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Motor Mount Questions

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joegeiger
1st Mate

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USA
63 Posts

Initially Posted - 04/06/2004 : 19:49:08

I launched my '86 FK on Monday and had an opportunity to motor it to my slip. I noticed that the motor mount would jump violently up when giving it a pulse in reverse. Forward is fine... It only does this in reverse. I'm afraid the motor is going to jump right off the mount or that the motor mount will snap off the transom. Is this normal? How much play should I expect?

Edited by - on

Sea Trac
Master Marine Consultant

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Vanuatu
1357 Posts

Response Posted - 04/06/2004 : 20:00:33

Did you have the pivot/reversing lock engaged? It took me a year to figure out that my old outboard had one. Then I discovered that the locking bar was missing. Now I happily reverse without the motor jumping around or the prop trying to climb up out of the water.

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joegeiger
1st Mate

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USA
63 Posts

Response Posted - 04/06/2004 : 20:09:49

Yes... I did put the pivot/reverse lock on. The mount is what is moving from the force of the motor in reverse.

Also... When connecting the motor to the battery, do I conect it directly to the battery or to the battery selecter switch? I have 2 batteries with a selector switch. If I connect it directly to one battery the other never gets the charge from the alternater. Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

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Frank Hopper
Past Commodore

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Pitcairn Island
6776 Posts

Response Posted - 04/06/2004 : 20:24:45

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by joegeiger
 Yes... I did put the pivot/reverse lock on. The mount is what is moving from the force of the motor in reverse.

Also... When connecting the motor to the battery, do I conect it directly to the battery or to the battery selecter switch? I have 2 batteries with a selector switch. If I connect it directly to one battery the other never gets the charge from the alternater. Any insight would be greatly appreciated.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

This is like the third picture I ever took of my boat.

I have a heavy pair run from the "both" post on my battery switch and the common bar under the fused switches panel. My battery charger takes care of keeping the batteries up, I am only concerned with getting power to the starter motor. The tiny bit of charging the motor does ten minutes at a time is not critical to me. The heavy pair terminate on the fuel tank wall. The leads from the OB run through one of the scuppers, along with the fuel line, into the tank area and connect to the terminal posts that are there.

Edited by - on

Dave Bristle
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
10005 Posts

Response Posted - 04/06/2004 : 21:19:02

Joe: What bracket are you talking about--the original equipment Garhauer (welded stainless tubing)? Is it possible that the notches on the handle lever are not engaged properly to hold the bracket in the down position? A broken spring could be the culprit (I don't know whether that backet has a spring for the handle), or something sticking, or wear in the notches themselves. Next time you back up, watch the locking notches to see if they are not engaged for some reason.

Edited by - Dave Bristle on 04/06/2004 21:29:52

Sea Trac
Master Marine Consultant

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Vanuatu
1357 Posts

Response Posted - 04/06/2004 : 22:12:11

Could also be that the transom mounting bolts are loose.

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dlucier
Master Marine Consultant

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Virgin Islands (United Kingdom)
7583 Posts

Response Posted - 04/06/2004 : 22:34:15

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by joegeiger
 I launched my '86 FK on Monday and had an opportunity to motor it to my slip. I noticed that the motor mount would jump violently up when giving it a pulse in reverse. Forward is fine... It only does this in reverse. I'm afraid the motor is going to jump right off the mount or that the motor mount will snap off the transom. Is this normal? How much play should I expect?
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

My motor mount, the original, does have some fore/aft, up/down play and if I rev the motor in reverse, it too will have the same movement you describe. Even with the mount handle in the locked position, there is still some slop in the mount, but it should only be a few inches.

The reason it doesn't happen when going forward is because the weight of the engine positions the mount at its most forward and down position. With the motor and mount already in this position, when the forward gear is engaged the mount won't jump. But when going to reverse, the engine will appear to jump because the mount has those few inches of rearward travel at its disposal.

I wouldn't be too concerned about it, but you should try to not over rev the motor in reverse and try avoiding situations where you have to throw the engine in emergency crashback. When coming into your dock or slip, come in so gently that minimal reverse is needed. I come in to my slip so slooooooow that I don't even use reverse at all.

