V-board motor mount

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Davey W

Guest
Well, after running the estuary with the standard motor board flush to the transom, I didn't particularly like it. The cavitation plate on the motor was too high on the transom, and the angle of the motor had the bow of the boat sky high at full throttle. My dad and my cousin both have simmonsen sneak boxes that have motor boards that are on an angle, and both of them run four strokes. So I decided to do the same to the estuary.

I used oak 2x4 and kicked the top of the mount out 3" from the transom and the bottom 1". This got the motor down lower (easier to shoot over from inside the boat) and it also got the motor angle so that is drives the bow down somewhat. Although I think the estuary will ride bow up regardless of the power setup, but this new motor mount definitely pushed it down a few inches. Speed is still 20mph wide open, as confirmed by my gps.

The only thing I am debating, is actually getting a solid piece of oak and making a completely new motor board. David Clark makes this fancy motor board, but yesterday when I test ran it, it was throwing water out to the sides of the motor board. So I'm thinking of squaring it up flush with the oak 2x4's.

NOW, this motor is a mother to tilt from inside the boat due to the angle it sits at now. So I either have to get a tilt assist shock or make a bar or rope for leverage to raise it from inside the boat. Any ideas on this?

Going to a two stroke would be much easier, but I am reluctant to sell a 2011 motor with a 5 year warranty that is quiet as anything, requires no oil mixing and runs clean. Plus I talked to a good friend at the Mercury dealer who said that these 2011 motors have more cubic displacement. It has a LOT of torque.



It definitely got the bow down a few inches, because now I'm pushing water from the front of the cockpit, where before it was spraying out from the middle of the cockpit (more hull in the water).



Caly still approves


 
Oh another cool thing too, is that I discovered (after I got it back home of course) that I can adjust the tiller handle angle on the motor. So the pic above, where the tiller handle is way high, there is a lock on the handle that can lower it. Pretty cool. I plan to spend a lot of time on the water running this boat before next season. I want to make sure I have all of the possible "issues" solved before the season. I am still adjusting to going 20mph instead of 40mph like my old boat, but I took the estuary out on the big water yesterday and it was pretty rough. I would have been soaked in my little boat, but I love how this estuary handles that. Dry, stable and safe.
 
http://cook-mfg.net/cart/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=5&products_id=15&zenid=fb38a6831ecaaec75d3e70615e104202

Go to the link above, electric power trim & tilt by Cook Manufacturing
 
http://cook-mfg.net/cart/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=5&products_id=15&zenid=fb38a6831ecaaec75d3e70615e104202

Go to the link above, electric power trim & tilt by Cook Manufacturing
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Interesting. Would that eliminate the motor board and just bolt to the V-boards I installed? No price.
 
Totally ignorant when it comes to outboards, cavitation plates, v boards, etc, but I recall Gary March stated he ran the same motor on his estuary. Maybe reach out to him. And have you tried a practice run with 3 dozen decoys on your front deck?
 
Davey
What about a prop change.I dont care how neat these new motors are one size doesn't fit all.I had an old cramner box that had same problem,the hull displaced too much water,kept me bone dry but wouldn't get out of its own way.I changed prop (pitch)and it helped a bit.
Charley
 
I really don't think putting decoys on the front would weigh it down enough. I have thought about a prop change too. But after looking at that CMC power tilt, I actually like that idea better. It eliminates my motor board all together and bolts flush to the transom. Positions the motor 5" away from the stern and gives me a ton of adjustment options as far as motor angle. Plus I won't kill myself trying to heave that sucker up. This motor doesn't have a very easy shallow drive setup. Its either all the way up, half way up, or all the way down. The price of the CMC unit is actually pretty affordable. The downside would be I better buy the electric start/charging kit for the motor to keep the battery charged. The end result would be one hell of a package though. Power tilt and electric start...wow! LOL!

This unit is lightweight aluminum too.


 
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I really like the idea of adding that power trim set-up even thinking of doing it to my rig. I run a 1959 25hp merc and shes heavy. I was quoted $580 shipped to my door. Hard for me to justify that cost on a $500 boat though.
 
This is a displacement hull boat, the bow is going to be sky high by nature. You are getting the performance that the hull was designed to give.

T
 
[font=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica]
Positions the motor 5" away from the stern
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Or another way of saying that is;
[/font][font=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica]Positions the weight 5" away from the stern[/font] increasing the leverage already raising the bow.

As Tod stated, this is a displacement bow and is running as designed. Efforts to change that, are going to give you minimal results at best.
 
I am not worried about lowering the bow any further. I think the motor angle is perfect now. The problem I have now is that it is ridiculous trying to raise the motor up from inside the boat because the motor is on an outward angle. I literally have to stand on the aft deck, grab the handle, then anchor one foot in the boat and heave. Its not exactly smart nor safe to be standing on the deck in poor weather conditions trying to heave up a 110lb motor with poor leverage. I have thought about a rope to use, but I don't want gadgets. I just ordered that CMC transom lift kit. $460 shipped. Done with it. LOL!
 
