Transom help

[Holy Mackinaw]

I put a new wood on the transom of my 14' aluminum boat. I have seen an aluminium plate that you can put on it so when you screw the motor down it does not dig into the wood. does any one know wher i can buy one of these?

 

[Pursuit2150]

Re: Transom help

home depot

 

[Bondo]

Re: Transom help

I have seen an aluminium plate that you can put on it so when you screw the motor down it does not dig into the wood.

Ayuh,..........

I caution against that,.......

The Idea is that the motor clamp can Bite into the wood to Hold the motor securely,........
Adding an aluminum plate can possibly be Too slippery,+ promote the Loss of your motor..........

 

[drewmitch44]

Re: Transom help

Yea what bondo said. Thats the purpose of that wood there is to let the clamp dig in like that a little. If the clamp does not it can loosen over time and then all the sudden you are holding the throttle handle of a motor that is not attached to your boat. I've seen it happen. The guy put diamand plate there around the transom and the 15hp he was using just detached itself from the boat and the motor went under the water. He never let go of the handle though! the motor went under the water but he never let go and got it back in the boat. The motor runs now but he had to do some work on it to get it going again. Its like that heineken commercial where the guy never drops his bottle lol. I like the one where the guy gets knocked out bu a pole and he falls and holds the beer upright whyle he is knocked the **** out.

 

[drewmitch44]

Re: Transom help

I just re-read bondo's post and i thought he was saying that he didnt think that it was a good idea. But i see he said "I caution against that". Not me i dont think you should put metal there.

 

[tomh59]

Re: Transom help

Keep pluggin' away Dude. I like the idea of opening the bow. If you want to

just fish from it and not overnight,so much more room. $100 bucks for the

boat,go for it .

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Transom help

tomh59, what are you talking about?

Holy Mackinaw, they have them in the iboats store, but make sure you have a solid transom first.

 

[Gary H NC]

Re: Transom help

tomh59, what are you talking about?

Holy Mackinaw, they have them in the iboats store, but make sure you have a solid transom first.

Thats a good question TD.....I was thinking the same thing..

 

[Frank Acampora]

Re: Transom help

That's why God invented safety chains for small outboards! Or a safety bar above the clamp screws so the engine can NOT lift up off the transom. Both ae simple and effective. If attached with wingnuts, the engine is still easily removeable.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Transom help

Gary for yours, the washer on the inside serve the same purpose, the clamp on smaller motors, you can use an inside plate to keep from marring the transom, with constant removal.

 

[pduquette]

Re: Transom help

I put 1/8 flat alu stock both sides of my transom after rebuilding , not wanting the clamp of my '63 j40 to crack the glass . After setteling the motor, I used a sharpie to trace the clamping pads then used a dremmel to cut reliefs into the alu. I'm not expecting it to go anywhere - till I put the J50 on (BOLTED of course)

 

[reelfishin]

Re: Transom help

I run a thick aluminum plate under all of my motors, it helps to spread out the load and protect the surface of the fiberglass or aluminum hull. I also bolt all of my motors that allow it. On those that clamp on, I make a plate with countersunk areas for the clamp screws to seat on and secure that to the inside of the transom. That way the motor can slip up or off to one side. I also use a safety chain on all clamp on motors.

On my one aluminum boat, it has a 3/8" wood panel across the rear, I guess it was put there to protect the hull. I plan to replace it with a proper aluminum plate soon. My concern there is salt corrosion between the aluminum hull and the plate. I need to keep the saltwater from getting inbetween the two surfaces somehow. Although the transom is solid, I like the added security of having it there and knowing that the motor won't tear into the soft aluminum hull. The wood inside is new but wood is still softer than aluminum. I did make large stainless washers for the inside of the motor bolts as well to help distribute the bolt load on the wood around each hole. The 85HP Evinrude is the max for the boat and I just didn't like the way it sat on the bare transom. It just seemed like a lot of weight hanging on the back of a 16' runabout.