Edited by - dlucier on 04/06/2004 23:04:43

dlucier
Master Marine Consultant

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Virgin Islands (United Kingdom)
7583 Posts

Response Posted - 04/07/2004 : 20:08:30

While down at the boat this morning, I measured the amount of play/travel in the motor mount and it was about 2 1/4" in a mostly upward direction.

Edited by - on

Dave Bristle
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
10005 Posts

Response Posted - 04/07/2004 : 23:14:45

Yup--some play is normal... How much are you talking about, Joe?

Edited by - on

joegeiger
1st Mate

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USA
63 Posts

Response Posted - 04/08/2004 : 15:43:21

I'm not sure about the amount of play... it seemed to be about 3 or 4 inches. I'm going down to the boat again this weekend and I'll measure it. The motor mount is firmly attached to the transom..I double checked that. I will also check where the springs are located and make sure they aree all there. Thanks for all the suggestions. I just want to be reassured that it will not come off. :)

Edited by - on

jwilliams
Captain

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USA
357 Posts

Response Posted - 04/08/2004 : 16:02:05

Joe,

With that much play, I would guess that the bushings on the mount are very worn. Assuming it is an original Garhauer mount, you can replace them with bronze. Call'em up.

When I did mine, I found the original bushings were nylon and very worn. Also, the bolts were smaller in diameter than the bushing holes...good thing 'cause I upgraded all the thru-bolts to a larger size.

I have a 4S Evinrude that weighs about 110#, so I added two coil springs to help the load. Also, I replaced the handle portion, where the thing locks up or down, with a thicker SS that I had fab'ed from plate locally. The original one tended to bow and bend.

I think the bushing kit cost about $30. The SS fabrication cost $40.

Not a perfect solution, but it sure beat the $300 for the OMC mount for my engine.

Jim Williams
Hey Jude C25fk 2958
SF Bay

Edited by - on

dlucier
Master Marine Consultant

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Virgin Islands (United Kingdom)
7583 Posts

Response Posted - 04/09/2004 : 18:13:09

I was at the boatyard today and upon close inspection I found a few broken nylon bushings on the motor mount. Operationally the mount worked great, but one of the pivot bolts had a nice little bend to it.

Anyway, I called Garhauer today and ordered 8 bushings @ $2.00 each and four bolts @ $1.00 each. Hopefully by next week it will be back together and ready for action.

Edited by - dlucier on 04/09/2004 18:14:24

seastream
Navigator

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USA
242 Posts

Response Posted - 04/09/2004 : 21:32:20

I agree with Don with respect to minimal use of reverse when docking. Sailboats generally don't back down worth a damn. They're shaped to go forward, not back, and the laws of inertia say that several tons in motion tend to stay in motion. Applying reverse as you've found, is usually only an exercise in OB levitation and transom stress (though it does sound like you've got an AWOL locking pin/bracket, given the lift you describe). When I come in to my dock I'm at one knot or less, just enough to maintain steerage. At that speed, if I hit the dock the only damage is to my pride.

Bob

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ClamBeach
Master Marine Consultant

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3072 Posts

Response Posted - 04/09/2004 : 22:40:37

I'm on the inside 'parking spot' of a 70' finger... I back my boat in every time, like backing into a spot on the street. It just takes practice... and understanding how the boat will respond differently to engine thrust in the reverse and forward directions.

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joegeiger
1st Mate

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USA
63 Posts

Response Posted - 04/25/2004 : 17:07:29

As it turns out it was the brand new motor that was causing the mount to jerk violently when shifting into reverse. The dealer never properly set up the motor or the remote cables when I took delivery of it. The idle was set so high that when switching into reverse it would make the whole motor and mount jump up. We had to remove the motor, the remote, and the starter cables and return it to the dealer. They were able to fix the throttle cables and set the idle. What a pain... Everything runs nicely now. As far as the connection from the motor to the battery, I just tied it into one of the batteries. Only one will be charged by the alternator. I have a solar panel that will charge the other. I keep my boat on a mooring so if I need to charge both, I'll rent a trasient slip for a day so I can plug in the battery charger via shore power. Thanks for all the suggestions and help.

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