Trailering motor up or down

[j_martin]

Re: Trailering motor up or down

In fact, I DO know it wasn't.

It was an aluminum boat with plywood on the top half of the transom. The wood was solid when the transom failed and is still solid to this day. Fortunately the engine with transom attached was recovered and re-welded in place with some extra reinforcement.

The failure occurred along the riveted seam where the transom meets the sides and bottom of the boat. The engine was a 40 HP Evinrude that had been tilted up and locked, and not secured in any way. The typical vacation trip was 400 miles one way. After about 5 years of driving like this the seam started to leak, and 2 years later the transom separated from the hull while towing a waterskiier.

The bottom line is that the engine bounced and it was quite visiblle to anyone following the trailer. The stupid part was that there was ample ground clearance with the engine down.

Like I said. The plywood was good, but the fastening sure wasn't. Eventually that motor would have ripped that bite out while underway and then you'd be sinking.

That said, some engines when up on the "lock" flop like a flag, and that has to be hard on things, even if they're solid. A modern big engine with hydraulic tilt usually doesn't have that problem.

 

[JimS123]

Re: Trailering motor up or down

Like I said. The plywood was good, but the fastening sure wasn't. Eventually that motor would have ripped that bite out while underway and then you'd be sinking.

That said, some engines when up on the "lock" flop like a flag, and that has to be hard on things, even if they're solid. A modern big engine with hydraulic tilt usually doesn't have that problem.

That's exactly my point. The transom was fastened very well. It was the flopping that ruined it. And the very essence was that it DID rip out while underway, and it DID sink. The transom was tight, but after years of trailering floppiig, the rivets got loose and started to leak. That in itself should have been a warning, but nooooo. Still continued to drive flopping away.

BTW it was my FIL's boat. He would never listen to reason.

 

[BonairII]

Re: Trailering motor up or down

Can you adjust the rollers etc on your trailer to give you more clearance?