Mounting a portable outboard

[boater1234]

Well i have a question.I just bought a brand new outboard,i have a 1436 crestliner jon boat i put it on.I'm just curious,it says to bolt it on the transom,i have never once bolted an outboard on any transom,it says there is a good chance it can come off,i have never once had one come off when in use.

Has anyone had one come off?What are the chances of it ever coming off it's on there extremely tight?I have never actually heard of one coming off a boat,so what is the chances,i would think near nill if it's tight.Just fig i would ask for other peoples input on this,thanks.

 

[achris]

Re: Mounting a portable outboard

Many years ago I was out with my parents (I would have been about 12/13 years old) in a 14' ali boat with a 20hp Mercury outboard... Halfway home the engine jumped off the transom, at about 20 knots!!! I remember my father and I firstly fighting the engine to stop it coming aboard and trying to eat us with the prop spinning madly, then being very gentle and lifting it up out of the water by the fuel line after we managed to stop it and it fell overboard. We put it back on the transom and luckily it fired right up and we made our way home, slowly. When we got home 2 sturdy bolts got put into the bottom of the mounting brackets through the transom. I would NEVER recommend anyone run any engine without it being bolted on!!!

Chris.......

 

[Frank Acampora]

Re: Mounting a portable outboard

If the transom clamps have holes in them to bolt the engine on, it is cheap insurance. It is real easy to seal the holes you drilled in the transom with silicone RTV or 5200 and the transom will last for years.

If you really object to drilling the transom, use a short piece of chain around the transom clamp screw and an eyebolt through the knee brace to prevent the engine from lifting.

Vibration CAN loosen transom clamps

 

[SumDumGuy]

Re: Mounting a portable outboard

what size is the motor?

 

[boater1234]

Re: Mounting a portable outboard

20hp 4stroke efi suzuki.Going on an aluminum boat.I have a lock on the clamps so they can't come loose.

 

[achris]

Re: Mounting a portable outboard

20hp 4stroke efi suzuki.Going on an aluminum boat.I have a lock on the clamps so they can't come loose.

So did we... :facepalm:

 

[Frank Acampora]

Re: Mounting a portable outboard

Like I said: Two bolts is real cheap insurance--even if you never use it. Suzuki 20 does have bolt holes in the transom clamps. You should have no questions about bolting the engine to the transom--just do it!

 

[roscoe]

Re: Mounting a portable outboard

2 relatives lost motors back on the day.

Since then, all our motors have been either chained or bolted.

 

[kfa4303]

Re: Mounting a portable outboard

While my motor is only clamped, I also lock the tabs together and have a safety chain to prevent it form going down to the bottom of the sea. Through-bolting on smaller motors isn't usually necessary, particularly if you want/need to remove the motor often, but it never hurts either. If you do drill through the transom, be sure to use a bit of 3M 5200 marine caulk to seal the hardware.

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Mounting a portable outboard

I have had an 18 hp jump off in a tight fast turn but I was able to keep it on.....it was close. That's why I always attached a safety chain so it would not go overboard........ most I bolt down now.

 

[JimS123]

Re: Mounting a portable outboard

The holes in the clamps are there for a lock to prevent (discourage) theft. They have nothing to do with the motor falling off....LOL.

I have seen 2 motors come off in my day. One was lost to salvage immediately and the other was "almost" retreived with the fuel line, then lost at the last second when the hose split.

These were on other's boats, not mine! I have NEVER run an outboard without it being bolted. If it didn't have existing mount holes I used a u-bolt around the bracket.

 

[limitout]

Re: Mounting a portable outboard

using a small motor without bolting it on is like riding a motorcycle without a helmet, you don't have to be safe and you can get lucky and never have an incident for years and years or maybe never but it only takes one time for it to happen to hurt or maim .

when it does happen, the best you can hope for if you are very lucky is maybe you only lose the motor and not a body part. why risk it just because you were too darn lazy to take 5 minutes to bolt it on and keep the business end of the motor safely in the water and away from you.

safety and common sense is never required for boating but its always best advised to use it

 

[Frank Acampora]

Re: Mounting a portable outboard

The DF20 and DF30 use the same transom clamps. There are holes in the transom clamps themselves, not the screw clamp handles, specifically for bolts. Last DF30 I mounted was on an aluminum hull. The owner did not want to through bolt it. In reverse, without the bolts, the transom clamps would warp the transom and pull away at the bottom about 1/8 to 1/4 inch. I finally showed the owner and talked him into using bolts

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Mounting a portable outboard

A safety chain on a non-bolted motor is a must. Non-bolted motors come off because of the twisting action when making sharp turns at high speed. Oh yes -- we know you never do this but that's what happens. I've been in a boat powered by a 5 HP Johnson that pivoted up and into the drink -- to be saved by the safety chain. I've been in my brothers 30 HP tiller steered boat when the motor came loose. It happens -- when you least expect it.

