Noob powerboater crunched my Catalina 27 (outboard model) transom pretty good at the slip a couple weeks ago. Took out my existing motor mount, which was bolted to the filled in transom. The boat is now in the yard being repaired (after too much hassle with the insurance company, but that's another story).
Question is, should I go back to an open transom or keep the cover and rebolt on a new motor mount? I've been searching the archives extensively but can't seem to find much consensus. For now, the fiberglass fill-in has been removed because the backing was to be replaced.
My current outboard is a 2 stroke 8hp Suzuki that could fit in the opened transom--the boatyard is encouraging me to go this route, saying it would protect the motor, better balance the boat, and allow gas fumes to vent away. But I was pretty happy with the external mount on the filled-in transom--easily could tilt the motor up & out of the water, had a bit more storage in the "wet locker".
I'd just be happy to hear any suggestions, since I can essentially go either way right now.
Question is, should I go back to an open transom or keep the cover and rebolt on a new motor mount? I've been searching the archives extensively but can't seem to find much consensus. For now, the fiberglass fill-in has been removed because the backing was to be replaced.
My current outboard is a 2 stroke 8hp Suzuki that could fit in the opened transom--the boatyard is encouraging me to go this route, saying it would protect the motor, better balance the boat, and allow gas fumes to vent away. But I was pretty happy with the external mount on the filled-in transom--easily could tilt the motor up & out of the water, had a bit more storage in the "wet locker".
I'd just be happy to hear any suggestions, since I can essentially go either way right now.