Mounting outboard

petem

Well-Known Member
Joined
16 May 2001
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19,114
Location
Cotswolds / Altea
www.fairlineownersclub.com
Does anyone have any tips for getting the outboard mounted in the tender without either me or the tender falling in the sea? Tender will be on snap davits and outboard on a bracket mounted to the stern? I'm of average strength and can't rely on SWMBO to help (arthritis).
 
First I would tie a painter to it, in case you do drop it in the drink. I have always placed the OB on the bathing platform and lifted it from there straight to the transom in one go, whilst standing in the tender (making sure the clamps are wound out to give you max space) SWMBO could assist by holding the prop end whilst you get the main weight over the tender.
 
We went down the mini Kota E outboard route along time ago now with the Porto 35 , mainly for kiddies safety and a bit of autonomy when they reckoned to develop common sence :)
As a lowish priority for us we still have it .
Wife normally takes the dog ashore on the paddle board or if we are far out we both use the little 2,4 tender .
I can lift the motor and plonk it straight on with one hand , and them lift the bat box ( 60 ah car bat ) with one hand too while sat on the tender seat facing backwards, from the bathing platform.

Have looked @ upgrade - Williams. Small OB 3 Hp or even a Seadoo Spark entry level jet ski ,
Well kills time at boat shows :)
But thus far have not actually found anything that will improve on what we have in terms of how we interact with the shore
With a dog a E motor is silent and always starts .
It’s not fast but then we have all the time in the world these days .
Not overly keen on loading up Kg wise the bathing platform, I might be paranoid on the performance side of the CoG :)accept that criticism.
 
Exactly the issue I was having made worse if your swim platform is bobbing about in a small swell. I purchased a diddy little Tohatsu 3.3hp 2 stroke. I can swing that about all day. Just 5 extra kilos makes a big difference to whether you can easily man handle it or not.
 
Sorry Pete
What I do is to hold the OB in the upright position with the skeg on the bathing platform taking the weight while I get into the dinghy. First having made sure the clamps are opened fully.
once in the dinghy I can swing the OB into position horizontally and onto the the dinghy transom, then tighten the clamps....... Works for me.

Unshipping is, as the best Haynes manuals say, the reverse of the above procedure.
The beauty of snap davits is that they hold the dinghy firmly to the mother ship while you step in and out.
 
The beauty of snap davits is that they hold the dinghy firmly to the mother ship while you step in and out.

Provided the water is still. As above, any sort of swell, even 1 foot is amplified and the tender gets tossed about. My 27 kilo 8hp saw the ocean bed 3 times in the last 4 years trying to pass it up to the swim platform and balance it on the skeg. If it tips or slips you have the choice of letting go or going with it. The latter once to no avail but I did lose my wristwatch. A sling and davit if you can have the space to put one in or Sampson davits or the ilk makes perfect sense, my integrated swim platform just doesn't lend itself well to that type of installation.
 
Provided the water is still. As above, any sort of swell, even 1 foot is amplified and the tender gets tossed about. My 27 kilo 8hp saw the ocean bed 3 times in the last 4 years trying to pass it up to the swim platform and balance it on the skeg. If it tips or slips you have the choice of letting go or going with it. The latter once to no avail but I did lose my wristwatch. A sling and davit if you can have the space to put one in or Sampson davits or the ilk makes perfect sense, my integrated swim platform just doesn't lend itself well to that type of installation.

27kg is a very different kettle of fish. I have one of those super duper 9.8 tohatsus that weighs 27kg. I would love to carry it as my tender outboard but don't because of this very same problem. I use a Mercury 3.3 (same as tohatsu) and find it pretty easy to pass up and down from bathing platform to dinghy and vice versa.
 
Ah, brilliant. You have confirmed my choice then. The salesman was desperately trying to get me to go for the new 3.5 4 stroke Tohatsu rather than the little 2 stroke. I tried to do a curl with it in my hand and tbh weight and balance even at 18kg it may as well have been the 27 kilo Evinrude. You'd still need two hands to safely manage it. At 12.5kg the 3.3 hp 2 stroke was easily curled in one arm leaving the other free for purchase on the grab rail. That's my theory at least. Will try it in anger this weekend.
 
Is there a reason why it can't stay permanently on the tender during the season. Or at least fitted on while still in port before you go for a cruise?
 
As you have davits the answer is a small block and tackle and a lifting harness on the OB. I regularly lift and lower a 18 hp engine on my own using this. Stand in the dinghy and pull to lift the ob off its rail mount then lower it.

I do have a back up security lanyard but it has not been called in to action in 15 years of cruising TOUCH WOOD.

If the angular relationship between the rail mount and the davit is not favourable then a dinghy engine crane is a good investment.

ob crane.JPG
 
As you have davits the answer is a small block and tackle and a lifting harness on the OB. I regularly lift and lower a 18 hp engine on my own using this. Stand in the dinghy and pull to lift the ob off its rail mount then lower it.

I do have a back up security lanyard but it has not been called in to action in 15 years of cruising TOUCH WOOD.

If the angular relationship between the rail mount and the davit is not favourable then a dinghy engine crane is a good investment.

Thanks, I wonder if I could rig a small pulley from my radar arch?
 
Ha! snap again, but.....You could do many things to find a solution to a problem when really it may just be better to get rid of the problem all together.
 
I haven't tried this yet but I was thinking I could inflate my tender push the bows into the water leaving the transom on the platform while I mount the outboard, then push it the rest of the way into the water. Might depend on the depth of your bathing platform though.
 
I haven't tried this yet but I was thinking I could inflate my tender push the bows into the water leaving the transom on the platform while I mount the outboard, then push it the rest of the way into the water. Might depend on the depth of your bathing platform though.

loads of gelcoat repairs on your horizon
 
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