Rec'd a 65 lb outboard with my dinghy. Blogs in the past indicated that it is imperative to NOT trail the dinghy behind the boat (28 ft O'Day...b.t.w.) with the motor on the dinghy. The question is....at what weight is it too heavy to put the motor on the stern rail when sailing (of course it would be mounted on a proper bracket)? Until we sell this motor, 9.8 Merc, and can find a smaller 3-4 hp motor, this is what we have to work with. I searched the forums and could not find this kind of specific information. Thanks
Stern Rail Wt Capability
- Thread starter vmaks
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Good point, I guess they do make stern rail seats for people to sit on. Thanks for your reply. Hopefully we get other people to weigh in (no pun intended) on the question.
Another option would be to leave the 65 pound motor in the garage/basement and take the oars to row the dinghy. Depends on how much you plan to use the dinghy.
Lifting the motor on and off the dinghy will be a challenge without a real motor lifting rig and arm. I've done many a fine dance in the inflatable dinghy while attaching and removing just a 3Hp OB!:cussing:
Lifting the motor on and off the dinghy will be a challenge without a real motor lifting rig and arm. I've done many a fine dance in the inflatable dinghy while attaching and removing just a 3Hp OB!:cussing:
I would think twice about getting rid of that motor. For a 9.8 hp to weigh just 65 pounds that is light. The lightest I know is the Tohatsu/Nissan that weighs 57 pounds for 9.8 hp. Our 5 hp, 4-stroke Nissan weighs 54 pounds. So we got douple the hp for 3 pounds.
There are a lot of anchorages that have a long distance to take the dingy to shore. If you go down to a 3-4 hp you might not loose that much weight and you would no longer be able to get the dink up on plane.
Your rail should be fine with 65 pounds if you have the mount done correctly. This may require you to add another support to the deck depending on your boat's set up. If I recall correctly, the O'day 28 has a single bar stern rail but there is a deck support right at the stern corner. If you put the bracket on that corner so the support bar is in the middle of the braket you should be fine.
There are a lot of anchorages that have a long distance to take the dingy to shore. If you go down to a 3-4 hp you might not loose that much weight and you would no longer be able to get the dink up on plane.
Your rail should be fine with 65 pounds if you have the mount done correctly. This may require you to add another support to the deck depending on your boat's set up. If I recall correctly, the O'day 28 has a single bar stern rail but there is a deck support right at the stern corner. If you put the bracket on that corner so the support bar is in the middle of the braket you should be fine.
I have rec'd many mixed messages re: the engine...to keep or to sell. As you pointed out, the 9.8 is great for motoring to safety, etc. We are in the Great Lakes and the motor came with the dinghy, basically free. It is a 2 cycle and the mechanic said it was like new. However, we are 2 gals and the wt is a LOT for us to pick up. I do have a bracket which will accept the wt and I was planning on putting it at the stern where the horizontal post meets the vertical post (boy you know your boats to remember it has 1 rail), than securing it with a Thule strap. Otherwise, we may end up just tilting it and leaving it on the dinghy for weekend trips that may not put us at full exposure to Lake Michigan, instead TC Bay. I appreciate your input. Of course I know there are some draw backs to towing it but honestly, all of the contracting marinas up here send their boats/motors out in tow.
Towing is definitely a tough concern as is the weight issue. If the weight is too much for you to physically manage, then the sacrifice of power makes sense. But that means you need to spend some time picking the right smaller motor too. Like I mentioned before, my 4-stroke 5 hp only weighs 3 pounds less than my 2-stroke 9.8 hp.
The first thing I would suggest is that you get one of the easy lift motor totes (http://www.defender.com/product.jsp?path=-1|215570|294|443923&id=98948). This will put a handle on the top of the motor that will make it easier to handle. One of you can be on the boat with a rope attached to the handle to help the other lift and control the motor. Try this out over land first to see if it is doable.
It might still be too much weight and then the answer is to go for a smaller motor. There are many cruisers that only carry small motors or carry two motors because of the weight issue. I remember talking to one woman who loved her 2.5 hp outboard because it meant she didn't have to weight for her husband to put the motor on. She could just jump in the dinghy and go whenever she wanted.
