Transom saver

[rainman5]

I am new to boating, I have a 1980 16' FishinSki with a 80 HP Merc with tilt and trim. the tilt and trim is not working what do I do in order to move this boat safely as far as the engine position and do I need to buy a transon saver? It hasnt been moved in several years.
Raymond

 

[jtexas]

Re: Transom saver

yes, get a transom saver. when you get the power tilt working, it will hold the engine down on the transom saver - until then, you'll need to secure it with something more secure than a bungee - a racheting tie-down strap or similar.

you did check the wheel bearings, right? and tires?

 

[kenmyfam]

Re: Transom saver

Go for the transom saver. It is a good investment anyway.

 

[nimmor]

Re: Transom saver

This is an argument that gets talked about as much as which is better Chevy or Ford , Johnson or Mercury. For what it is worth I am in favor of transom savers. I have run them on all my boats. Down south where you will find a lot of gravel roads leading to lake you will find probaly about 85% of boaters using them.

 

[rainman5]

Re: Transom saver

Thanks for all your help, I will find and buy a transom saver today,

 

[rainman5]

Re: Transom saver

One other thing, since the tilt and trim isn't working do I disconnect anything before trying to lift this heavy motor?

 

[BillP]

Re: Transom saver

Transom savers are one of the most successful pieces of useless gear ever seen on a boat. I've worked pt in a marine supply store in FL for about a yr and see dozens of trailerboat owners and marine mechanics weekly. The amount of trailerboaters who use or buy transom savers is miniscule...maybe 1 in 500 has one and they gather a lot of dust sitting unsold on the shelves. I'm seeing everything from a 14' Ghenoe to 30' offshore boats with tripple obs hanging on the back. Most are 22-24' with twin obs and transom or motor damage is never seen by the owners or mechanics. The only reason I'd use one is to comply with warranty if the motor manual says to use one.

 

[jtexas]

Re: Transom saver

the 14' ghenoe and twins on the cruisers, I bet a lot of 'em have plenty of clearance to tow in the full down position - which I believe is the preferred method when possible. Not being an engineer I can't comment on the lateral vs. vertical transom stresses, and whether being tied to the trailer alleviates any shock force - but if your skeg drags the pavement when the motors down, you probably want to prop it up with something - it doesn't take an engineer to recognize the destructiveness of the load on the tilt cylinder and the tilt lock is totally unreliable. A transom saver may be only one of several solutions to take the weight off the tilt, but its the one of choice in my neck of the woods.

I am surprised to hear that owners never see a damaged transom - I hear about 'em all the time - but now you mention it, don't know that I've actually seen one................

 

[BillP]

Re: Transom saver

Keeping lower units from dragging on the road is a good reason to use a transom saver but "saving" transoms and trim systems isn't. I've seen multiple lower units broken while trailering for two reasons...backing into a curb or motor hitting the ramp when they pull the boat out. Usually the prop or skeg gets bent or broken. I'm not an engineer either but the huge numbers of trailerboats that don't use transom savers but have good transoms and motors cannot be argued with. Finding a broken transome on any trailer boat is extremely rare and most are from jumping big waves at high speed.

 

[SuzukiChopper]

Re: Transom saver

For me, the $20 it cost for the transom saver was pocket change compared to the $$, time and effort I put into rebuilding my transom and also potentially saving the skeg I had to make and replace after my motor dropped once already. Not saying that trailering caused the transom to go, because it didn't, but that $20 gives me peace of mind.

Another thing to think about too, let's just say hypothetically you're out on the water, you hit something submerged and your motor comes flying out of the water and splits the top half of your transom. It's still held together enough to putt back to the dock or at least get a tow, that $20 transom saver may just save a costly tow truck ride back to town. Hypothetically speaking.

 

[pwiseman]

Re: Transom saver

Probably makes sense to look at how much you tow, where you tow, distances, and how much clearance you have.

Tilt and Trim does a lot to keep motor from flopping but there are plenty of guys that have manual tilt motors on bunk trailers. Seen them driving down bumpy dirt roads with the motor flopping all over. Transom saver is a lot cheaper than fixing other damage. Then again if you tow twice a year from garage to the marina, they might be overkill.

 

[kenmyfam]

Re: Transom saver

I dont use one personally but for what it costs it is going to be an inexpensive investment for next season that may or may not be worth it. I am an engineer and my opinion is that if you can put any potential load on the trailer instead of the transom then it is a good idea as your boat is guaranteed to take no extra stress or strain unless the transom saver fails for whatever reason.

 

[juniormech32]

Re: Transom saver

yeah go get a transom saver and go to your mechanic and see if your trim motor is coroded.

 

[Sailor77.7]

Re: Transom saver

So Guy's,

Does this pic show what is typical of what you would call the skeg dragging the ground and getting chewed up? I'm new to all of this and this came with the boat that I bought for $600. Im already shoulders deep into fixing the boat. Engine will be the last thing for me to work on until winter sets in.

Thanks in advance for your help too...

Sincerely,

sailor77.7

 

[jtexas]

Re: Transom saver

yeah that's it.........the motor will work just fine with the skeg like that, but that prop, it's just ugly, put it in a prop shop before running it - you can hurt somebody with that!

 

[dingbat]

Re: Transom saver

I am an engineer and my opinion is that if you can put any potential load on the trailer instead of the transom then it is a good idea as your boat is guaranteed to take no extra stress or strain unless the transom saver fails for whatever reason.

Having different masses, the boat and trailer have differing harmonics while in motion. Unless you have something dampening this forces you may be creating more of a problems than it solves.

Use them to control the motor if you have no other method but I have some real doubts about their “structural” qualities.

 

[rickdb1boat]

Re: Transom saver

I use this:

http://www.cabelas.com/prod-1/0017856015683a.shtml

 

[BillP]

Re: Transom saver

The broken skeg shown above is what could happen without a transom saver but is also exactly what happens when people bend their skeg while running and try to straighten it up...it breaks off.

I've been waiting yrs on this topic for an "engineer" to give calculations to show forces and/or for many folks to bring actual damage history to the discussion...so far nobody has in any type of numbers. Until that happens I will rely on the 10,000s of trailer boats over the last 50 yrs that don't use a TS and have no problems. When and I start seeing damage happening on many without ts use I'll convert to supporting their use.

I'm also with dingbat on causing issues. Most 18' trailers flex and most 18' boats move around on the bunks while going down the road. Tying the engine foot to the trailer could make for worse stress on the motor than anything.