Mystery of the Motor Mount.....

kloudie1 · Aug 18, 2010

Get a gear headed buddy to look at it and figure it out.. That pin should have a “circlip” in the groove on each end to keep it from coming out of the “wherever it is supposed to be”.. There was probably a spring someplace close to lock this pin into a slot or groove to hold the engine up out of the water when sailing.. Usually, you’d tip the motor up and then lift the bracket and it would latch in the up position to get the motor completely out of the water while sailing or at the dock.. If ya google a bit on “outboard motor bracket” (or mount) you can probably find that bracket with pictures that will let you decipher the puzzle.. Yes, I would try to get the motor a little more vertical by adjusting the clamps of the engine itself .. but I’d not mess with the lifting bracket to accomplish that.. straightening the engine will make the oil reservoir operate more like it should.. Good luck with it and WELCOME ..
Beautiful place, Pickwick.. I used to kayak tour and fish there back when I was at Miss State..

kloudie1 · Aug 18, 2010

No, didn't know of 'em.. It has been a while .. 1973 ish.. Worked with a guy from Iuka, Ms.. When I first met him, he was surprised that I knew where that is.. used to provision there before kayak trips.. Pretty country.

Mulf · Aug 18, 2010

The bracket is to raise the motor up when not in use.

When I had my O'Day 222 it had a very similar bracket. I did not need to tilt the motor, simply lift it up or lower it down. In your picture I can see a part of the bracket that has a grey knob sticking out the side. There should be an matching one on the opposite side. Its down low in the picture just above the screw in lever that tightens the motor to the bracket. That bracket piece also has a slot down the center of it. The pin you are saying fell out probably belongs in that slot, and it rides up and down the slot as you raise or lower the motor.

Standing in the boat looking down, you would reach down with one hand and grab that piece by the two knobs, and push the bracket back a half inch or so to release it and then lift the motor/bracket up until the handle you are lifting with snaps into another slot where the motor would ride in the up position. Looking at the slot in the picture you can see a notch at the bottom of the slot that is what the pin slides into when you complete the step I describe above. Hope this helps.

kloudie1 · Aug 18, 2010

Looks a lot like this Garlick EEz-In: http://www.garelick.com/product.php?pnumber=71057
Make sure you have the 71057 model to handle the weight of the Mariner engine.

HukilauMike · Aug 18, 2010

Old motor mounts are notorious for freezing and generally malfunctioning. They depend on springs to provide a counterlift force to allow you to raise the entire unit (as you suspected). If the mount has been in one position for a long time, the springs will get "tired" and no longer function very well. This will make it very difficult to raise and lower the engine, as you will be fighting almost the entire weight of the outboard with no assistance.

The design of the Oday 23 cockpit and stern railing make raising and lowering an outboard difficult in any instance; I have found that its just impossible to get good leverage from the cockpit. So even when my outboard mount was new (and the springs in good shape), I would leave the bracket in the lowest position, and always relied on the outboard's own tilt mechanism to bring the unit clear of the water.

Joe · Aug 18, 2010

Looks like a back breaker to me, fresh springs or not.

Don12364 · Aug 18, 2010

Looks as if your motor bracket does not have a spring to assist the lift - or if it had one it is no longer there. Some do, some don't. It depends on the weight of the motor (and the physique of the motorboater!) -
This guy has solved it in his own way. Lousy photography but you will soon get the idea. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-SqrKl24gA

Also it looks as if your mount has been deliberately inclined inwards at the bottom to get the motor thrust more in line with the centre line of the hull, though this hardly seems worthwhile. Anyway your engine will not mind this extra little bit of heel.

ffaubert · Aug 18, 2010

kloudie1 said:
Looks a lot like this Garlick EEz-In: http://www.garelick.com/product.php?pnumber=71057
Make sure you have the 71057 model to handle the weight of the Mariner engine.

Is it just me or are these things really the worst way in the world to raise a motor?

My boat has a 15" high stern railing and one of these things (two actually, but that's a different story). I'm short and the only way to grab this thing is to either stretch over the top of the railing and all but fall into the water or go under the railing where you can't use you back or legs to pull up.

The handle requires that you push it away from you while trying to pull up the motor. Isn't that kind of a$$ backwards? Wouldn't you want it to pull towards you so you can use your back, shoulders, stomach and legs to lift 50 lbs of metal up from the height of your ankles?

There has to be a better way.

HukilauMike · Aug 18, 2010

ffaubert said:
Is it just me or are these things really the worst way in the world to raise a motor?

There has to be a better way.

The Rhodes 22 has a proprietary bracket that raises and lowers the outboard from a pendent line in the cockpit. I tried it once at a boat show. Far and away the easiest unit I have ever used. At the time, General Boats (the makers of the Rhodes 22) were not selling them separately; too bad!

1977oday22 · Aug 18, 2010

I have the exact same mount and it's really a PITA!!!!
You have to push ot out and pull it up at the same time.
It's one of the things I plan on changing or modding next year.
It has to rank with one of the worst mount designs ever......

kenn · Aug 18, 2010

ffaubert said:
Is it just me or are these things really the worst way in the world to raise a motor?..

There has to be a better way.

We have this sort of mount on our boat. It's very common. I believe our mount is the original, from when the boat was made (1981), and the springs are still intact... and it still works for me, with our 5 HP Suzuki. It's a bit too much of a lift for my wife, but she can't tilt the motor easily either.

The biggest hassle would be working around the stern rail or pushpit... and we don't have one

But, the world is ready for a better engine mount/lift. If you build it they will come...

Tom Hoffman · Aug 18, 2010

Your post got me to thinking. I have a mount like yours on my boat and so far I have not had the opportunity to try it. This weekend hopefully. While doing a little on line reasearch on the subject. I came upon this. I really like it. I think I will build one myself this winter so next year, I don't have to hassle with the old side of the transom mount that is all to common and seems to me to be very weak.

http://mayersmotormount.com/description.php

Take a look.

Tom...

RichBone · Aug 18, 2010

Here's a few
http://www.catalinadirect.com/index.cfm?category=84
And Rudy sells another one

Rich

SamLust · Aug 20, 2010

teo things I see with the Mayer:

If you have a transom hung kick-up rudder it will interfere

You would be hanging the weight even further out than one of the normal swing-up mounts. Weight at the ends of a boat is undesirable. Hang a decent size 4-stroke out there and I can see the potential for a problem.

Doesn't mean I don't like it, because I do. I'm just sayin.......

Tom Hoffman · Aug 20, 2010

I got so excited that I measured my boat and the rudder placement. The whole thing will extend out approx. 24" from the transom of the boat. Adequate room for my rudder to operate inside it. Width would be approximately 30-32" and total ht. From stern rail to an inch or so above the bottom of the stern is around 54". My 10 hp Honda weighs approx. 90 lbs. All the parts including the tubing only come to a little over $200. A far cry from the estimated $2000 from the site. I plan on making it easily removable, 4 bolts and she is off.

Total with welding should be between $350 and $400. I plan on doing a mock up using 1" wood dowel rod in the 1" SS fittings and then taking it all to my welder friend so he can cut all the straight pieces and weld them and then bend the outboard bends on his bending jib and put it all together.

My boat us an older boat and I am not adverse to experimenting a little.

http://mayersmotormount.com/description.php

teacher63 · Aug 23, 2010

I had 2 garlicks one that was for a small 3 hp and the second was for a much larger motor. There was a large handle at the top that you moved in and out that released the motor either up or down. The motor it self had a pine to tilt it. The old one was disaster as I was so dumb that I did not know you could not put a 5 Honda on a mount that was used for a 2cycle engine. Down it went but I could not raise it. It was not fun.

Jfelkins said:
Ok, so by now if you've seen my other posts you know I'm a total newbie....and here we go again. How is this thing supposed to work? The motor tilts and that's what I've been doing out on the water but this thing looks like it's made to go up and down. Right? Why? When?

I must not have been using it properly because the metal pin shown below was spat out at me the last time I touched the mount. Clearly it's not pleased with me. Any advice on how to live happily with a motor mount would be greatly appreciated.

One last note. It's a crooked mount. Not morally (as far as I know). It's what we call some folks when they appear to be a little weird, "Half a bubble outa plumb." Should this be an immediate concern and how should I address it?

Thanks!!!

Mystery of the Motor Mount.....

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