Trailering boat, sterndrive all the way up?

[lrdchaos]

I have been told a couple different responses, when I am trailering the boat to the lake, Do I leave the outdrive in the full up lock position, or just down off lock? Also do they make anything like a transom saver for the bravo 1 sterndrives? Also when I have it stored at the house, if it's out of lock over a weeks time it will settle down is that normal? Thanks

 

[JB]

Re: Trailering boat, sterndrive all the way up?

Oh, Lordy, Irdchaos! I sure hope that is you in the avatar.

For trailering I think the more ground clearance the better. All the way up.

For storage all the way down so any water in the foot will drain. It is not "normal" for it to drift down over a few days, but many do it. My CMC 130 does that.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Trailering boat, sterndrive all the way up?

Whether or not you tow with the outdrive up or down is a matter of road clearance. Few boats have enough clearance with the drive or engine full down. Leave a gas station and you run the risk of dragging the outdrive on the driveway. Or worse, backing up you run the risk of tearing out the transom when you back into a curb. The drive should not fall down by itself so you have a developing issue in that regard. Storing the drive full up also tends to stress the bellows so its best to have the drive down. There is nothing special about transom savers for outdrives. And by all means if you do use one, make sure you also use tie downs from the boat to the trailer frame. You should be doing that anyway but it is critical when using a transom saver or you risk drive damage if the boat moves even a little bit.

 

[QC]

Re: Trailering boat, sterndrive all the way up?

IMHO there is no need for a transom saver with an I/O. The propeller loads transmitted to the transom are 100 times what the load of the drive is just hanging there going over bumps . . . . On I/Os they use an insert into the hydraulic rams and I think these are a ripoff as you can make them pop out by using down trim. The only possible benefit is keeping the drive up if your hydraulics fail which yours are beginning to do . . .

BTW, there is no "lock" position, if there was there'd be even less reason to discuss a support system . . .

 

[lrdchaos]

Re: Trailering boat, sterndrive all the way up?

Thanks for the reply guys, I called and when it goes into the shop to check the alignment and get a hamby put on, I will have them check out the settling of the sterndrive. It's amazing what you can learn in a couple of days on this site......Totally different animal than my outboards.