Kicker Motor Mounts

[Swee Pea]

OK Fellas (and Ladies), learn me.

I am considering buying a 12' Portaboat with a 6HP Nissan (Tohatsu) motor. The Portaboat will be used primarily for fun when I don't want to put Swee Pea in the water or haul it. Also will be used if I get a mooring and need to get to and from.

Anyhow, the Portaboat requires a 15" shaft outboard. If I want dual use of the 6hp motor as a kicker (I know its not large, but it is better than a stick in the eye), how can/can this motor be mounted.? I know I need a 20" shaft for the Dory.

I do have trim tabs. Is there an outboard motor mount for a 15" shaft outboard that will lower/adjust the height of the motor so it can be used as a kicker? Is this possible, or am I not grasping the big picture? (Don't be cruel)

I throw this question out to you all with more experience and knowledge.

What a great site! Who says there is no such thing as a free lunch?

John
Swee Pea

[JamesTXSD]

There are adjustable motor mount brackets that move out as they move down. Not certain, but one of these should allow you to get a smaller outboard with a 15" shaft in the water. I would expect some cavitation, though.

And regarding the 12' Porta-bote: I just sold one of those in July. They are virtually indestructable and reasonably stable for the size. We hauled ours from coast to coast, strapped to the boat or on top of the SUV. We towed ours behind a monohull sailboat, and it worked fine. Hauled it folded on our trimaran. Not sure how it would tow at speeds above 6-8 knots, though, if you wanted to use it as a dinghy. It does take a 12x5' area to set that boat up... tough to come by on a C-Dory. And one last thing to watch for: if you haul the PB up on a boat, be sure to put a rug or towel on the gelcoat where the "keel" of the PB will rub - otherwise, it will leave black marks that are a bear to get off.

The PB is great to have in areas where there are oyster shells or rocks (that would slice up an inflatable). Also, keep in mind that the seats and transom take up about as much space as the boat itself in the folded position. It rows much better than an inflatable, but the motion is different from a hard dinghy (it kind of "slithers" over waves - unnerving at first, but actually works well). Hope you find this info useful. The Porta-boat is unique in its intended usage; like any boat, there are some compromises. Drop me a note if you have any questions.

Best wishes,
Jim B.

[gljjr]

You might also call Porta Boat and ask them if they have a version with the taller transom or if it would be possible to modify the mounting block to be 5" taller.

Using a short shaft as a kicker just sounds like it would make it too easy to give the motor a dunking! I've had that happen on my sled with a long shaft! Thanks but no thanks.

[Not For Hire]

John,

Swee Pea has some of the best modifications and photos of same around. On a fishing boat I used to have, an I/O with a high transom, I used a 5 hp motor and a mount like this.
swing up motor mount
The motor would swing up and be almost entirely out of the water and still be vertical. For long runs I would tilt it horizontal. To troll, it lowers down into the water. The downside was steering the motor. The steering handle had to be pretty vertical. I tried a connecting bar but didn't really use the motor enough to use the connector bar. The motor was not enough control for big lake trolling but worked great for slow troll inland.
The up down bracket always worked find, I attached a short cord to the mount arm to help pull it up. You could mount it well off to the side.
For what its worth,

Regards,
Mark

[Chris Bulovsky]

I have buddy with a big Sylvan with a 9.9 honda with a bracket that Mark shows. He needed a bracket for a kicker to function on his tall transom.

The system works good. Also many Walleye boats use this concept. Pretty sure this will be required for a 15" shaft to work out for you.

Chris Bulovsky
Washburn Wi

[Dora~Jean]

I currently own a 12 ft 'squareback' Porta Bote and a 10 ft (made from a 12 ft -- long story). I said squareback because my first was a 10' double-ender before they came out with a solid transom type. Like Jim says, virtually indestructable. They worked good on my sailboats but after fighting them on the powerboats and my CD25 deploying them vertically, I decided to relent and get a raft which is much more convenient. Though I still prefer the porta bote for heavy seas, caving and overloading with ice chest, scuba gear, 4-5 people, all with a 3 hp Yamaha.

John, regarding your outboard choices, IMHO I'd get the 20" shaft to match your boat's requirement. A 6hp is somewhat of an overkill for the porta bote, but will work. As a suggestion, you could attach a small 4" 2x4 to either the porta bote transom (near bottom) or the outboard shaft where it will contact the bottom center edge, that will provide a longer leverage arm to handle the increased torque from the long shaft. Just don't rev it up too high, should be fine.

[Swee Pea]

I just got off the phone with Portaboat - their tech - and he said that with a Nissan or Tohatsu motor, there is a trim adjustment that allows for a 20" shafted motor to be used. He said there were two trim adjustments that would allow the 6HP Nissan to work.

Are there any of you out there in Doryland that own a Nissan or Tohatsu that can verify this claim? Think it will work?

John
Swee Pea