If you choose to sell I would put an ad on Craigslist advertising you motor for sail but that you would consider a trade for a smaller motor. At the very least you should be able to trade your motor for a smaller one straight up. But you might actually end up with a couple of dollars extra when your done. I highly recommend the Tohatsu/Nissan 2-strokes as those seem to give you the best power to weight ratio.
As far as towing with the motor on, we only do it for very short trips in protected areas. I have seen dinghies flip with the motor on and sometimes you may not have the motor when you flip it back. Even if you do, now you have to quickly clean and oil it to not end up with a boat anchor. However, as you pointed out charter companies send boats out with motors towing behind all the time. When we chartered in the BVIs, we towed with the motor on everywhere. I never even considered taking the motor off. But then again, I didn't own it and wouldn't have to deal with the submerged motor.
We've been considering the Dinghy-Tow system for our inflatable (http://dinghy-tow.com/). One of the advantages it that for a lot of the cruising we do, you could leave the motor on. My wife could easily launch and retrieve the boat by herself with this system.
Good luck and fair winds,
Jesse
The first thing I would suggest is that you get one of the easy lift motor totes (http://www.defender.com/product.jsp?path=-1|215570|294|443923&id=98948). This will put a handle on the top of the motor that will make it easier to handle. One of you can be on the boat with a rope attached to the handle to help the other lift and control the motor. Try this out over land first to see if it is doable.
It might still be too much weight and then the answer is to go for a smaller motor. There are many cruisers that only carry small motors or carry two motors because of the weight issue. I remember talking to one woman who loved her 2.5 hp outboard because it meant she didn't have to weight for her husband to put the motor on. She could just jump in the dinghy and go whenever she wanted.
If you choose to sell I would put an ad on Craigslist advertising you motor for sail but that you would consider a trade for a smaller motor. At the very least you should be able to trade your motor for a smaller one straight up. But you might actually end up with a couple of dollars extra when your done. I highly recommend the Tohatsu/Nissan 2-strokes as those seem to give you the best power to weight ratio.
As far as towing with the motor on, we only do it for very short trips in protected areas. I have seen dinghies flip with the motor on and sometimes you may not have the motor when you flip it back. Even if you do, now you have to quickly clean and oil it to not end up with a boat anchor. However, as you pointed out charter companies send boats out with motors towing behind all the time. When we chartered in the BVIs, we towed with the motor on everywhere. I never even considered taking the motor off. But then again, I didn't own it and wouldn't have to deal with the submerged motor.
We've been considering the Dinghy-Tow system for our inflatable (http://dinghy-tow.com/). One of the advantages it that for a lot of the cruising we do, you could leave the motor on. My wife could easily launch and retrieve the boat by herself with this system.
Good luck and fair winds,
Jesse
I asked once somewhere else and no one answered, but this could be the place to get that answer.
Could a spar be hung off the boom to extend overboard, and be used to lift a +/- 100 pound outboard motor?
I've had to take my Johnson 8 HP off a couple times now. And while I can manage it, I really do not like reaching out over the back of the boat trying to man handle a 70 pound motor. If I was sure the boom could handle that weight with it extended an additional 3 feet or so off a spar, I would do it. I'm thinking the topping lift and standing rigging would be the greatest determinant to it working, and I dont think the loads are that great.
That would help these girls a great deal, they could haul that motor on and off without any trouble, and could swing it out a ways as well, though I wouldnt go too far. Thats how they hauled cannons and cargo on the old sailing ships, just rigged a spar off the mast and swung stuff in or out. And some of those cannon were over 9000 pounds!
Could a spar be hung off the boom to extend overboard, and be used to lift a +/- 100 pound outboard motor?
I've had to take my Johnson 8 HP off a couple times now. And while I can manage it, I really do not like reaching out over the back of the boat trying to man handle a 70 pound motor. If I was sure the boom could handle that weight with it extended an additional 3 feet or so off a spar, I would do it. I'm thinking the topping lift and standing rigging would be the greatest determinant to it working, and I dont think the loads are that great.
