Honda 5HP (BF5) Mounting

[Guest]

I bought a '77 Daysailer II last year. It came with a 1975 Eska motor that although it runs well it spews filth, is loud and has no transimission-a real problem when the only place we have to launch here in Holland MI are busy public launches.

Does anyone have the same motor? I'm wondering if I should get a bracket or just mount it to the transom?

Jim McKnight (mcjim-at-iserv.net)

[Guest]

Sorry I had to attend to children and forgot to mention that I just purchased the HONDA motor. that is the one that I need mounting information for. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Jim McKnight (mcjim-at-iserv.net)

[Guest]

I've always just clamped my motors directly onto the transom. I use a piece of marine plywood to protect the transom (outside), this is screwed to the outside of the transom. I'm not sure how adjustable the trim is on a Honda 5hp, but one problem with the idea of clamping the motor directly to the transom is that the transom slopes the wrong way. I plan to finally solve this by bolting a thick plywood mounting board to the transom, angled to allow the motor to be more vertical when in running position. What I'm using is actually the mounting board from the outboard bracket that the original owner of my boat had used. When I bought the boat I removed the bracket because I prefer having the motor on the transom (and it was offset to starboard, I like my motor offset to port). I hope you bought a long-shaft Honda 5hp......a short-shaft will work, but a long-shaft keeps the prop in the water better when the boat rolls.

Rod Johnson, "SUNBIRD" (rjohnson24-at-juno.com)

[Guest]

Thanks for the information Rod. I did get the long shaft. My only concern is that the Eska was mounted on a bracket(which was mounted too low) I have some concerns that I will not be able to get the shaft all the way out of the water while sailing. Guess I'll need a bracket if that's the case.

Jim McKnight (mcjim-at-iserv.net)

[Guest]

Both of the motors that I've used (2.3hp Johnson short-shaft and 4hp Johnson long-shaft) have tilted high enough to clear the water while sailing. If the bracket was too low, I'd just clamp the motor direct to the transom, or add a mounting board to the transom that moves the clamps to just above the top of the transom. The DS really does not have enough freeboard to need a bracket, and if you use one of the brackets that lifts the motor up...it looks horrible since the motor ends up sticking way up in the air. A lifting bracket spoils the sleek lines of the DS if you ask me. Even if the motor did drag a bit while sailing, I've never noticed any loss of speed.

Rod Johnson, "SUNBIRD" (rjohnson24-at-juno.com)

[Guest]

Follow up: I ended up mounting the motor directly on the transom. With the long shaft the cavitation plate is about 6-7" under water. Shaft cleared the water when in full upright position. I was very satisfied with performance but was somewhat disappointed in noise and vibration. I will attempt to address the vibration by placing a shim made of 1/4 polyethelene backed with high density 1/4" neoprene(neoprene against the transom) to prevent the vibration from transferring to the hull.

Jim McKnight (mcjim-at-iserv.net)

[Guest]

My Johnson 4 hp long shaft is mounted on a fixed bracket on my DS III. By turning the motor on its
side once it is raised up you get a few more inches 'up' and farther away from the water so the prop
doesn't 'drag' in chop. It also makes a nice backrest running downwind!

Pete Tenerowicz (peteten-at-hotmail.com)

[Guest]

Jim, did you get the 4or 2 stroke? I put a 3.5 2 stroke Tohatsu on my DS1, and while I haven't had it out yet, I too was disappointed with the noise and vibration.

The mounting brackets are too close together, so I know I've got vibrations there from a bad fit, but I was also going to try the rubber mount that West Marine sells.

Where will you find the neoprene you mentioned?

Tom (tbeames65-at-cs.com)

[Guest]

5hp mariner.......smoooth..................

Harris (hg-at-myhost.com)

[Guest]

Tom, your 3.5 Hp Tohatsu will vibrate and shake the whole boat due to the lack of any vibration-isolation in it's mounting bracket. I originally had a 2.3 Hp Johnson on my DS II, it is basically the exact same motor as your Tohatsu. Most larger outboards (such as my 4hp Johnson) have some form of rubber vibration absorbing bushings between the motor and the clamp mount, the 3.5 hp Tohatsu does not. Perhaps using a rubber mat between the clamps and the transom will help?
By the way, this "problem" is also present on all of the following motors; Johnson 2 (1993-present), Johnson/Evinrude 2.3, 3.3, 3.5, Tohatsu 2.5, 3.5, Nissan 2.5, 3.5, Mercury/Mariner 2.2, 2.5, 3.5, Mariner 2, Yamaha 2, Suzuki 2, Honda 2, most if not all air-cooled outboards, all British Seagull outboards. Would I recommend NOT buying/using any of these? Heck no! THEY ARE ALL VERY GOOD MOTORS!
The manufacturer just has just devoted more emphasis to fuel efficiency, styling, and convenient features than to reducing vibration. One thing I will add, the Johnson/Evinrude, Mercury/Mariner, Nissan, and Tohatsu engines mentioned above all have a very fast idle, so finding one equiped with a neutral clutch is very helpfull!

Rod Johnson, "SUNBIRD" (rjohnson24-at-juno.com)

[Guest]

The motor in question is a 4-stroke. I was told by the dealer that it would vibrate more than a motor w/ 2 or more cylinders but I am still surprised by how loud it is.

What I ended up using for my motor mount was a piece of material called Celotek. CeloTek is ABS plastic foam board. Finished surface on the outside foam on the inside. I Took a 7" wide piece and heated it with a heat gun so that it formed over the transom where the motor mounts. I used shims so I would have some room for gasket material. I then used a neoprene gasket material on the inside of the plastic piece. Total time to create it was about 20 min.

I will find out who the gasket manufacturer is and post it. The advantages are that I don't have anything permanently attached to the transom and with the gasket material there is some decoupling of motor vibration from the transom so it was somewhat quieter.

I'll probably work on further refinements...or, I might just sail..but I'll get a photo out for people to see.



Jim McKnight (mcjim-at-iserv.net)