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What's the wisdom for positioning the outboard when Trailering? I have a merc 100 hp on my Cortland ' 62 Cust Sea lancer. Is it better for the transom and what ever else to have the motor tilted forward when towing, or in the full down position. Which is less stress on the boat? There is plenty of ground clearance for the motor, so towing down is not an issue for the motor. Go to http://home.comcast.net/~gammasjunk/wsb ... html-.html for pics if needed. (note the bunks are in the process of being extended past the transom)
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Down unless you have a transon saver.

Transom saver?

Thats what those things are that go from the bottom of the trailer to the lower unit just above the bullet. Its basically a pole with a rubber "v" in it to hold the motor up with out putting any stress on the transom. Its probably a good idea on these old boats even if you can leave the motor down when trailering them. We used to sell one with just about every new boat we used to sell, so I think its a good idea to have one. Both of my boats do.

That makes a lot of sense - Since I plan to trailer this boat long distances I'll definatley get or make one - are they readily available these days? Or should I just fabricate one - I assume the goal is to keep the motor from bouncing up and down. Seems the ideal would to be to have the motor tilted all the way up and a Transom Saver supporting the motor at or around the cavitation plate.

depends on the style of your trailer. Yes they are readily available from any marina I think fulton is one of the manufacturers. Some of them hook on the rearmost keel roller and some have a bracket that bolts on to the rear frame crossmember. I feel the crossmember style is better and you probably cant use the other style anyways. Chek with your usual supplier and I will look for the one I am thinking of.

Does your motor have power trim?

No power trim - these old Mercs have a tilt lock - so the motor can be locked in full tilt position. But I couldn't trust just that clip-lock. If the advice from folks was to come back to tow with the motor up, I was going to use tie down straps prevent the motor from falling into down position should the tilt lock fail. But the straps would not keep the motor from banging, so I see the value of the transom saver, be the motor up or down.

If you used the tilt lock to trailer the motor you would break it. It is meant to hold the motor up when mooring or launching. If i remember correctly the mercs just have a stamped steel lock with two small bolts. If you go to www.ishopmarine.com they have a bolt on transom saver that probably work with your trailer depending on its design. They also have online parts breakdowns for omc and merc motors etc.

I have always made it a habit to leave the motor down in the unlock position. I have never liked an engine bouncing up and down in the tilt up position. my trailer is tall enough that I have no ground clearance problems. But years ago I have had an engine tilted in the up postion bounce out and fall to the down postion after hitting a bump slaming the transom - not good

Bouncing is bad on any kind of boat, especially on these fragile old boats. I wouldnt even use the trailering brackets that come on the new motors because the balance point is put forward and with no bottom brace it will bounce even more. The worst happens on fiberglass boats with soft transom cores, I have seen them break just from bouncing down the road.

I would definitely use a transom saver.. there are a lot of them around... through Cabella's, Overtons, etc... Mine has a spring in bottom of the square shaft, that gives a little to accomodate minor bouncing.... Seems to me that the bottom of the shaft is 18 or so inches from the transom... weight is then directed straight down on the transom vs. pulling it backward... any flexing is then transfered to the trailer.... they are about $30....

John.

A transom saver is definitely on the shopping list - I plan to trailer this boat long distances, and frequently to boot.

This post is rather old but for any other new viewers this could also come in handy. WalMart sells these transom saver in a universal mount relatively cheap, I think under $30.