That would help these girls a great deal, they could haul that motor on and off without any trouble, and could swing it out a ways as well, though I wouldnt go too far. Thats how they hauled cannons and cargo on the old sailing ships, just rigged a spar off the mast and swung stuff in or out. And some of those cannon were over 9000 pounds!
This is "the girls" answering and now confused. In reading other articles, I actually was under the impression that we could use the boom to lift the motor with our guidance steering back to the stern rail. So, now the additional question is.....is the boom not sturdy enough for this option (we already have an engine cradle strap for the purpose of securing it to the boom). Wow, I really didn't think the boom could not handle that weight after the stress it takes while sailing.
IMHO the boom will handle it ...just add a haliard to the back of the boom and secure it to a cleat...that will act just like your rear stay or fore stay in bearing the load...the boom will stablize the motion you would other wise get with a free haliard lifting just the motor ...if you know a rigger in your area just ask him or her how to rig this and then pratice a few times and you should be good to go....hope this helps ...
regards
woody
regards
woody
Ok, this is off the top of my head and I have had a couple of cocktails, but I would guess that your topping lift is 1/4 to 3/8 inch braided line. That would have a breaking strength of 2,000 - 4,000 pounds. So forgetting about the boom, which many people will often lie down on while it has the pressure of a full sail, that means that you would only be at most 5% of the breaking strength of the topping lift. So if you rig your boom to have it just act to stabilize the engine with the weight on your topping line you would be well within safe working loads of the line.
Also, I forget who is making them, Hal Spar possibly, but there are booms with an extra piece that fits in the boom and can be pulled out for the purpose of lifting engines and dinghies.
Honestly, I can't see how a 65 motor could do damage to the boom if the topping line is taking most of the weight.
Also, I forget who is making them, Hal Spar possibly, but there are booms with an extra piece that fits in the boom and can be pulled out for the purpose of lifting engines and dinghies.
Honestly, I can't see how a 65 motor could do damage to the boom if the topping line is taking most of the weight.
I wasnt worried about the boom so much as the rigging. Also remember, if you swing the boom aside carrying weight, the boat will want to heel over that direction, and aid in the swing. Its not a great deal of weight, but as it swings to the side and the boat lists, the motor that was just touching the water at the stern could be submerged when swung out off the gunwale, so make sure your watching and paying attention.
Further, the side stays have nowhere near the leverage to support the mast that the end stays have. All the more reason to keep the weight near the stern as much as possible.
Further, the side stays have nowhere near the leverage to support the mast that the end stays have. All the more reason to keep the weight near the stern as much as possible.
If you were to rig a halyard to run through a block at the end of the boom, then to the motor your boom wouldn't actually be carrying the weight, it would just be pushing it out. Topping lift to support the boom, sheet to control the swing, halyard to lift the load. Since generally the easiest place to access the dinghy is alongside the cockpit you wouldn't even need to swing the boom very far out to get it off the side.
And I believe O'Days are single back stays so you wouldn't even have to worry about crossing a backstay to get the motor into the bracket.
#1The rail will easily handle it. I would suggest the Edson motor mount..
#2 You CAN tow the dinghy with the motor on it but you will sacrifice some sailing speed. You can also greatly minimize drag by adjusting the pendant until the dink is surfing your stern wave.. We have sailed thousands upon thousands of miles with the motor on the dinghy. Most in Maine just leave the motor on.. We are in Boothbay this am and two boats have just left with 8 & 10 HP motors towing them... If it gets rough you will need a way to stow both motor and dink..
#3 If you keep the 10 or even buy a smaller four stroke you may want to consider the Forespar Nova Lift...
#2 You CAN tow the dinghy with the motor on it but you will sacrifice some sailing speed. You can also greatly minimize drag by adjusting the pendant until the dink is surfing your stern wave.. We have sailed thousands upon thousands of miles with the motor on the dinghy. Most in Maine just leave the motor on.. We are in Boothbay this am and two boats have just left with 8 & 10 HP motors towing them... If it gets rough you will need a way to stow both motor and dink..
#3 If you keep the 10 or even buy a smaller four stroke you may want to consider the Forespar Nova Lift...
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