O/B Motor mount

[Stan Lukity]

I have an O'Day 23" which came with a Sailor 9.9 long shaft motor. Now I want to put a new Honda 5hp motor on. I also want to replace the old 2 stroke motor mount with a new 4 stroke mount. The problem I am running into is that the Honda is about 3" shorter that the old motor and the new motor mount is about 3 inches higher. Which makes it look like I will have to put a spacer plate on the boat mounting pad and mount the new bracket it but about 6" lower than the old one. My question is, does this sound correct and am I going to run into any problems controlling and steering lit? Or is there a better way?

Thanks for any help you may have.

 

[Joe11688]

I have an O'Day 23" which came with a Sailor 9.9 long shaft motor. Now I want to put a new Honda 5hp motor on. I also want to replace the old 2 stroke motor mount with a new 4 stroke mount. The problem I am running into is that the Honda is about 3" shorter that the old motor and the new motor mount is about 3 inches higher. Which makes it look like I will have to put a spacer plate on the boat mounting pad and mount the new bracket it but about 6" lower than the old one. My question is, does this sound correct and am I going to run into any problems controlling and steering lit? Or is there a better way?

Thanks for any help you may have.

You're going to need to install a block on the transom to mount the engine bracket to. Otherwise, the engine won't be straight on the transom. Blocks vary in shape and size, so you need to mount the right one. You could also figure the angles and try to build one yourself. My friend built one out of wood for his O'Day 26. Personally I'd go for a Fiberglass block. Also, you need a long shaft outboard on this boat. I'm not sure if Rudy Nickerson of D&R Marine has a block for the O'Day 23, but he has a heavy duty bracket that is cheaper in price than the Garelick Mfg bracket.
http://www.drmarine.com/ Give Rudy a call. He carries everything O'Day. I don't know what to tell you about the outboard if you already bought it. They do have conversion kits to change certain outboards over to longshafts. One of the guys in my club converted an old Johnson short shaft over to a longshaft years ago. Good luck!
Joe

 

[HukilauMike]

Excellent advice from Joe as usual. I found out the bracket mounting block on my Oday 23 was damaged when I removed it to replace the mounting bracket. Water had rotted out most of the core, and it was a mushy mess. I called Rudy to see if he had a replacement. He does have the mold to make a new one, but I seem to recall that he wanted several hundred dollars to do so. Skilled fiberglass work is expensive. I wound up repairing the block on my own. In any case, I don't think the stock Oday 23 bracket is what you want for a number of reasons: its not wide enough to accomodate a modern four stroke motor mount; and why not just reuse the one you have. Mounting a new outboard is a challenge. You will need to make sure the engine is low enough so that the prop is deep enough, but not so low that you can't reach the controls, while also making sure the angle of the bracket puts the prop into the water at the right angle, and you must keep the engine far enough from the transom so that it can tilt up and away. Not a one man job. There's only one way to find out if your measurements will work: rig up a jig to hold the motor while the boat is on the hard, and test it out.

 

[Joe11688]

I have an O'Day 23" which came with a Sailor 9.9 long shaft motor. Now I want to put a new Honda 5hp motor on. I also want to replace the old 2 stroke motor mount with a new 4 stroke mount. The problem I am running into is that the Honda is about 3" shorter that the old motor and the new motor mount is about 3 inches higher. Which makes it look like I will have to put a spacer plate on the boat mounting pad and mount the new bracket it but about 6" lower than the old one. My question is, does this sound correct and am I going to run into any problems controlling and steering lit? Or is there a better way?

Thanks for any help you may have.

Here's a pic of my outboard motor bracket Stan. My bracket is an el cheapo which is not rated for a four stroke. The block that the bracket is mounted to allows me to tilt the outboard up each time without having to mess with the bracket. The bracket in the picture always stays set in that position. I very rarely ever move it up or down.
Perhaps a block on your transom will allow you to tilt your outboard up and out of the water without having to mess with the bracket each time. I have an 8 hp 2 stroke outboard, but where you have a smaller 4 stroke outboard, the block may give you the space needed to tilt the outboard up.

