Transom savers

[dougd1]

I have a small 9.9 HP motor on a 14' aluminum boat. When trailering the boat, I travel with the motor down, in fwd, gear so the motor will swing up if I hit anything lying on the road. Unfortunately, on rough roads, the motor can bounce a bit and I am afraid it will take a toll on the transom. I am trying to find an appropriate transom saver for the boat and motor. I can't raise the motor up fully because the bottom of transom overhangs the trailer and I cannot put the transom saver on. So, with that, I can only raise the motor slightly to permit the transom saver to fit. Distance between the trailer cross member and the bottom of the motor is around 30", 15 degrees up from horizontal. Have not been able to find a transom saver that short to fit on my trailer.
When I look at the transom savers, they appear to be strapped to the engine, but are only hooked over the cross member of the trailer. Will they not pop out?

Thanks,
Doug

 

[roscoe]

You need one that has a small bracket bolted to the crossmember.
The transom saver slides into the bracket with a half twist, then is strapped to the motor .
It can't come out unless your entire motor does a half twist.
They are adjustable in length up to 59 inches.
If you have a roller in the center of your crossmember, you can bolt the bracket to the side of it.

There are several on the market.
Here is one sold by our forum host, iBoats.

Seachoice Transom Saver Angled 28-59

Corrosion-resistant steelUniversal designAdjustable from 28" to 59"Includes: Mounting hardware, rubber V block, bungee cord and instructions

www.iboats.com

 

[robert graham]

Maybe for a light motor like the 9.9 HP you can just put a section of 2x4 wood between the motor and transom held in place with a bungee cord….

 

[airshot]

Maybe for a light motor like the 9.9 HP you can just put a section of 2x4 wood between the motor and transom held in place with a bungee cord….

When I had my 94 jonnyrude 9.9 that is what I did, cut a chunk of wood to fit, then a bungee cord to hold the lower unit tight.

 

[Scott Danforth]

The fishing barge that Dad and I trailered everywhere just used a bungee from trailer to lower unit to keep the 12 hp motor from flopping

 

[robert graham]

The fishing barge that Dad and I trailered everywhere just used a bungee from trailer to lower unit to keep the 12 hp motor from flopping

Yep, but I guess the purpose of the wood might be to raise the motor a few inches so to provide clearance over road debris or going in/out of driveways and the like…

 

[briangcc]

My uncle's 16' Starcraft had a 9.9HP Rude on the back. When he traveled he didn't use a transom saver...ever.

Know what, boat was fine after years and years of doing this.

Know why? He took the motor off the transom and tossed it in the boat.

 

[cc67]

Must have been a hell of a man to "toss" a 9.9 in the back of a boat.

 

[airshot]

Must have been a hell of a man to "toss" a 9.9 in the back of a boat.

While not light, they only weigh around 75 lbs. In my younger days that was nothing.