important consideration
Please see the attached picture. The original pipe mount was run back to a bracket, which was attached to the inside of the cockpit seat. This meant that the force of the weight of the motor went virtually straight down, and only the smallest of ply backing pads was needed.When these O'Day's are converted to the more common transom mounts, the force changes. Without the pipe running back, the downward force now "twists" at the transom. For this reason, when replacing the mount to this type, also replacing the backing pad with a much larger one is in order.I made the change to a transom mount, and my transom twists badly when running through chop. I intend on removing it, and the factory backing plate, and putting in a much larger marine ply backing. This will extend all the way to the bottom and top of the transom, and be "tabbed" into place with fiberglass tape (before being drilled through and bolted to the mount, of course).