 

[DJ]

Re: Transom help

I run a thick aluminum plate under all of my motors, it helps to spread out the load and protect the surface of the fiberglass or aluminum hull. I also bolt all of my motors that allow it. On those that clamp on, I make a plate with countersunk areas for the clamp screws to seat on and secure that to the inside of the transom. That way the motor can slip up or off to one side. I also use a safety chain on all clamp on motors.

On my one aluminum boat, it has a 3/8" wood panel across the rear, I guess it was put there to protect the hull. I plan to replace it with a proper aluminum plate soon. My concern there is salt corrosion between the aluminum hull and the plate. I need to keep the saltwater from getting inbetween the two surfaces somehow. Although the transom is solid, I like the added security of having it there and knowing that the motor won't tear into the soft aluminum hull. The wood inside is new but wood is still softer than aluminum. I did make large stainless washers for the inside of the motor bolts as well to help distribute the bolt load on the wood around each hole. The 85HP Evinrude is the max for the boat and I just didn't like the way it sat on the bare transom. It just seemed like a lot of weight hanging on the back of a 16' runabout.

As others have stated, I advise against it unless:

1. There are reliefs cut into the aluminum plate to make sure the clamps cannot work loose.

2. The motor is also bolted on.

A safety chain merely keeps the motor from sinking it does not keep it from becoming unattached.

 

[jay_merrill]

Re: Transom help

I agree with the comments about lack of friction when a transom plate is used. If the plate doesn't have something to stop upward motion, you very definately can lose your motor. And, while I understand the logic behind the advice to use a safety chain, and don't disagree with it, that really shouldn't be the first line of defense against movement of the motor.

Fortunately, you can still use the plate. As others have said, you just have to have something to fix the problem - a hollowed out portion on the plate for the clamps to sink into, a piece of small square bar welded across the area just above where the clamp cups will be, etc. Or, you can go to one of the aftermarket suppliers and buy a ready-made aluminum transom plate with detends for the clamps molded in.

In regard to one persons worry about galvanic action between dissimilar metals ... how about a thin coating of silicon between the pieces? Admittedly, it would probably be a pain to separate the two later on but if you don't use to much, it's probably ok.

 

[wildmaninal]

Re: Transom help

I run a thick aluminum plate under all of my motors, it helps to spread out the load and protect the surface of the fiberglass or aluminum hull. I also bolt all of my motors that allow it. On those that clamp on, I make a plate with countersunk areas for the clamp screws to seat on and secure that to the inside of the transom. That way the motor can slip up or off to one side. I also use a safety chain on all clamp on motors.

On my one aluminum boat, it has a 3/8" wood panel across the rear, I guess it was put there to protect the hull. I plan to replace it with a proper aluminum plate soon. My concern there is salt corrosion between the aluminum hull and the plate. I need to keep the saltwater from getting in between the two surfaces somehow. Although the transom is solid, I like the added security of having it there and knowing that the motor won't tear into the soft aluminum hull. The wood inside is new but wood is still softer than aluminum. I did make large stainless washers for the inside of the motor bolts as well to help distribute the bolt load on the wood around each hole. The 85HP Evinrude is the max for the boat and I just didn't like the way it sat on the bare transom. It just seemed like a lot of weight hanging on the back of a 16' runabout.

I also put aluminum plates on the inside and outside of my fiberglass transom, for my 85HP. You should of seen me wrestling that motor in place and running back and forth between tractor with the front end loader and the back of the boat. And of coarse I didn't get the holes drilled in the plates dead on the first time around so I had to take them back off and basically do it all over again after getting the hole straightened out. Good grief that was a pain in the arse. I bought the plates for $10 if I remember right, from my local boat repair.

 

[SgtMaj]

Re: Transom help

That's why God invented safety chains for small outboards! Or a safety bar above the clamp screws so the engine can NOT lift up off the transom. Both ae simple and effective. If attached with wingnuts, the engine is still easily removeable.

What is this? I have not heard of such things. Brilliant!

Got pics or a link to buy them?

 

[Pursuit2150]

Re: Transom help

It's no big deal!
Get (2) 1/4"thick plates,bolt them thru the Transom & GO !!