Outboard bracket wedge - does it have to be one solid piece?

Joe11688 · Nov 20, 2012

Joe5893 said:
I have a Garelick 71091 motor mount. Garelick sent me plans on how to make a wegde. However, their plans show making the wedge out of one solid piece of wood.

I was wondering if anyone has made a wedge out of two pcs (basically two wedges, one on each side of the bracket where it mounts to the transom) instead of one solid pc. I am trying to reduce the weight as the Garelick mount and my 9.9 outboard add significant weight to that side of the boat as it is. Any thoughts on if this will cause problems?

thanks,

Joe

My friend Ray built two wedge blocks out of solid pine, and fiberglassed them, and mounted them on his O'Day 26. So yes, it has been done with success.

Ward H · Nov 20, 2012

Joe & Joe,
Looking at that last photo raises a question. Is that photo before your friend splashed the boat and trimmed the outboard? It looks like the OB has a lot of angle to it. You can adjust the trim of the OB and in the photo it looks like the OB adjustment is at max angle. Notice just behind the mounting block the series of holes on an upward angle with the silver pin in the first hole.
If the bracket was mounted flat to the transom, the OB should still have enough adjustment to get the proper trim.

On my O'day 25 the bracket, don't know the brand but designed for a 4 stroke and has hydraulic assist, is mounted flat to the transom. The original owner had the transom reinforced inside and out. The OB is vertical and I looked for but did not see any reason for playing with the tilt adjustment.

I thought the Garelick brackets also had a tilt adjustment for the mounting block.
Attached is a photo of the bracket on my Oday.

Joe11688 · Nov 20, 2012

That pic was taken after he splashed the boat and I think that was his second bracket. The first bracket he bought didn't have a lot of adjustments and he wound up changing it to the one pictured. Ray had so many holes in his transom that it looked like a woodpecker went wild on his boat.

He finally got it the way he wanted it.

pfschmid · Nov 21, 2012

Re: Outboard bracket wedge - does it have to be one solid pi

A 2 piece wedge should not be a problem since the wedge is just a spacer and doesn't bear the load. The bearing for the weight of your outboard is placed on the inside wall of your transom so you should be sure that you have an ample backing plate where the outboard bracket mounting bolts pass through. My boat originally had a piece of 3/4" plywood on the inside of the transom. I had to increase the width of my wedge to accommodate a new outboard bracket and I improved the inside by attaching an 1/8" stainless steel plate over the plywood. You may want to install a couple stiffeners between the wedges to avoid any torsional twist.

Technodad · Nov 21, 2012

Hi Joe5893,
I have the same bracket as yours and a heavy 9,9 4 stroke motor.
My boat came with an APS 9.9 (Chinese copy of the Yamaha 9.9) OB, electric start, charging and remote control and the whole motor weighs about 112lbs.
It was mounted on the original flimsy 2 stroke mount and when I used it, it crashed down hard and I had to have a small chain hoist to bring it back up. Last year that was a terrible arrangement so this past year I changed all that. I made a mold and made a new FG / gelcoat mounting shell which I filled with rough cut 3/4" plywood then filled with epoxy.
All is well now and it works like a charm, with one hand I can raise or lower the motor full travel while sitting down.
Also, I modified the new motor mount to work at a different angle and also made the hand wheel locking mechanism operable one handed, this was well worthwhile doing.

Things I would really like different because it all weighs so much:

1: A lighter motor
2: I should have made the mount base lighter (it is heavy with all that plywood in it)

Heavy motor, heavy mount, heavy base and my group 27 battery is there all on the the aft port side corner, it all looks too big as well.
Oh for a nice little inboard motor.....I'll work on it!!!

Overall it works very well.

I think separate wood or plastic side blocks under each side of the motor mount would work very well too.

Here it is installed

The FG shell

Ready to fill with epoxy

Finished

RichBone · Nov 22, 2012

Re: Outboard bracket wedge - does it have to be one solid pi

Nice

Joe11688 · Nov 22, 2012

Joe5893 said:
Thanks for the pics Joe (Trinkka). Very helpful!