 

[Joe11688]

Excellent advice from Joe as usual. I found out the bracket mounting block on my Oday 23 was damaged when I removed it to replace the mounting bracket. Water had rotted out most of the core, and it was a mushy mess. I called Rudy to see if he had a replacement. He does have the mold to make a new one, but I seem to recall that he wanted several hundred dollars to do so. Skilled fiberglass work is expensive. I wound up repairing the block on my own. In any case, I don't think the stock Oday 23 bracket is what you want for a number of reasons: its not wide enough to accomodate a modern four stroke motor mount; and why not just reuse the one you have. Mounting a new outboard is a challenge. You will need to make sure the engine is low enough so that the prop is deep enough, but not so low that you can't reach the controls, while also making sure the angle of the bracket puts the prop into the water at the right angle, and you must keep the engine far enough from the transom so that it can tilt up and away. Not a one man job. There's only one way to find out if your measurements will work: rig up a jig to hold the motor while the boat is on the hard, and test it out.

Mike,
I talked to my friend Ray this morning at the club about the block that he made for his 86 O'Day 26. He made it a few years ago out of two pieces of 4x4 fir. He epoxied them first, then he shaped them and epoxied over it and bolted it on his transom. The first bracket that he installed didn't work out too well on his boat so he removed it and installed a different bracket. Then he had problems with the prop coming out of the water when the waves kicked up, so he had to go with an extra long shaft outboard. He said that the block is still holding up very well, and he no longer has a problem with the lower unit depth.

You're right about the blocks being too small for these larger heavy duty brackets. I'm going to keep my two stroke going for as long as I can. Here's some pictures of my block and the el cheapo bracket with my outboard on it.
Joe

 

[HukilauMike]

Mike,
I talked to my friend Ray this morning at the club about the block that he made for his 86 O'Day 26. He made it a few years ago out of two pieces of 4x4 fir. He epoxied them first, then he shaped them and epoxied over it and bolted it on his transom. The first bracket that he installed didn't work out too well on his boat so he removed it and installed a different bracket. Then he had problems with the prop coming out of the water when the waves kicked up, so he had to go with an extra long shaft outboard. He said that the block is still holding up very well, and he no longer has a problem with the lower unit depth.

You're right about the blocks being too small for these larger heavy duty brackets. I'm going to keep my two stroke going for as long as I can. Here's some pictures of my block and the el cheapo bracket with my outboard on it.
Joe

I hear you on the two stroke issue. I just spent $600 last year fixing the engine block on my 8 hp Nissan rather than buy a four stroke. And I never raise the mounting bracket; not only can't I get any leverage from the cockpit to do so (that spring is worthless), there is no need. I just tilt the engine out of the water.

 

[Joe11688]

I hear you on the two stroke issue. I just spent $600 last year fixing the engine block on my 8 hp Nissan rather than buy a four stroke. And I never raise the mounting bracket; not only can't I get any leverage from the cockpit to do so (that spring is worthless), there is no need. I just tilt the engine out of the water.

What ever you can do to keep that two stroke outboard going is well worth it.
About two weeks ago when I tried to raise and lower the bracket on my boat, it wouldn't budge so I loosened the bolts and banged them to one side and sprayed some WD-40 everywhere that there was a moving part. The bracket never gets moved except in the spring and fall when I run the engine in a barrel to fog it or getting it going in the spring.

So now she's in the water on my friend's mooring. They haven't put all the mooring balls out yet including mine, and my friend Wayne won't have his boat in the water until the beginning of June.
I was able to go out in my 9' kayak and connect my pendant line to his mooring with no problem. The winds were gusting to about 30 mph at times with some slight wave action. I had more trouble trying to pick up my mooring under power than I did connecting my pendant line out of my kayak.
There are ony two boats out there, mine and a powerboat that belongs to one of my other friends. Also, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that they got the ice machine running and it's full of ice. I'm glad that I brought my cooler with me to take some of that ice back home with me for my first overnighter in a couple of days. I haven't bought ice in years. It's bad enough having to pay almost $4.00 a gallon for gasoline.
Joe

 

[Stan Lukity]

Joe,

I still am not quite sure on how I am going to solve my mount dilemma. I found out from Garelick that another model with lighter springs will work but I will have order it to see if it will work on the existing mount with an adapter plate. It also has a longer lift dimension which may help. My problem is further complicated in the my boat is in the water at a lake 20 miles from home. I put it in thinking that this swap out wouldn't be that big of a deal. I knew about the extra long shaft engines but they only come on 8 HP and above and weigh 100 lbs +. I wanted to stay with a smaller, lighter engine. The 5 HP long shaft engine that I bought works well on the old mount that is on my boat now but it is so worn and sloppy that I don't trust it. I think for the present I am going to take a 2-stroke mount off of an other boat that I have and use it until I figure out this whole mess I created. I will check with d r marine also.
The old 2-stroke motor I am replacing came with the boat and it wasn't taken care of. Which is another story. When I had it tuned up the dealer told me that the next time it needed repair to just buy a new one it was worth repairing. It doesn't tilt and it is real hard to turn. It was used in salt water conditions and not cared for.
Stan

