short (standard) shaft vs. long shaft

[mountainboy]

Hey gang, me again. I found a nice 9.9 1984 evinrude. Very good condition for $500.00. <br />It is a long shaft. I recently purchased a 1981 14 ft. trihull fiberglass gamefisher <br />and the manual suggests using a short shaft for this boat. It did not state why and was <br />wondering what kind of a difference it would make on the performance of the boat. Once again,<br />any information is greatly appreciated and thanks for the great help! MB

 

[JB]

Re: short (standard) shaft vs. long shaft

Hi, Mountainboy.<br /><br />The long shaft engine lower end would stick down too deep. You need a short (15") shaft engine.<br /><br />You could spend the bux and put the long(20") shaft engine on a setback bracket that would raise it up 5", but I don't think it would be worth the trouble. <br /><br />Keep looking. You will find a good price on a good short shaft engine.

 

[rolmops]

Re: short (standard) shaft vs. long shaft

Hello Mountain boy.<br />For quite a few years now transoms have been standardized at either 15" or 20" height.So there would not be a huge mess in sizes of outboard exhaust housings and lower units.Now there are only (with exceptions) long shafts (20")and short shafts (15").<br />Some people like a 20" transom better because you have less of a chance of making water when launching the boat or with waves coming up from behind.