Joe

Glad I could be of some help Joe!:dance:

Joe11688 · Nov 22, 2012

That block came out looking nice.

Ward H · Nov 22, 2012

Re: Outboard bracket wedge - does it have to be one solid pi

Nice job Technodad! Your photos have given me a few ideas.

emergpa1 · Dec 3, 2012

This year I took the wedge off, and after reinforcing the inside of the stern, simply used some trex to make a mounting plate. It did not seem to require a wedge because the motor bracket can be corrected for the slight reverse angle of the stern on the o'day. Am I mistaken. I haven't put the outboard motor on yet.

Joe11688 · Dec 3, 2012

As long as the outboard bracket is in line with the center line of the boat Keith. Because of the transom curvature, the block needs to be shaped in such a way to provide this alignment.

emergpa1 · Dec 4, 2012

Trinkka said:
As long as the outboard bracket is in line with the center line of the boat Keith. Because of the transom curvature, the block needs to be shaped in such a way to provide this alignment.

Hmm, that's a consideration. But if it is off centerline, don't I just correct that by pivoting the motor just a bit to make up for it?

onecoolair · Dec 4, 2012

Folk's the out board motor on a sail boat needs to be mounted so there is slight down ward angle of the thrust being projected into the water.

Joe11688 · Dec 4, 2012

emergpa1 said:
Hmm, that's a consideration. But if it is off centerline, don't I just correct that by pivoting the motor just a bit to make up for it?

Yes you could but if you're going to make your own block you may as well design it so that you won't need to do that. Here's some pics of my block. Take note of the angle of the block in the first pic. As pointed out, the block is also angled down slightly which is shown in the second pic.

emergpa1 · Dec 7, 2012

Trinkka said:
Yes you could but it you're going to make your own block you may as well design it so that you won't need to do that. Here's some pics of my block. Take note of the angle of the block in the first pic. As pointed out, the block is also angled down slightly which is shown in the second pic.

And as I found out yesterday, that angle down is critical as it allows the motor to be lower to the water. I am going to have to pull my girl back out and redo the mount. Also she has a small leak around the thru-hull that holds the depth sounder. Bummer.

Brian S · Dec 7, 2012

Re: Outboard bracket wedge - does it have to be one solid pi

So Onecoolair says that the motor should be tilted inwards, so that the vector of thrust of the motor is downwards. This would push the bow down a little.

I've been thinking about this, and why it might be. On a planing hull, you'd want the motor tilted out, such that the vector of thrust is upwards, and will lever the bow higher. This would make it easier for the boat to plane, as it can climb over its bow wave easier, and it can ride with a bow up orientation, allowing less wetted surface area for greater speed. On the other hand, you don't want too much tilt, or the boat will porpoise, with the bow rising and falling, cutting into fuel economy, and possibly causing prop ventilation.

If we look at our sailboats, we wouldn't want a bow high orientation while motoring, as it probably causes more bow wave. We'd want it to stay level, for the longest running waterline, and theoretical higher hull speed. Also, we always motor from the cockpit, usually well aft in the cockpit, which would potentially squat the stern. Having the motor tilted in a bit would counteract all that, and have the boat running at a more level attitude.

So, that's my thinking on sailboat outboard trim.

Brian

Joe11688 · Dec 7, 2012

Re: Outboard bracket wedge - does it have to be one solid pi

I doubt if a slight downward angle of an engine bracket is going to make any difference at the bow on keel/centerboard O'Day sloops but I could be mistaken. I've seen an empty balasted Mac 26 powered with 50 HP Honda outboard doing 20 Kts on the river with the bow riding high.

Joe11688 · Dec 7, 2012

emergpa1 said:
And as I found out yesterday, that angle down is critical as it allows the motor to be lower to the water. I am going to have to pull my girl back out and redo the mount. Also she has a small leak around the thru-hull that holds the depth sounder. Bummer.

You may as well Keith. It's better to get it done now than to put up with it later when you're into the good sailing season.

Outboard bracket wedge - does it have to be one solid piece?

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