tilt & trim leak, can I still go boating?

[daveywonder]

Back again...120 force comes down ever so slowly with a faulty cylinder on trim package. My brief question is,,,, can I still go boating if she won't stay in position? Can I bolt her tight so she won't move? I AM not the sharpest knife in the drawer, so any help would be great so I can get her on the water without screwing her up... AGAIN..TKS. FOR ALL THE RECENT ADVICE FROM ALL OF YOU....

 

[SkiDad]

it will still work if it falls all the way down - you just will be a few mph slower. - if you take those 2 bolts you had and put them in the 2nd hole from the bottom it will hold it close to the correct position. Make sure they are sturdy though b/c there is a lot of force on those bolts if you use them. if in doubt get 2 new 1/2 stainless bolts and stainless couplers or multiple nuts. If you are not sure I guess just leave them out.

Not sure what you are doing for trailering to keep the engine up - but if your tilt is not holding it will probably hit the ground when on the trailer. Pictures would help.

 

[pnwboat]

Yes you can go boating. Like SkiDad stated, you won't be able to trim the motor for optimal performance.

Just have to be careful when you're putting the boat into the water. If the motor is all the way down, it's not uncommon for the skeg or a propeller blade to catch on the concrete ramp as you're backing the trailer into the water. Same thing when pulling the boat out of the water on the trailer.

Here is a picture of what the trailering bracket looks like.



You can temporarily place a 2 foot long piece of a wood 2 X 4 between the part of the bracket that pivots up and the bracket that is bolted to the transom and let the motor down to rest on the wood to keep the motor up.

Here is a picture of someone that has used what looks like a piece of plastic pipe to do the same thing to kind of give you an idea of what I'm talking about.

 

[Frank Acampora]

Plastic pipe is WAY too weak. If you want to do that, you need a piece of black iron pipe inside it. That's why the pipe in the photo has end caps: To keep water out and prevent the iron pipe from rusting. And you nee to be certain it is secured properly, otherwise it will fall out while trailering due to engine bouncing. Yes, they do bounce slightly even when secured.

 

[HotTommy]

Davey,
Sometimes it helps to hear from someone who was recently clueless rather than the usual field of true experts. We can relate better to what it means to be a true novice. The tilt function raises and lowers the engine when it is not running for launching, trailering, service, etc. But the tilt piston is not strong enough to keep the bottom of the engine from swinging forward when engine is running and the propeller is pushing it forward. The trim piston is larger so it can push and hold the bottom of the engine away from the transom even under pressure from the running engine to get the optimum thrust angle for propelling your boat. If the trim system fails, the bottom of the motor will simply swing forward as far as the hardware will allow and stop. You won't get the optimum thrust angle, but its otherwise no big deal. The suggestions above relate to adjusting the hardware to get a better, but not easily adjustable trim angle. On my pontoon boat, the trim angle made no discernable difference.