UP orDown

T

tightline

New member
I just got my first new boat, a c-dory 22 angler with two 40's. With the help of Les and Ray (Mr Fisherman) I am sure I have the right boat to fit my needs. I have a question? When trailering the boat from place to place do you have the engines Up or Down.
 
Yes-- up in the locked position. The motors are balanced to be trailered in the up position. In the up position you are carrying the weight over the stern, in the down position you are carrying all the weight behind the stern and creating a lot of un-needed stress on the stern.
 
Strange advice...

The Honda 40/50 operator's manual specifically states to "leave the engine in the normal operating position if possible." (Page 81 of my manual.) On the same page is notes that if you don't have ground clearance and have to tilt the engine that you need to use a motor support bar (commercially available) or remove the engine from the boat.

But what do those engineers at Honda know... :roll:

-- Chuck
 
I always leave them down. Only time I have them up is if I am loading on the ferry and it is a low tide and I am concerned about the ramp angle.
 
And here I thought this thread was going to be about cruising options on the Columbia river...Congratulations on the new boat...I usually stick the plug on the outside and travel with the motors up & locked.
Pat A..I thought you usually traveled with the motors wide open :)
 
Now I am curious. Did not expect practices to be so evenly divided among responders.

Jeff Messmer, what do the engineers at C-Dory think about best way to travel on the road? I would think there would be less stress on the transom with the weight of the motor above it, but maybe that doesn't take into account stress created by shifting vectors of force when accelerating, braking, going over bumps, etc.

Let's say we can all agree that where ground clearance, a low trailer, a sharply angled ramp, etc demands it, you gotta keep the engine up. Let's also assume that removing the engine (!) is NOT an option. So leaving those situations aside, what's the better position when traveling on open road as far as engine and transom are concerned?
 
Just wondering... what are the chances that the stress from traveling with the engines in the up position takes awhile, say 4 or 5 years, to show up as little cracks in the transom?

Is this what those things called "transom savers" are used for?

Pat
 
Not sure if the stress is significant with the up position while traveling. I would think that the support brackets would spread whatever there is more evenly across the whole transom.

That having been said, I keep our twin Honda 45's in the up position but give them a little down pressure on the locks so they're not floating above the mechanical supports. I don't use external support brackets.

Charlie
 
Fishtales said the motors are balanced to place the weight over the transom in the up position. In engineering terms this would be stating that the centre of gravity (CG) on its vertical axis moves through the transom plane. That is a bold statement given the rotation that takes place moving to the up position which moves the weight of the leg into a torsional vector force further aft of the transom. You might want to check this out a little further. Yes part of the weight of the power head moves in but in doing so the weight of the leg, which is longer (more torsional distance from the CG) moves aft. I would not be convinced of any mathematical capacity to balance, quite the contrary. Thats the reason for the strut support in the up position.
Old Blue
 
Down. We have a one-inch wooden dowell that we slide into place just before the engines are in full down position. This takes up some of the road shock. Seems to us that engines up puts a torque on the transom, since so much of the weight is hanging out (and flexible) over the aft end of the boat (as Blueback stated). Anyway, we've done many a mile on the highway with them down, riding on a rod of wood, and never had a problem.
 
EL & Bill
Could you post a picture of your dowel inserts in the down position?


Thanks
Bill & Elfie
TOPKICK


Posted by TOPKICK
 
I have always towed boats with the motor up and locked in position. I am sure there was a long discussion of this last year but I couldn't find it with the search feature. I really think it is a solution in search of a problem. If your trailer allows adequate clearance with the motors down, you sure could not go wrong towing in that position. However the great majority of trailers would not give adequate ground clearance. In over 25 years of owning and towing boats I have almost never seen anybody towing with their motor down. As far as I know there hasn't been a lot of failed transoms. I have known some who feel the "transom-saver" type devices that attach the lower unit to the trailer actually put more stress on the transom. IMO whether the motor balances or not it still does not put any sigificant stress on the transom. The transom must be strong enough to take the force applied at full WOT. Just my $.02.
 
We travel with the engine "down" for the most part. Like Bill and El, I insert a piece of wood in there for the engine to ride against.

When you imagine the forces that work on the boat and motor in the normal cruising configuration, it seems to me that in most "normal" trailering use the engine mount isn't going to be overly stressed. Think of it - you power-up on plane, then cruise along, often hitting waves and wakes, often for hours and hours. Meanwhile, the engine(s) is/are back their absorbing hundreds (thousands?) of pounds of force/torque generated from the boat and sea conditions as they push several thousand pounds through the water. Somehow I don't think that the engine mount is the weakest part.

Now, think of those nifty little "legs" that you rotate into position for the engine to rest upon. Doubtful, but I suspect they could either snap or be bounced out-of-position enough to permit your engine to drop so the tilt mechanism was the only structure holding the engine (again, the tilt mechanism is Very strong).

...on the other hand, I've trailered several thousand miles with a Honda 90 riding on those "little legs" and never had a problem. But, for me, I think we'll keep the wooden gizmo in position for trailering.

Casey
C-Dory Naknek
 
Topkick - Bill and Elfie -
Just took some photos of the wooden dowel with engines in the down position. Just go to Photo Albums, Our Boats, Page 7, Halcyon, page 2 and see the last two pictures.

Hope that helps -- it is an easy solution to what is probably a non-problem, but our dealer suggested this rig and they have traveled four years and tens of thousands of miles that way, so I ain't about to quibble with success.
 
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