Tips to towing a small alum boat and 15hp outboard

[77buzzer]

Does anyone know how I should have my outboard motor positioned while towing? Should the motor be down or tilted? Should it be turned one way and strapped? My boat is a 14ft alum with 15" transom and I have a ss 2006 15hp 2 stroke mercury. Any other tips would be great. Thanks I'm new to boating

 

[robert graham]

Re: Tips to towing a small alum boat and 15hp outboard

Get a Transom Saver ($25) to secure your motor and prevent it flopping around back there. Check, grease wheel bearings, check/replace older tires, carry spare tire and small jack in case of blow-out on highway, plenty of tie-down straps in front and back at transom...ratchet tie-downs work good and are cheap enough. Safety chain between boat trailer and hitch(required by law), and make great sense anyway. Northern Tools and Harbor Freight carry lots of Trailer parts, etc., also Walmart has a good bit of stuff back in sporting goods....

 

[bonz_d]

Re: Tips to towing a small alum boat and 15hp outboard

How much clearance do you have with the engine down? I tow with mine down with plenty of clearance between the ground and skeg.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Tips to towing a small alum boat and 15hp outboard

How much clearance do you have with the engine down? I tow with mine down with plenty of clearance between the ground and skeg.

I'd say a foot. But you still could have issues at dips--like going up a steep driveway from a road with a pronounced crown.

for that reason you may want to trailer with it up--just use the tilt lever, it will be fine and you don't need anything else for normal roads. bumpy roads, strap it down tight against the tilt lever. If your steering is loose, it may fall over to one side, no problem; it won't flop over to the other.

Some people who are concerned about the transom remove the motor and lay it in the boat over the axle.

 

[bonz_d]

Re: Tips to towing a small alum boat and 15hp outboard

Haven't measured mine but best guess is much more than a foot clearance in my case.

 

[Expidia]

Re: Tips to towing a small alum boat and 15hp outboard

Don't know how old or agile you are but Merc 15hp might be on a 9.9 hp base outboard, which being a 2 stroke might be of a totable weight. I think they just change or adjust the carbs to get to 15 hp, at least this is my understanding. My 9.9 2005 Merc is a 4 stroke and it's a heavy sucker.

If yours is of a totable. . . Prior to my heavy 9.9, I just laid mine down in my trunk when trailering. Can't be stolen off the rig when in a restaurant, motel etc. Smaller outboards are always in high demand with thieves. Takes a thief 30 secs to saw through one of those Master lock turnbuckle transom locks with a battery powered sawsall from harbor freight ( I own both) Can't be struck from behind especially when the leg and prop are extended up using a transom saver. Your transom will last a lot longer too if you are able to trailer with no outboard on it.

I always took my outboards off when trailering when I used outboards of less than 75 lbs.

 

[s freud]

Re: Tips to towing a small alum boat and 15hp outboard

So are you guy saying that with a motor this small he does not need a transom saver? The reason I ask is that I have a 9.8 merc 2 cylinder and have been tranporting it tilted up with the factor lock and a small board underneath if the lock happens to bounce out (which it did the other day over a small bump in my yard when pulling by hand). Just trying to figure out if due to the weight a transom saver would be overkill. I also have a small aluminum boat.

 

[bonz_d]

Re: Tips to towing a small alum boat and 15hp outboard

I would venture to say that with smaller boats it all comes down to 2 things.
1: How well built is the boats transom. The proper size engine on a small boat should not present a problem unless the transom has been weakend.
2: Clearance. Some boats sit higher on the trailer than others. Mine sits quite high. I leave mine down.

I also believe it puts less strain on the boat to leave it down when there is no added support. Transom saver.

 

[richardgreen]

Re: Tips to towing a small alum boat and 15hp outboard

All things considered the transom saver is cheap insurance. Get one.

RG

 

[lncoop]

Re: Tips to towing a small alum boat and 15hp outboard

I've always towed my john boats with the motor in the full down position and a strap across it to minimize bounce. Transom savers aren't recommended for outboards under 25 hp. I've never been sure, but I've always assumed this is because smaller outboards aren't heavy enough or have long enough shafts to insure they won't bounce out of the transom saver or put enough weight against it to prevent it from breaking loose from the trailer and causing damage. I guess if you did want to use a transom saver (AKA motor deflopperizer) you'd need to somehow insure that neither it nor the motor would shift. That would take a little southern engineering.

 

[robert graham]

Re: Tips to towing a small alum boat and 15hp outboard

I've always towed my john boats with the motor in the full down position and a strap across it to minimize bounce. Transom savers aren't recommended for outboards under 25 hp. I've never been sure, but I've always assumed this is because smaller outboards aren't heavy enough or have long enough shafts to insure they won't bounce out of the transom saver or put enough weight against it to prevent it from breaking loose from the trailer and causing damage. I guess if you did want to use a transom saver (AKA motor deflopperizer) you'd need to somehow insure that neither it nor the motor wouldn't shift. That would take a little southern engineering.

With a Transom Saver It's recommended to snug the motor down with a strong bungee cord to prevent any movement at all....not too complex for most "Southern Engineers", but maybe a challenge for folks from Arkansas?

 

[lncoop]

Re: Tips to towing a small alum boat and 15hp outboard

With a Transom Saver It's recommended to snug the motor down with a strong bungee cord to prevent any movement at all....not too complex for most "Southern Engineers", but maybe a challenge for folks from Arkansas?

