I finally got my kicker for my 16 A

[South of Heaven]

Guys, I ended up buying a 1988 Johnson 8hp, 2 stroke kicker for my 16 Angler. I have it mounted directly to the transom. It is a long shaft and weight 66 lbs (approximately).

My question are these:
1. Is the long term wear/tear on the transom a big deal on the 16 Anglers? Should I consider a proper mount?

2. Is it bad if the kicker's skeg/prop touches the water while at plane using the main motor? It's not tied into the main, so for steering I have the main trimmed down and use the rudder effect. is that bad for the main??

Sorry if this post is bringing up old questions and the info is already available on C Brats library. I just bought this boat and I'm doing tons of mods to it.

The pics are on my profile: Napoleon Complex.
Is there a way to directly add pics to a thread??

[journey on]

I bought a 6 hp Johnson in 2001, just when OMC went broke. Best OB I ever had, and I still have it. The 6 hp is the 8 hp with a smaller carb.

I'd put a pad under the OB mounting, just to protect the boat surface. A small piece of aluminum will help spread the load.

As long as the kicker isn't being forced around when the boat is up on plane, there should be no problem. The kicker on Journey On gets buried once in a while when the boat is going through a wave and we've not had a problem. I would recommend tying the kicker down when you're traveling on land or sea so it doesn't thrash around and stress the transom.

Boris

[South of Heaven]

Thanks. A Moeller transom pad is definitely in my immediate future; aluminum piece as well. Hopefully they will both fit.