Drilling transom for motor...any tips?

[Larry Tate]

hey guys i am installing my 115 hp on my boat this week. i was wondering, is it ok to rest the motor on the transom (the motor bracket has a little hooked end on it i can use to hang it off the transom) while i drill the holes? it will be all lined up perfect but i am curious if i shouldnt drill the holes when its hanging on the transom like that. maybe there will be too much pressure on it, maybe i should lift it a hair before drilling the holes and making it a done deal? all input is appreciated.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Drilling transom for motor...any tips?

What Make and Model? You might be able to get a Template from the MFG or a Local marina that will aide you in drilling the holes in the precise locations.

 

[Larry Tate]

Re: Drilling transom for motor...any tips?

ooh good call...its a 1979 evinrude 115 hp. i was thinking also tracing the locations accurately to a piece of cardboard or something... but will it be ok to mount it with all that weight hanging on the transom or should i rest it down and jack it up a bit before setting her home?

 

[aeviaanah]

Re: Drilling transom for motor...any tips?

A tape measure doesnt lie! Go ahead and measure it....If you measure from the left side of a hole to the left side of another hole it will be the same as measuring center to center of the two holes. Draw a picture of the hole pattern on paper. Label with dimension lines. Triple check measurements. Layout on transom and drill.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Drilling transom for motor...any tips?

I see no reason you shouldn't be able to hang the motor if that's how you want to attempt doing it.

 

[JDA1975]

Re: Drilling transom for motor...any tips?

if you do hang the motor be sure to keep it attached to your hoist until your ready to release it bolted in....nothing worse than the unthinkable happening!

 

[Larry Tate]

Re: Drilling transom for motor...any tips?

really? so it could rip my transom right off? the motor is heavy as hell, so i guess i could see that. looks like a got a evening project! gonna run to get some bolts, copy the bolt pattern onto a piece of wood and PRECISELY drill them holes before my neighbor is ready to hoist it up with his front end loader. were hoping to get it done tomorrow, will post then w/ pics. still open to suggestions thanks

 

[JDA1975]

Re: Drilling transom for motor...any tips?

I dont think it would rip the transom off, but I was talking about working under it and it "somehow" falls off...The bolts dont hold the outboard up, they hold it on. In my case it wont work because my transom is too wide for the hook to go over, so my motor is about 1" above transom top, It wouldn't stay still during drilling so a template would be easier. the C at the top should hold it in place, but stuff can happen. just plan for the worse and the worse wont happen.



Edit: the motor sat this way on mine when I got it....the trim molding makes the transom about 1/2" too wide, I will probably remedy this during the rebuild.

 

[ondarvr]

Re: Drilling transom for motor...any tips?

You can hang it on the transom, it won't hurt anything, the hoist is just for safety purposes.

You may not want to hang it right on top of the transom though, the AV plate should be about an inch above the bottom of the hull as a starting point, you can fine tune it from there. This means you may need to block it up higher with a spacer before drilling the holes.

 

[zopperman]

Re: Drilling transom for motor...any tips?

You can hang it on the transom, it won't hurt any thing, the hoist is just for safety purposes.

Yep, I drilled my holes and bolted the motor right on while it was hanging, well the tension was off the hoist, but it was hooked up in case of an uh oh...

 

[Larry Tate]

Re: Drilling transom for motor...any tips?

ok....got bolts for the motor to go on, then put them through a piece of cardboard behind the motor bracket to mark the holes. tripple checked to make sure everything was good, and it was. so i drilled the holes and it went pretty well. will prob use some epoxy to seal em up just to be safe. will def post pics tomorrow. thanks a lot guys! any predictions to how fast it will go? a 16 ft starcraft css with a 1979 evinrude 115. thanks again bros

 

[zopperman]

Re: Drilling transom for motor...any tips?

Io

ok....got bolts for the motor to go on, then put them through a piece of cardboard behind the motor bracket to mark the holes. tripple checked to make sure everything was good, and it was. so i drilled the holes and it went pretty well. will prob use some epoxy to seal em up just to be safe. will def post pics tomorrow. thanks a lot guys! any predictions to how fast it will go? a 16 ft starcraft css with a 1979 evinrude 115. thanks again bros

glad it worked out. Probably around 42 top speed is my guess