 

[Joe11688]

Joe,

I still am not quite sure on how I am going to solve my mount dilemma. I found out from Garelick that another model with lighter springs will work but I will have order it to see if it will work on the existing mount with an adapter plate. It also has a longer lift dimension which may help. My problem is further complicated in the my boat is in the water at a lake 20 miles from home. I put it in thinking that this swap out wouldn't be that big of a deal. I knew about the extra long shaft engines but they only come on 8 HP and above and weigh 100 lbs +. I wanted to stay with a smaller, lighter engine. The 5 HP long shaft engine that I bought works well on the old mount that is on my boat now but it is so worn and sloppy that I don't trust it. I think for the present I am going to take a 2-stroke mount off of an other boat that I have and use it until I figure out this whole mess I created. I will check with d r marine also.
The old 2-stroke motor I am replacing came with the boat and it wasn't taken care of. Which is another story. When I had it tuned up the dealer told me that the next time it needed repair to just buy a new one it was worth repairing. It doesn't tilt and it is real hard to turn. It was used in salt water conditions and not cared for.
Stan

A couple of years ago, one of the guys in my club picked up an old O'Day 27 with a sail-drive two stroke inboard engine which didn't run too well. He was able to mount an outboard bracket for an old outboard he had, right at one of our finger docks while working from the main dock. It's not hard to do if you have all the tools at hand.
They say that the four strokes have so much torque that they can bend a regular transom bracket, but I think that it all depends on the engine HP and the condition of the bracket.
A few years ago, one of the guys on this forum had a four stroke engine on a regular el cheapo bracket similar to mine on his O'Day 25 and he was out with his family on the boat for a day of fun. When he started the engine and put it in gear, he accidentally gunned it and the force that the thrust created from that outboard actually stove a hole into the transom of his boat, fortunately above the waterline. The el cheapo bracket sustained no damage whatsoever. Go figure!
The bracket on my boat is a little wobbly but it's strong. In fact, I mount my 8 hp Johnson long shaft on it at the house and trailer the boat to the club. A lot of guys won't trailer their boats with the outboard on the bracket but I've never had a problem. I tie a rope from the stern rail to the outboard just in case but outside of that, I've never worried about my engine on the back of my boat. As I mentioned before, the way I have my outboard set up, I never need to mess with the bracket and I think it has to do with the block on the transom. I can tilt my engine up and the prop is out of the water. Where you have a smaller engine, there's a good chance that you'll be able to do this to. If for some reason you need to lower the bracket, maybe you can figure out a way to trip the handle and use your foot to get it down. They must have replacement springs for that bracket. I'm sure that if you got the part numbers of the springs on the other bracket, you could switch them to your bracket. Let me know how you make out.
Joe

 

[emergpa1]

I had a similar issue this year when i replaced my broken outboard motor bracket. I have an 8 hp nissan short shaft which was just barely deep enough (on lake) to not windmill out of the water unless the wind was really up.
this year when i went to see why my bracket was hard to raise, and so loose, i found that the gromets the springs and shafts pivoted on were broken or missing. i decided it was time to order a new bracket and found that the add said the travel of the bracket was larger than my old one (as measured by yours truely).
alas, after mounting, the motor is now higher out of the water than it was because the travel of the new bracket is higher, but not lower, or even as low by two inches. so i am going to try to sell my old 2002 8hp, and then use that to help buy a new six hp sail pro 6 hp from tohatsu (doesn't america make motors anymore?).
it has a alternator on it so that is nice, and is supposed to be fashioned especially for sail boats with 25 inch shaft and the right sort of propeller.
its always something isn't it? but its still a lot of fun (and money)
so much for me getting new canvas this year :neutral:
keith

 

[Joe11688]

Wayne just bought a Tohatso 9.9 extra long shaft this year for his Seaward 22. It has electric start and a charging system. Nice engine. Even the American brand engines are built in rice country. What are you going to do?:cussing: