davit.

Bought a lot of 'bimini' hardware like rail clamps from marinepartdepot.com at excellent prices and free shipping, all 316 ss.
 
Oct 25, 2011
576
Island Packet IP31 Lake St. Louis, Montreal
My boat came with an Edson outboard mount (available on this site) on the stern rail. It Effectively spans the gap between the upper and lower rail and is quite strong. It'ls not cheap but works very well
 
Jan 22, 2008
8,050
Beneteau 323 Annapolis MD
Ummm... guys... the OP was 4 days ago, and has not posted anything since then to clarify what it is he actually wants.