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I just bought a 1982 Capri 25, my first boat. It has no motor but has the standard Garelick motor mount mounted on the port side of the stern. It is mounted with 4 bolts through the stern but no support inside the hull. Just four 1 1/2" washers. When you put pressure down on the mount the stern flexes. There are no cracks but it concerns me. Shouldn't there be some sort of backing plate inside the stern?
There are also 3 brackets in the center of the stern. Are these for some sort of motor mount? They appear to be original and the stern is much more rigid there.
I have no clue on the brackets. On my Capri there's a piece of wood backing the mount inside the transom. Mine is center mounted, not off to the side like yours.
Definitely should be a backing plate... an aluminum or steel backing plate is preferred. Like was said, the standard was a wood backing plate (which is subject to rot of course)...
The stern of the capri is notoriously flexible, and you'll want to distribute the weight as much as possible.
We used a piece of 1/4" G10 (pressed fiberglass) 1/4 was more than likely over kill as you can't bend a 12x12 1/8" piece. You can find it online and shipping won't kill you at that size. We once used a piece inside and outside of a hull when a price of hardware ripped out of the hull taking a 3" chunk of fiberglass. The stuff is super strong, the only downside is it will eat bits and blades.
Ours is also center-mounted, but I haven't noticed a backing plate behind it. Ours is a 1984 vintage, I believe. Maybe I can get some pictures of it later this week.
I'm guessing what looks like three gudgeons were added by a DPO to make some outboard bracket easy to install and remove. I'm also guessing that outboard bracket and its outboard are on the bottom of some lake someplace near where the DPO put the motor in reverse and gunned it, leading to the more secure installation.
No backing plate. No bolts through the transom. Motor mount is midline, not offset. I believe this is the original configuration, at least for a 1984 model.
ETA: sorry the pics are so small. Imageshack.us seems to have changed their "free" service to now only provide free hosting for thumbnails. I guess I'm going to need to look for another image hosting sight.
...No backing plate. No bolts through the transom...
What?? Is it glued on?? (I hope you don't say wood screws...)
Honestly, I don't know. I haven't looked that closely. The motor feels secure and and I haven't had any problems with it. The only issue I've had has been in reverse, the motor seems to want to climb out of the water at high RPMs. Otherwise it has worked just fine. I suspect (just a suspicion--no confirmation here) that on our boat there is some reinforcement built into the transom. The mounting bolts/screws do not appear to go all the way through, as can be seen in the pictures. I could be wrong about this though.
Amen... yeah I think there is a piece of lumber sandwidched in between layers of fiberglass midline of the stern. Mine has it, but then the motor mount on my boat is a heavy duty hydraulic mount, with a metal backing plate holding against the outer layer...
The only issue I've had has been in reverse, the motor seems to want to climb out of the water at high RPMs.
Some outboards lock the tilt in reverse--some don't. The bracket should lock in the down position. But it's also common, when revving in reverse, to generate a vortex that sucks air down to the prop. It just happens.
The engine should have a reverse lock when shifted into reverse, Usually two hooks that drop down onto a pin that prevents the engine from climbing up out of the water. It could be that a spring is broken or something else isn't functioning properly on this reverse mechanism.
I am working to bring a 2nd Capri 25 back to life. This current boat has the motor in the center and the top port side bolt is very loose. I crawled back there to try to tighten the nut but I could find no way to get my hands back their much less see the top bolts. I was able to use the camera on my phone to see back there and there is a wood backer.
My guess is they never tightened that bolt all the way because they could not reach it. Upon a closer look I also saw holes from a previous mount behind the current mount that look like they were just filled with a caulk substance and not epoxy filled.
Question is, is it advisable to cut out a hole and put in an inspection port on the inside layer of the transom that would provide access to those bolts? Other than that I see no way of reaching that small area. I have not seen anyone else having to do this so I can't figure out what I may be over looking.
Good questions. If you study elsewhere in this forum you will see that the Capri 25 transom is a "weakness" in the boat. For that reason I'd be very careful with inspection ports unless they reinforced the transom some way. My boat has it's engine mount "though" bolted into the cockpit. I don't think there is much blocking with that installation, but capturing both surfaces of the transom appears to be a stronger solution than just one surface. It's NOT pretty, but so far I've not notice too much stress in that area. I only use a 2 hp motor now, but the boat came with a 6 hp mounted on it so I know it was stress greater in the past. Too much motor for me (racing her now). Good luck!
I can see the transom being a weak spot on the capri 25 because it is just a single layer of fiberglass with about 3" of solid reinforcement where it connect with the bottom. From what I am seeing, I cannot see where the inside wall of the cockpit provides much structural support if any for the transom because the only connection points appear to be the scuppers.
If I do cut the inspection hole I will probably add a solid block to connect the cockpit wall to the transom for peace of mind.
Inspection port on the inside is a proper way to address the problem... the hole will not be a weak point. You should consider addressing the structure of the stern and backing plate of the motor mount for sure in this way. The missing link to your puzzle is that there are essentially 2x4s with holes drilled in them, where the scuppers come through the stern on either side of a center mounted motor mount. Its ALSO not long-term design, as the wood rots, and the scuppers leak and eventually the wood disintegrates. A better solution would be to install an inboard inspection port (or 2), directly above and inboard of the scuppers. An ambitious person might remove all the wood blocking, and install G10 backing, and reglass/reinforce the whole stern especially around the motor mount. As part of this job, I'd consider reglassing around the scuppers, and reinforcing that whole section as well.
Those 2x4s are likely ALL that is keeping many Capri 25s sterns from flexing much. The offset motor mount is something I wish I had had on my Capri... even though it's not the original location its a better location for the motor. It also provides room for a center mounted swim ladder, and/or a place to hang a mast upper if you trailer a significant amount.
Happy glassing (and I love glassing where people can't see, it doesn't need to be pretty then, just functional).
I would agree with Ape-X that the 3 gudgeon brackets are/were for a mast support for trailering or winter haul-out. You might also consider a piece of 1/4" thick synthetic wood like the cutting board material for a backing plate. That's what I used on our C25 on the inside of the transom. We also put a 1/2" piece on the outside between the mount and the transom.
DavidP 1975 C-22 SK #5459 "Shadowfax" Fleet 52 PO of 1984 C-25 SK/TR #4142 "Recess" Percy Priest Yacht Club, Hamilton Creek Marina, Nashville, TN
Found the Catalina drawing that shows the three gudgeons are for a motor mount. Also shows transom area around mount is backed up with 4mm coremat. Drawing dated April 1980. No idea if this was used throughout the production run. No information about the mount itself.
Notice: The advice given on this site is based upon individual or quoted experience, yours may differ. The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.