THere seems to be a lot of flexing in the transom when I raise and lower my 4.5 outboardon my 72 O'Day. Any concerns about this or ideas about reinforcing the area?
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I have an 1972 O`Day 22 (29 years)..... Do you have a aluminum tubular type mount? I do and so far no problems. I suggest you check the following: There is a "reinforcing block" glassed to the inside of the transom...that may have broken loose
Warren, Warren . .
No need to scare the guy!
That's my job. David - Warren is right - you should check the reinforcing to make sure you won't lose your engine, or your boat through the hole that will be left if the mount fails. I would recommend rebuilding the reinforced area using starboard backing plates. If you're unfamiliar with the material its a high density plastic that works like wood but won't rot. Justin - O'day Owners' Web
No need to scare the guy!
That's my job. David - Warren is right - you should check the reinforcing to make sure you won't lose your engine, or your boat through the hole that will be left if the mount fails. I would recommend rebuilding the reinforced area using starboard backing plates. If you're unfamiliar with the material its a high density plastic that works like wood but won't rot. Justin - O'day Owners' WebDave... do you even still have the tube mount?
From your post, it sounded like your boat was changed from the "tube mount" (the one described by Warren) to the more "traditional" type... a spring loaded parallelogram. The reason I say this is that in the tube type, the reinforcing ply panel on the inside of the transom takes less load, and in a different way... this because it acts as a fulcrum with the tube being the lever. The weight of the engine, through the tube, is pushing straight down on the reinforcement... without twisting it. But when someone removes the tube, glasses over the hole, and bolts on the standard type mount, the reinforcing panel's role changes. Now the weight of the engine is no longer bearing "straight down" to the water, but the action of the new mount is to ROTATE the reinforcement so the top is forced out, and the bottom in, against the thin fiberglass of the transom. It was not built to do this, and flexes horribly. The fix? I have not done this yet myself, but I believe the solution is to remove the original small ply reinforcement, and cut a larger one, which reaches down to the waterline, and up the the top of the transom, and glue that in. Now the twist would be spread over a much larger area, and not act on vast expanses of thin glass. Rich.
From your post, it sounded like your boat was changed from the "tube mount" (the one described by Warren) to the more "traditional" type... a spring loaded parallelogram. The reason I say this is that in the tube type, the reinforcing ply panel on the inside of the transom takes less load, and in a different way... this because it acts as a fulcrum with the tube being the lever. The weight of the engine, through the tube, is pushing straight down on the reinforcement... without twisting it. But when someone removes the tube, glasses over the hole, and bolts on the standard type mount, the reinforcing panel's role changes. Now the weight of the engine is no longer bearing "straight down" to the water, but the action of the new mount is to ROTATE the reinforcement so the top is forced out, and the bottom in, against the thin fiberglass of the transom. It was not built to do this, and flexes horribly. The fix? I have not done this yet myself, but I believe the solution is to remove the original small ply reinforcement, and cut a larger one, which reaches down to the waterline, and up the the top of the transom, and glue that in. Now the twist would be spread over a much larger area, and not act on vast expanses of thin glass. Rich.
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