Transom height

[willie47]

Is it possible to cut down the height of the transom safely to accommodate a short shaft engine on a boat with a transom designed for a long shaft engine

 

[Frank Acampora]

Re: Transom height

Yes and no! It is possible to cut down the transom and I have seen a couple of shoddy workmanship jobs and a couple of nice ones. However, cutting it down will compromise the strength some AND a 15 inch transom will lower the rated horsepower the boat can handle. Then, if you ever do replace the engine with a long shaft, you will need to repair the transom.

It would be a better solution to buy or make a jackplate to adjust the engine to the hull.

 

[Sea Rider]

Re: Transom height

Which boat and engine are we talking about ? Is it a new alum, wooden or fiberglass boat ?

Happy Boating

 

[Texasmark]

Re: Transom height

And every time you come off plane in a hurry, you will kick yourself for removing that 5 inches when the following wake joins you in the boat.

Mark

 

[idonthaveaname]

Re: Transom height

Call me crazy but I am the kind of person that believes the boat is designed a certain way cuz engineers did it accordingly. Messing with changing transom height is simply not a good idea.

 

[Texasmark]

Re: Transom height

For a lot of years the only way you could get a 20" engine was to put a 5" extension on a 15". I don't remember Merc., but OMC was that way....I was an OMC guy at the time.

Over the years they became popular due to the reduced opportunity for following wake in the boat to the point where you can even buy a 25" OEM long shank today.

A lot of transoms on the older lighter boats had a board across the top of the transom that if you were to cut it down you would cut through the major structural member to which the engine bolted.

HTH,
Mark

 

[boobie]

Re: Transom height

I'd look for another mtr and leave the boat the way it was designed. There was a reason for it.