Hunter 26.5 motor mount capacity

[edsonfarm]

Does anyone know what the weight/H.P. rating on the factory outboard mount on the Hunter 26.5 is?

I was considering getting a 9.9 or 15hp 4-stroke and am not sure if the factory mount can handle this. I also can't seem to find an aftermarket motor mount that would adjust to the transom angle. Does anyone know of one, or of some sort of wedge system that may be commercially available?

Thanks,
Matt

 

[Clayton Fawcett]

Honda 9.9 No Problem

Matt,

Not sure how much it will take, but mine handled a Honda 9.9 with no problems.

I ended up not liking the fact that I couldn't get the motor out of the water, so I designed a custom stainless wedge so that I could mount a Garelock (sp?) heavy duty 4-Stroke motor mount. Here are a couple of pics...

 

[wth]

Did the same

I had a transom mounting bracket locally fabricated and attached the same lifting motor mount. It looks almost exactly like SV Walkabout's transom bracket. My Nissan 9.9 motor skeg, when lifted in the vertical position, is about 2 inches off the water. Really happy with the result.

 

[edsonfarm]

Thanks. I was looking into getting the same mount bracket, but couldn't find a wedge anywhere. Do you have the dimensions/specs for the one you designed? I had a couple of ideas for a wedge of my own, however I just bought the boat and haven't taken possession yet so I can't get measurements. I wanted to bring the new motor setup with me and install it when I go pick up the boat. Any change you might be interested in fabricating another of your wedges? I'd be willing to buy one!

Also, how do your boats do with the 9.9 hp outboards. Do you find that they're adequate? I'll be doing a lot of trips on the ICW were sailing the whole time might not be feasible. I'm not sure if the current 8 hp will have the power to get the boat to hull speed in a current.

Thanks again.
Matt

 

[Clayton Fawcett]

Motor Mount

Matt,

I was just looking at the plans that I made up and unfortunately don't have any dimensions on them. I can go measure the one that I have in the next couple of days and get you that info. As far as fabricating another one, it would be cheaper for you to get one made locally.

I will however, take as many pics as you like and get the dimensions from the one I had built. I used 1/4" stainless steel plate that I had cut and then bent. The wedge is all one piece and then they just put it in a brake (metal bending machine) and then welded on two diagonal reinforcements at the upper corners. After that I just drilled the holes and mounted it. After mounting mine, I would recommend that you have the shop drill the holes in both the bracket and the backing plate. It is a real pain to drill stainless if you haven't worked with it much. I did install a 1/4" stainless steel backing plate as well that measured 14" x 14" inside the lazarette. The outboard bracket is a Garelock 4-stroke bracket that I highly recommend. The key to the whole thing is getting the wedge height set correctly above the waterline on the transom.

I bought the 9.9 Honda I am using on the used market and it has worked flawlessly. One word of caution though is that you will probably end up having to change the prop out as most motors come with a propellor for a planing hull. I went clear down to a 6.5 pitch 4 bladed prop (from an 8 pitch) and love it. Gets the boat up to hull speed, has plenty of torque, and the biggest benefit is that the reverse thrust available will let me do things that I really shouldn't.

The only thing that I would caution you on is pick your weather days when sailing with a transom hung outboard as breaking following waves could drown the motor hanging off the back. The prop also does come out of the water in anything over 2'-3' waves. Keep in mind that I am on an inland lake and that ocean waves should have a longer wave period. The little waves that I have to deal with are wind generated and very close together.

 

[edsonfarm]

Thanks, you've been very helpful! I would appreciate any photos/specs you can provide.

Matt

 

[TIM22904]

I currently have a Yamaha 8hp, 4-stroke high thrust model on my Hunter 26.5.
This motor has a low gear ratio with a 11" dia. low pitch prop that works great for this boat. Hull speed, backing and stopping is not a problem with this motor.
GREAT MOTOR !

Tim

 

[TIM22904]

I forgot to mention I'm using this Yamaha on the factory mount for the last five years with no visible problems on the mount or transom.

Tim

 

[edsonfarm]

Thanks Tim. I've been looking at 15hp models- don't plan on running at full throttle, but thought it would be nice to have the extra thrust if running in a current. Plus I would think a 15hp at half throttle would be more fuel efficient than the 8hp 2-stroke I bought with the boat at high throttle. I'd rather be SAILING the boat anyway, but with some parts of the long ICW trips I'll be doing I don't want to be underpowered when I need the motor.

I'm glad to hear the 8hp gives you enough power. I'm beginning to think 15hp might be too much weight and too much power for the boat and that a newer 9.9 could be the best choice.

 

[Clayton Fawcett]

Hello,

Sorry for the delay in getting this info posted.

Attached is the drawing that I used to make the motor mount wedge for my 26.5. I must note that once I went and saw the guys at the metal shop, we switched the design from aluminum to stainless steel. Also, the drawing shows four welds and mine only has two, the flanges that were welded inboard.

Hope this helps and it does contain the critical dimensions that you will need to get one built. Basically all the machine shop has to do is cut one piece out of stainless, bend it, and then weld on the inboard flanges.
Make sure to have them make a backing plate at the same time and drill both the wedge and the backing plate to match as drilling stainless is a royal pain at times. If you get it too hot when drilling, forget it...

 

[edsonfarm]

Thank you very much!