Are you kiddin'? Where do you think the term originated? Now, reading? Well, that's a different matter entirely. The problem is most small outboards are so light they bounce around in the cradle enough to pop the bungee cord loose (seen it in person), but even if that doesn't happen there's not sufficient pressure on the transom saver to hold it firmly against the trailer because the motor's so light and there's no PT&T, so what you can end up with is a motor in the down position (unintentionally) with a transom saver attached to it dragging the ground, or worse, digging into it and popping the motor up then dropping it over and over again. I'm sure this can be avoided with a little southern engineering, but there must be some pretty compelling reasons for the manufacturers to discourage use of their product with small outboards. YMMV

 

[robert graham]

Re: Tips to towing a small alum boat and 15hp outboard

Well, I've always just installed my Transom Saver and secured it tightly with a large bungee cord, but never experienced any "coming loose, bouncing around, dragging the ground, digging in, popping motor up, etc., etc."....must be an Arkansas thing. And to think, my boat and trailer were made in Arkansas!...go figure?

 

[lncoop]

Re: Tips to towing a small alum boat and 15hp outboard

Well, I've always just installed my Transom Saver and secured it tightly with a large bungee cord, but never experienced any "coming loose, bouncing around, dragging the ground, digging in, popping motor up, etc., etc."....must be an Arkansas thing. And to think, my boat and trailer were made in Arkansas!...go figure?

But the Xpress has a fifty horse, doesn't it? Do you have a smaller rig as well?

 

[robert graham]

Re: Tips to towing a small alum boat and 15hp outboard

Xpress 1870/Yamaha 90C, 17' Aluminum canoe/3HP Tanaka(no Transom Saver). I've just never understood whats all the discussion/controversy about a no-brainer like a $25 Transom Saver?....I mean, why would anyone Not use one?....

 

[pootnic]

Re: Tips to towing a small alum boat and 15hp outboard

I don't use one never have,40hp;30hp;9.9 hp.
I figure the boat is sitting on it's bunks,the motor is strapped so it doesn't move around and it's in the down position.
Trailer has springs and it doesn't bottom out,I can't see how I can hurt it anymore towing,then using it out on the water.(cracking on WOT)
Guess it isn't a no brainer to me,maybe you could edgehbucate.

 

[robert graham]

Re: Tips to towing a small alum boat and 15hp outboard

I don't use one never have,40hp;30hp;9.9 hp.
I figure the boat is sitting on it's bunks,the motor is strapped so it doesn't move around and it's in the down position.
Trailer has springs and it doesn't bottom out,I can't see how I can hurt it anymore towing,then using it out on the water.(cracking on WOT)
Guess it isn't a no brainer to me,maybe you could edgehbucate.

Well, getting your lower unit/prop/skeg up higher off the ground should be a good thing?, and if your motor is just hangin' back there and you go over some bumps in the road, then the motor could bounce up and "bang" back down....how can that be a good thing? My Yamaha 90C is 268 lbs., and that's a lot of weight to not be secured. Your 40HP and 30HP probably in the 150lb. range, still a lot of unsecured weight. Of course if you don't tow your rig very far, then maybe no big deal. We haul the boat 500+miles to Florida and it just seems best to have everything "strapped down tight"....maybe paranoia?

 

[bonz_d]

Re: Tips to towing a small alum boat and 15hp outboard

Robert, I can't speak of all smaller outboards but on my 1978 35hp Evinrude the engine locks in the down position unless the tilt lever is released. No way it's going to bounce up and down. Also with mine it would have to be a very accute angle before my skeg would hit the ground. Not something I would expect to see on a paved road.

 

[TerryMSU]

Re: Tips to towing a small alum boat and 15hp outboard

Well, getting your lower unit/prop/skeg up higher off the ground should be a good thing?, and if your motor is just hangin' back there and you go over some bumps in the road, then the motor could bounce up and "bang" back down....how can that be a good thing? My Yamaha 90C is 268 lbs., and that's a lot of weight to not be secured. Your 40HP and 30HP probably in the 150lb. range, still a lot of unsecured weight. Of course if you don't tow your rig very far, then maybe no big deal. We haul the boat 500+miles to Florida and it just seems best to have everything "strapped down tight"....maybe paranoia?

Here is a thought... I am a skinny little guy and I weight about 140 pounds. Would you let me jump up and down on your transom for hours on end and plus pry the transom around with my weight? No? Then why would you let a motor do the same? I have a 40HP 2-cycle Evenrude and I use a transom saver. Mine has to have a half twist to come off the trailer end and I use a bungee cord on the boat end, so it will not bounce loose from the trailer.

Years ago, my grandpa had a small Evenrude (5 or 10 HP) and he took it off the aluminum boat for trailering to the cottage (140 miles one way, on a limited access highway.) After he passed away, we took it to local lakes with it attached to the boat with no transom saver. (They did no exist way back then.) No issues either way.

TerryMSU

 

[lncoop]

Re: Tips to towing a small alum boat and 15hp outboard

Xpress 1870/Yamaha 90C, 17' Aluminum canoe/3HP Tanaka(no Transom Saver). I've just never understood whats all the discussion/controversy about a no-brainer like a $25 Transom Saver?....I mean, why would anyone Not use one?....

Because not everyone is supposed to use one. The motor on your Xpress is over 25 horsepower, therefore it's big enough to require a transom saver, as is the motor on my party barge. However, the manufacturers of transom savers, at least the ones I've seen, specify they are not intended to be used for motors under 25 horsepower. That's the detail that seems to have been lost in the shuffle. That is not my opinion. That is the manufacturer's recommendation. So, I don't see what all the controversy is either. In my mind the no brainer is adhering to factory recommendations, which is why I've never used one on any of my john boats. I agree that we don't want motors bouncing up and down on our transoms. For me the best way to prevent that has always been towing with the motor in the down position with a strap holding it in place.