Towing engine position

[mickter]

Expect this has been done to death,
I have a Yamaha 60hp 4 st and tow to and from slip about 4 miles each way.
all my other boats i just put a block of 2x2 wood between engine and mounting bracket.
tried this with above engine and when I get to slip woods gone.
I have noticed most of the other boats at slip travel with engine fully raised, wondered if this is ok.
Cheers Mick.

[jonp]

I tow to my local ramp several times per week always with the engine up, also on bigger trips where I drive 15,000km round trips.

[mickter]

Do you use the tilt stops or just rely on pistons to keep it up

[matt h]

Shouldn’t rely on the ram to hold it up as can bend if the trailer hits a pot hole. Use a block of wood and power the engine down. 6x6 block , in time the wood will compress and fit much better.

[kerny]

I've ordered one of these after Tony t's recommendation.

https://youtu.be/NdSOOTUgauo

[charliee]

I’ve used m-ywedge without issue for years

[Poly]

I’m sure someone here made something like that from some old waste pipe.

[Xk59D]

Cut a keel roller in half length ways and a velcro strap.

[beerbelly]

cut a 30mm strip out of a keel roller then tie wrap the piece back in when its fitted just remember its there before you lower the outboard as I managed to squash mine to half its length before the tie wraps snapped and alerted me to the fact it was still fitted

[mickter]

Thanks for the replies,
tried wood 4 times gone when i got to slip,
can`t get m-y wedge in uk,
will try keel roller.

[kerny]

You can get one off eBay mickter from the state's.

[jonp]

Originally Posted by mickter

Do you use the tilt stops or just rely on pistons to keep it up

If simply travelling on highways I use the tilt locks. When I do remote areas most of the roads are just dirt roads which can be very tough going. When driving the dirt roads I use this device, the one end fits the engine leg and the other goes to the trailer axel. I set the height to what ever height I like then simply adjust bar to suit, trimming down the engine to apply a little force on the spring.

As you can see much of the outboard weight is then transferred to the trailer, the other block methods full weight is sitting on the transome.

These devices are around £25 over here in Aus.

[jeffstevens763@g]

wood with hole in each end bit of bungee tied through holes keeps it in place

[Pikey Dave]

Is it just me that thinks that in the 21st century, outboard manufacturers (BRP excepted, the brackets on Evinrude are spot on) would have integrated some kind of stay into the transom bracket, without end users having to resort to lumps of wood.

[two stroke mick]

Brp offer the lump of wood as an option 😥

[jeffstevens763@g]

Originally Posted by Pikey Dave

Is it just me that thinks that in the 21st century, outboard manufacturers (BRP excepted, the brackets on Evinrude are spot on) would have integrated some kind of stay into the transom bracket, without end users having to resort to lumps of wood.

agree dave but i always towed my suzi 90 0n the RAM without issue not saying you should but bits of wood mark the paint.not looked into it but dont they have a check valve in the system i know when my evinrude motor packed up i had the undo a nut to lift the engine.
with the sib i set it up on shallow drive which is locked but put a strap around just in case. i guess manufactures think it might leave them wide open to abuse
because there's towing and there's knobers towing

[Orwell boy]

just another old man thing ,and yes i am an old man ,however sometimes you have too trust the young engineers have a modern solution as opposed to the bit of wood my dad used to shove in . "what are you trying to protect any way ?? the seals in the ram or the transom ?? ,maybe an element of spring or gas strut will help with a shock load !! ,but then more importantly is poss the weight rating of the trailer axle ,if you track your 900kg of boat and fuel about on twin 1500 kg rated axles (3000kg ) capacity ,then you can,t really moan when something else gives out first !!

[pagick]

A detail not mentioned if your reading this and you have a sib the transom bracket that goes to the gear case to the trailer is needed. And tube pressure need to be full or near full to protect the transom-tube joints.
I know the original poster has a rib but some reading might not know this.

[mickter]

Just tilted engine to check length of piston ram before getting keel roller,
found play in ram top mount,do you think I need new bush,
maybe reason wood kept falling out.
do agree some sought of substantial stop should be standard,
previous owner of my rib used to tow to the south of france ,
looking at wear on stops seems these were all he used.