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I am not worried about lowering the bow any further. I think the motor angle is perfect now. The problem I have now is that it is ridiculous trying to raise the motor up from inside the boat because the motor is on an outward angle. I literally have to stand on the aft deck, grab the handle, then anchor one foot in the boat and heave. Its not exactly smart nor safe to be standing on the deck in poor weather conditions trying to heave up a 110lb motor with poor leverage. I have thought about a rope to use, but I don't want gadgets. I just ordered that CMC transom lift kit. $460 shipped. Done with it. LOL!
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Davey,

Where did you find it at that price? I really want to get one of these as well.
 
Dave don't understand why you need to change the angle of the motor board when you can change the angle of the motor

What I would do is load the boat with all the gear and run it make adjustments from there if you want to discuss call me but changing the angle of the transom board is unnecessary
 
I am not worried about lowering the bow any further. I think the motor angle is perfect now. The problem I have now is that it is ridiculous trying to raise the motor up from inside the boat because the motor is on an outward angle. I literally have to stand on the aft deck, grab the handle, then anchor one foot in the boat and heave. Its not exactly smart nor safe to be standing on the deck in poor weather conditions trying to heave up a 110lb motor with poor leverage. I have thought about a rope to use, but I don't want gadgets. I just ordered that CMC transom lift kit. $460 shipped. Done with it. LOL!
Click to expand...

Davey,

Where did you find it at that price? I really want to get one of these as well.
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http://www.iboats.com/...2486--view_id.392343

Larry, the standard motor board mounted flush to the transom, had the motor sitting too high and the thrust angle was improper (I confirmed this at the local boat dealer). By making wedges or v-boards, it angled the motor away from the boat, giving the prop more "bite" so that it run more efficient. It also lowered the height of the motor to something more proper. The problem I have now is trying to raise the motor from inside the boat.

I'd like to get it set right with no gear in the boat, because if I have to rely on loading to get a proper ride, than something is wrong. If the ride is proper with no weight, than I can load the boat evenly and expect the same results. One thing that I really don't like about this motor, are the shallow drive settings. I literally have 3 choices - up, half way and down. Combine that with the weight of the motor, and its going to make getting in and out of shallow spots a real pain.

With this power tilt kit from CMC, all of those problems are gone. I can run the motor at any angle with ease. Which means if I run into shallow water, a simple trim up and we're still making headway. Of course, a 15 2 stroke and these problems don't exsist. LOL!

When its done, this is going to be the ultimate cadillac of duck boats. Power trim, electric start, running lights and interior underdeck lights. :)
 
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Dave I have to disagree with you unless you plan to run with no gear in the boat most of the time you should always fine tune your running settings just like you would run the boat most of the time.

As far as the angle of the motor you should be able to angle out and angle in by moving the lower pin to the next hole either way.

Its a 15'' transom right? Short shaft motor right then you should have no problem the way it came from the builder

As far a tilt and trim its gonna add a noticeable difference to the boat in weight even if it is only 30lbs thats probably close to 10% of the dry hull weight.
 
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When Dave built these boats for a mercury he would build a motorwell instead of a motor board to get the motor lower. I would give Dave a call and I am sure he could answer any questions you may have about setting up the boat. Dave is a great guy and stands behind his work even if you did not buy new from him.
 
Davey,

As Tod had stated, it is a displacement hull. From what I see it looks like your trying to make the boat do something it is not designed to do.
That is a lot of angle you have there. Yes, it will get the bow down but your gong to give up some of the characteristics of how the boat was designed to perform and handle. That angle just looks like to much.
I have seen some of David's other builds where he had built a small splash well to get the motor down so the anti-cavitation plate would be in a proper position.
I would give David a call and discuss that with him. You may be forfieting some of the boat seaworthyness.
Good luck which ever way you decide to go.
 
Davey - I'm not sure about all of the pro and con regarding the fact that it's a displacement hull etc. but I can tell you from running a smaller BBSB that you are very smart to figure it out now as best you can. I think the PTT will also be very useful when running in tidal shallow water where depth can change pretty fast and also when setting up and you want some of the motor tilted up from the bottom. This is particularly helpful if gunning a falling tide before having to get out before getting stuck. Downside would be extra weight but you already have a heavy weight package - so I assume that does not make such a difference. The idea about loading it up that has been suggested could make a difference though and would also help you to plan where everything needs to go - a big deal on a duck boat no matter how big.
My 2 cents.
sarge
 
Thanks for all of the input guys. I'll have to give Dave a buzz tomorrow and see what he thinks. My whole purpose for using v wedges was to get the motor lower on the transom and correct the motor angle. There was no way I could get the motor lower without cutting the hull (which I will not even consider). By angling the motor board out, it lowered the height. I found one pin up from the bottom to be the best setting.

I am not trying to make a displacement hull boat get on plane.

I do have experience driving 44' and 47' displacement white hulls with orange stripes...so I know that all displacement hull boats will have a certain amount of rear end squat and subsequent bow up tendancies. I have seen the estuary in action, and I knew that this motor on the original motor board was pushing the boat in a manner it was also not designed for. The nose was literally FEET away from the water. The original motor board had the motor set on an angle that actually encouraged the bow to rise.

This setup has already improved the handling of the boat. The bow rides in what I would consider an acceptable position (still high, but not crazy) and the boat still handles like a rock in rough water. We had 2' chop on the river yesterday and the estuary handled it with amazing ease. So I know it didn't compromise the safety of the boat. The only negative side effect to using wedges, is that I just made lifting the motor while inside the boat 10x harder.
 
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