What do you do with your motor when trailering?

Moderator: GreenLake

What do you do with your motor when trailering?

Postby corbinscheffer » Tue Jun 15, 2021 1:17 pm

Hey guys, I am a newer owner of a '84 Day Sailor II. I have trailered it to a near by lake very often in the past 2-3 weeks. When doing this I lay the motor down in the back of the cockpit with some cardboard down. I'm only going a few miles and take country roads so I don't worry about it. This weekend I am planning on taking it camping with some friends and family. It is a 2 hour drive and I have to take the highway to get there. I've seen someone in a parking lot with their motor mounted to the back (how it is when its in the water). That makes me a little nervous, the trailer and sailboat are so lightweight I feel like it would bounce the motor right off the back. How do you guys trailer with your motors? The motor is a Mariner 2.5HP (35 LBS) so it mounts like a normal outboard motor with the 2 tightening bolts right on to the back of the sailboat. If I get those tight would it be fine at 60-70mph?
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Corbin
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Re: What do you do with your motor when trailering?

Postby GreenLake » Tue Jun 15, 2021 3:06 pm

I sidestep the issue by going electric. That motor simply goes in the back of the car.

I've joined someone on several trips that required multiple hours of trailering each. With a propane gas outboard. That also went into the back of the car, but like a gas outboard was sensitive to orientation (as it would leak oil otherwise). I think we did have a bit of oil leaking at least once. Not sure what additional complications you get with an integral gas tank.

Now, I have seen pictures of people mounting a motor bracket near the trailer winch to transport a motor on the trailer w/o having it hang from the transom.

Let's see what others have to report.
~ green ~ lake ~ ~
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Re: What do you do with your motor when trailering?

Postby tomodda » Tue Jun 15, 2021 10:23 pm

I'm with GreenLake, we have the same electric motor on our boats. What I do with my motor when trailering is take it off, all of 16lbs, put it in the trunk of my car (or backseat) and say to myself "So THIS is why I paid so much money for a glorified egg-beater!" I really love that engine, a joy to use.

But, answering your question, I'd not go on an extended trip with the outboard hanging off my stern. It's "only" 35 pounds, but think of the leverage as you bounce around on the highway, no thanks! Lie it down in the bilge like you're doing now, but give it a bit of extra protection, maybe foam blocks underneath (leftover packing material) and wrap in an old blanket or tarp. Lying by the centerboard, it shouldn't bounce too much - as in I don't think it'll go flying. Maybe tie it to the thwart for some extra security. Or shove it forward towards the mast (tie it there), the closer it is to the trailer hitch (center of your car/trailer rig), the better, no? Alternatively, wrap it in a tarp and put it in the footwell between rear seats and front seat in the car. Depends how much you value keeping your car clean, of course. I tow my boat around with my old Subaru, which is otherwise used for errands - i.e. the car is a mobile boatyard/toolshed, which happens to be good for launching my DS too! Anyway, bottom line, I'd rather wrestle the engine on/off the transom at the boatramp, than have it back there acting like a giant can-opener on the road. YMMV
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Re: What do you do with your motor when trailering?

Postby jalmeida51 » Tue Jun 15, 2021 10:59 pm

I do very little trailing these days. When I do I stand the outboard vertical in the back seat with a old sheet protecting the seat.

I used to trailer from S.W. Florida up to Maine and I built a engine mount attached to the trailer. If you Google outboard mount for trailer it will show several different mounts. This will give you a few ideas if you want to mount the outboard on the trailer.

I agree with the previous posts and I would not travel with the engine attached to the transom. Especially if your mount is a Garelick or other adjustable mounts

John
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Re: What do you do with your motor when trailering?

Postby corbinscheffer » Wed Jun 16, 2021 11:41 am

Thanks everyone for the quick responses! I think for this weekend I am going to use a blanket and slide it next to the centerboard like tomodda suggested. After looking at some of the different ways people mount theirs to tongue of the trailer I think that will be the best option for the future. Thanks everyone!
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Corbin
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Re: What do you do with your motor when trailering?

Postby zeroready » Thu Jun 17, 2021 8:25 pm

I have to trailer my boat about 3 miles to the marina every time I go out. My old Merc, I would lay it down on it's side in the cockpit. That thing was a tank. But the wiring was rotted out and it died a few months ago, so I got a brand new Tohatsu 3.5hp. I like to baby it because I plan on selling it with the boat when I move soon. So right now I set it mostly upright in the backseat of my SUV. I run the gas out of the carb at the boat ramp before I put it in the car. It's not ideal, some salt water definitely gets on the floor of my Mazda, but I'm over it.

So what I'm going to do, hopefully this weekend actually, is build something like this http://faculty.augie.edu/~swart/CP-16/m ... stand.html

I think it's a brilliant design, and shouldn't cost too much or be too difficult to make.
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