Change outboard motor height

[98Shabah]

Does anyone have suggestions on how to change the outboard motor height at home with a boat on the trailer? I need to drop my 2017 Mercury 115 ProXS down one hole on the transom of my tritoon, but unfortunately both the upper and lower mounts in the motor mount have holes instead of one set having slots.. which means I'll have to completely unbolt the motor from the transom to move it instead being able to leave two of them in and sliding it down (if it had slots).

 

[H20Rat]

Get a couple big guys to bear hug it and just lower it down!

If that isn't realistic/safe, I would build a small wood support stand that sits under the lower unit. Size it with your motor trimmed down and the tongue jack cranked almost all the way up. Once the engine is supported, unbolt it, and then lower your tongue jack, which will also raise the transom. Stop when the next set of holes line up, and you are done!

I've changed motor height on my pontoon doing something similar, but since I had a scissor trailer, I didn't even need an engine stand. Just balanced the engine on its fin while I had another person on cranking and bolt duty.

 

[ahicks]

Was thinking something similar (blocking the motor and using the tongue jack). Bear hug plan may get expensive, and would darn sure be dangerous. A buddy with a cherry picker might be worth calling as well. They make the job pretty easy.

 

[gm280]

Do you have any trees with branches close by? You could use a come-a-long type setup to hold the engine and let is down easy. Or even a house or shed rafter hang up setup. Just some ideas.

 

[Scott Danforth]

block of wood on the ground
skeg on block of wood
buddy holding motor up-right
pull bolts
lower trailer jack
put bolts back in new holes.

 

[Chris1956]

Holding and balancing a 115HP motor should not be too hard for a strong friend. When I do that job myself, I hang the motor from the garage door header, unbolt it and raise or lower the boat transom.

 

[98Shabah]

Thanks for the suggestions guys.. I'm thinking i'll make a simple stand out of some old lumber I have laying around and have a buddy come over to help me steady it when I remove the bolts.