Take a look at this picture:
(and first, this image is from before we bought it -- the boat is now clean)
My concern is raising and lowering the tilt. The way the tilt on that motor works is that in order to release the tilt you have to raise the engine even higher than it is there and then lower it back down. However, you'll note that that motor is currently turned the wrong side up. For this model of outboard the engine should never be laid down on its side with the tiller handle up, but on this bracket there is no other way to release the tilt. There's not enough clearance to tilt the engine any higher when it's centered, and the tiller blocks it if it's turned the other way so that the tiller is down. But when you put it in this position and then raise it up, it's nearly horizontal. I don't have an image how high it goes on my boat, but here's a screengrab of a really crappy video from Mercury about the tilt:
That screenshot shows it nearly horizontal at the top of the range, and the stand he's using seems to be at a steeper angle than my transom, which means that it would be even more horizontal on my boat.
As it happens, I've recently replaced the motor with a brand new one that I am installing this weekend, and I do not want to run the risk of damaging it. For starters, my plan is add a spacer board on the aft side of the transom mount to move the engine a little further away from the boat to give me a tiny bit more room, but it's not going to give me that much and I don't think it's going to fix the problem.
Am I being overly concerned? Is a momentary tilt in the wrong direction just not going to have any effect worth worrying about? Or should I consider ditching the bracket I have in favor of a lifting bracket or something?
(and first, this image is from before we bought it -- the boat is now clean)
My concern is raising and lowering the tilt. The way the tilt on that motor works is that in order to release the tilt you have to raise the engine even higher than it is there and then lower it back down. However, you'll note that that motor is currently turned the wrong side up. For this model of outboard the engine should never be laid down on its side with the tiller handle up, but on this bracket there is no other way to release the tilt. There's not enough clearance to tilt the engine any higher when it's centered, and the tiller blocks it if it's turned the other way so that the tiller is down. But when you put it in this position and then raise it up, it's nearly horizontal. I don't have an image how high it goes on my boat, but here's a screengrab of a really crappy video from Mercury about the tilt:
That screenshot shows it nearly horizontal at the top of the range, and the stand he's using seems to be at a steeper angle than my transom, which means that it would be even more horizontal on my boat.
As it happens, I've recently replaced the motor with a brand new one that I am installing this weekend, and I do not want to run the risk of damaging it. For starters, my plan is add a spacer board on the aft side of the transom mount to move the engine a little further away from the boat to give me a tiny bit more room, but it's not going to give me that much and I don't think it's going to fix the problem.
Am I being overly concerned? Is a momentary tilt in the wrong direction just not going to have any effect worth worrying about? Or should I consider ditching the bracket I have in favor of a lifting bracket or something?
