Help! Outboard needs support

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Rod Wolfe

I just purchased a '95 Hunter 26 with a '97 Johnson 9.9hp sailmaster 4-stroke. The motor is putting a lot of stress on the transom during trailering. I noticed a small crack in the gelcoat near the bracket. Does anyone have an idea for how I can support the motor while trailering and take the stress off the motor mount and transom.
 
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Frank

Take it off!

Unless I am going only a few miles I put the motor in the van. My motor only weighs 55 pounds and I bet yours weighs close to 90. That is one of the main reasons I do not want a bigger motor, because I don't want to lift it. With the outboard in the van and most of the gear loaded in the front of the boat I can go 70mph with no trailer sway.
 
Sep 25, 1999
600
Hunter 23.5 Indian Lake
motor

this is an issue that from time to time gets discussed on these sites, no offense, but, why would anyon;e want to leave an outboard attached going down the road, there is just not one single good reason, it is a bad idea, for more reasons than there is space for here, , I havenever trailered my h23 with the outboard and still I had to reinforce the area where it fastens to the boat, I did this using matt and fiberglass, and it made a huge difference, take the motor off while trailering any distance, good luck Mike B
 
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William Jowell

Too heavy

Obviously the engine is too heavy. Go to www.rhodes22.com and check out their motor mount. It is great for the heavy 4's.
 
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Ray

Remove it. Towing balance much better.

We tow alot and removing motor is a must.
 
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Barrie McDonald

Outboard motor Mount

Rod, Mount a stainless steel outboard motor crane ( available from ProTech in North Vancouver, B.C., Canada. It will hold your motor in a sling , ready to launch onto your tender with no strain on your rails. their e-mail address is "protech@direct.ca" or "blake@protech.bc.ca" With your strong american dollar you will find their prices excellent. Very high quality also. Good Luck, Barrie
 
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Bill Welsch

At the risk of beating a dead horse....

...all of the posts on this subject are right on. I got lazy once and left the motor on our 240 for "just a few miles" and managed to crack the Honda motor mount. It was pretty easy to replace but we were land locked until the part came in from Honda, etc. take the darn motor off. We stick ours in the back of the Durango. Since it has a separate fuel tank there is no gas spillage or odor... Bill Welsch S/V Renewal
 
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Bill

If you have remote controls....

sometimes o/b's with remote controls and electrical connections aren't that simple to reconnect in a jiffy. Another 1/2 hour plus at the ramp... it's already an hour to get the mast up... just another point of view..
 
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Rod Wolfe

Thanks for the feedback...

My wife has to constantly remind me to always look for the obvious solution first, which I don't always do. For example, last weekend when the water pump in the head quit working. I had the pump taken apart and put back together before I realized the valve on the water bladder had worked itself shut...the list goes on. Regarding the motor, It does have remote controls and electrical. Kind of a pain to disconnect and reconnect when most of my trailering is less than 2 hours (mostly 10 to 30 minutes depending on destination). I'm considering adding a boom to my mast crutch, like a davit, with a light block and tackle to 1) maybe transfer 50lbs or so of the 100# motor off the motor mount during transport and 2) use to save my back when actually removing and installing motor. Now I just need to inspect the installation of the mast crutch to see whether it can handle a +50 pound load with tension from various angles. I know you can buy these things for a bunch of money if you want. Here I go again trying to avoid the obvious solution...
 
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Ron Bench

Remove the outboard?

Just purchased a 260. Our local lakes see hundreds of power boats with outboards exceeding 200 HP every year. Many with TWO of these monsters. None of these motors are removed for trailering. Are our sailboats too week to carry a 9.9 HP motor? I don't relish the thought of removing a 100+ lb motor twice each trip I take. The boat should be substantial enough to carry required equipment and the trailer should be balanced properly to tow it. If not, there is an engineering problem.
 
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Ron Mehringer

I agree Ron

I very much agree with Ron Bench. The boat SHOULD be designed so it can be transported with the outboard mounted. However, that doesn't mean that the boat IS designed for this. Maybe someone at Hunter can answer this question. I bought my H26 used and it was towed a couple hundred miles with the outboard mounted (a Honda 15HP Four Stroke) and all seems well. That doesn't guarantee that all would be will if it was done again. Ron Mehringer s/v Hydro-Therapy
 
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Mike Pajewski

I have never removed my outboard

I have never removed the outboard on either my 23.5 or 26. I towed my 23.5 from Nofolk, Va to Bettendorf, IA by way of Lake Hopatcong, NJ with no damage or cracks. If towing across I-80 in Pennsylavania didn't hurt, nothing will. The one thing to keep in mind though was that this was with a Tohatsu 8 and not some of the large (15 HP) four strokes. The two stroke weighs in around 70 pounds, some of the four strokes weigh close to twice that much. We also do not raise the outboard when towing the 26. This would put less leverage on the transom bracket. Based on the extra weight of the four stroke, it might be a good idea to remove it, or use a transom saver bracket like the bass boat bubbas do. Mike Pajewski H26 "Loon"
 
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