 

[boater1234]

Re: Mounting a portable outboard

I'm going to use 2 cables around the motor handle in the front of the motor and connect it to the brace in the back of the boat,i have been running outboards for i mean since i was 10 and never had one actually pop off.That is odd of how many stories i heard of here.I also want to take the motor on and off some of the time.The issue i have is i may not keep the boat and if i go to sell the boat and trailer next season not many people would like holes in the transom.Thats one of my reasons i want to leave holes off of it.

I could barely get the motor on it to fit,so it has a rather tight fit,but i have those bike type of cables(not actually bike cables,just like it) i can run through the front handle and the brace like i said.At least if it did pop off it would go very far.

I'm not saying it's not possible for it to happen,i just have never had it happen or seen it.Most people i know who have like 25hp and down never bolt the motor down.I have it on there i mean tight,one more turn i may break the clamp handle.I also do a lift test on it,what i mean is i go to the back of the boat and try to lift the motor up by the cavitation plate when the motor is in the lock position,i put my shoulder under the motor and push up and out and the clamps can't get any tighter.Plus what i like about this boat and most jon boats is they have a lip at the top of the transom so if it did decide to get a hair loose the clamps would hit the lip and go no further up,actually the would get caught under the lip.

But i will take your guys advice and at least put 2 thick plastic coated cable locks on the motor so it won't go anywere if it did decide to come up.Thanks and you guys have given me great advice.

My next boat which i hope it will be a 18ft lowe jon boat with a 40hp 2stroke etec or a equal 40hp 2stroke.That will 100%bolted down,that will be my keeper boat for life or till it falls apart.If not because of not having the money yet i'm going with a 1442g3 jon boat or a 1542 alumacraft with this 20hp on it,then i will bolt it on.

 

[kfa4303]

Re: Mounting a portable outboard

.....locking the tabs together won't do anything to deter theft. It's a tiny little pad lock after all. If someone wants your motor, they're gonna get it. Guys down here in FL will just cut through the soft, aluminum transom clamp with a battery powered sawz-all and be on there way before you can say "outboard motor". What locking the tabs actually does is prevent the clamp bolts from backing out due to vibrations while underway. If they are properly tightened down to start with and the tabs are locked together, the bolts can't back out much more than a 1/4 turn, therefore the clamp can't /won't loosen which would in turn allow the motor to come free. Generally, the only way a motor falls off of transoms is if the clamping bolts were too loose, which is usually due to them backing out and loosening their grip overtime, combined of course with an inattentive captain who failed to check for such things. It's no different than putting safety wire through the nuts/bolts of a race care. Even if the nuts should loosen slightly, they can never come fully undone thus avoiding catastrophic failure. Through-bolting never hurts, but it's also not necessary on small motors if you mount them properly. Plus, once you start drilling holes in a stock transom there's no going back and you can often create more problems than you solve.

 

[boater1234]

Re: Mounting a portable outboard

kfa4303,you bring up a great point.Not trying to be funny here,i could care less if they steal my whole boat,now i don't wish that,i have taken every precaution to lock my rig up,as you say though here in fl theft is so bad.I have awesome ins through progressive,they steal my boat and i get a $6k check in the mail.They steal my outboard i will get more then i paid for it,so like i said i have cables around both rims to the leaf springs so the trailer can't move and i have 2 tongue locks at the front of the trailer,i have a bar lock made for outboards that goes over the clamps screws and i have 2 cables that go through the handle of the motor and through the main back tab brace in the rear of the boat,and i have the actual boat cabled to my fence.I can't really secure it anymore then that.

If like you said a thief wants it he is going to get it no matter what,but i sleep great at night knowing i'm covered with a $250 deductible.All my fishing gear is covered to $1000.

I don't understand why they don't register outboards like trailers and boats,that would help a ton having a title for an outboard involving theft.

Plus anyone who doesn't have ins on their boat is just asking for trouble,it's so darn cheap,i see on craigslist everyday,$1000 reward for a stolen motor but you won't pay a few hundred for boat ins for a yr,huh,common sense is just not common anymore.