by craig on Fri Feb 19, 2016 11:27 am
I've read on other posts in this forum that you want the motor to be fairly deep in the water so that if a wave lifts the transom, the propeller won't come out of the water. I can't find my measurements right now, but when I mounded mine the first time, the bracket was certainly lower than in the diagram that John provided here. The motor was so low that when accelerated at 4.5 knots the water would ride all the way up the shaft, and reach the bottom of the motor bracket (it didn't help that the stern squats at speed). When not moving, the motor bracket was high-and-dry. I next moved the bracket up 2 inches or so to approximately the position recommended below. That fixed the problem of being too low in the water, but the motor still couldn't flip up out of the water. (I have a Suzuki 2.5HP, and if you compare the Suzuki vs. Honda 2.3HP, the Suzuki is larger). I'm resigned now to never be able to fully tilt it up and believe I will need to cut a half-circle hole in the transom skirt to accommodate the motor. Currently, I have a wooden block that I use to prop the motor 1/2 way in the "up" position. That way only the tips of the propeller trail in the water.
Either way, my motor is now mounted high enough that when I go forward, the stern will lift enough to cause cavitation. I hope that isn't an issue for you, John, with your mount being even higher than what I am using and was diagrammed.
Titania, launched January 2015