Taper Washers

[Ronald_M]

Hi.

Would anyone happen to know a source for stainless-steel taper washers?

By "taper washer" I mean something similar to those on this webpage (scroll down towards the bottom of the page):

http://www.wtlynn.co.uk/cat_gen/catgen9_10.htm

I've googled without success thus far.

I need some of these in order to adjust the rake of my outboard mounting bracket without extensive alteration/replacement.

TIA,

Ron.

 

[Norman_E]

Plastic ones are used for the bolts that hold concrete garages and other sectional buildings together, and should be easy to obtain.

 

[VicS]

I am not sure quite what you are thinking of doing. Have you thought it through.

However A2A4 may have what you are looking for

http://www.a2a4.co.uk/acatalog/SQUARE_TAPER_WASHERS_DIN_434.html
And
http://www.a2a4.co.uk/acatalog/SQUARE_WASHERS_DIN_436.html

 

[Ronald_M]

VicS - thanks.

My outboard is fixed to a normal "up and down" type bracket. This has a wooden mounting-board bolted to steel frame (eg http://marinestore.co.uk/thestore/prods/PL10152.html ).

The bracket doesn't have any rake adjustment and will thus follow the angle of the boat's transom. The result is that the outboard operates at an angle which is a little too far from vertical for maximum efficiency.The mounting-bracket's angle could be adjusted by inserting spacers (washers) between it and the metal frame to which it is bolted. This, however would cause the bracket's securing nuts to bear against the frame at an angle, thus stressing them unsafely. Taper washers might allow the nuts to return to having a flat surface to bear against. If you see what I mean.......

An alternative to all this (other than a complete replacement of the bracket) would be a mounting board, capable of being retro-fitted to existing braket frames, which incorporates its own rake adjustment, but I am not aware if such a thing might exist/be possible to make.

Cheers,

Ron.

 

[saltwater_gypsy]

I have seen taper washers but not in stainless. They are often used when installing workshop machinery on an uneven floor. I would venture that a nice bit of woodworking could solve your problem.

 

[VicS]

I understand now. Typical solution is to mount the bracket on tapered wooden packing pieces on the transom. also a little adjustment can be made with tapered packing on the motor mounting pad, but that is limited by the clamp screws of course. I have a similar bracket but aluminium not stainless steel, stood the test of time though but my transom is vertical so no problems.

I have seen brackets that are adjustable to accommodate raked transoms.

 

[Tranona]

The normal way of dealing with raked transoms is to make a tapered hardwood block to bring the face vertical to the waterline and throughbolt bracket/block/transom. Depending on the rake you may need longer bolts for the "thick end" and you will need new holes in the transom plus tapered pads inside so that the nuts draw down square. Taper washers may work if the rake is only slight.

An alternative might be to put the tapered pad on the bracket pad itself.

BTW you don't say how much the rake is, nor whether you have used all the rake adjustment on the motor itself.

 

[StanFolds]

My boat has a transom with a reverse rake and the problem has been solved by fitting shorter arms to the bottom so that the top of the bracket moves outwards as it is lowered. The disadvantage is that the travel is reduced and the prop drags in the water when lifted, tilting the engine gives a big overhang which rather negates the use of a lifting bracket. I am considering reverting to standard length arms and tilting the board when I fit my new engine, let me know how you get on.
Stan

 

[Ronald_M]

Tranona/StanD - thanks.

My boat has a reverse transom - thus the outboard mounting pad's top edge tilts towards the boat's bows. This tilt is perhaps some 5 degrees from vertical. My engine is a Honda BF5. In order for this engine's propellor to be aligned horizontally to the surface of the water, the mounting pad would have to be vertical, or even have a slight backward slant. Thus I will need to tilt the mounting pad backwards by some 5 - 10 degrees from where it is now. There is a variable rake adjustment provided with the engine, but this only allows the propellor to be tilted away from the boat - the wrong direction! The neatest solution to the problem would be to make a new mounting pad with mounting holes drilled through at an accurate angle, but I do not possess the equipment to do this. My plan is that the top pair of mounting bolts be replaced with much longer ones. These bolts will pass through the wooden pad and be secured with a lock nut bearing down on the opposite face of the board. These bolts will then be similarly secured to the steel mounting frame with lock nuts either side. Thus it should be possible to fine-tune the rake angle by adjusting the position of these latter nuts. That all this make sense?! It has yet to be discovered whether or not the taper washers that I have just ordered from A2A4 will be of the correct angle! Wish me luck!

Ron.

 

[VicS]

If it were mine

I would mount it with tapered wooden (teak or similar hardwood) spacers between the bracket and transom so that it ended up as near as possible vertical. I would not bother with tapered washers on the inside of the transom. I would use tapered wooden pads (stuck in place with a bit of plastic padding) to true things up for the nuts and ordinary penny washers to spread the load.

The alternative I might consider would be to use tapered hardwood spacers between the "pad" and the bracket and then the tapered washers under the nuts on the bots that secure the pad to the bracket.

I cannot see any problem with the second idea but the first is what I would do.

I would not mess about making it so that it can be "fine tuned" That's an unnecessary complication IMO. If it is vertical and fixed that will be absolutely fine.

BTW assuming this is going on a small sailing boat I hope your engine is a "longshaft" version because if it is not you will have difficulty keeping the prop in the water in a chop. The secret is to mount a long shaft engine on a bracket positioned for a standard shaft model, or only a little higher, so that the prop is deeper than it really should be. (no it does not make the engine difficult to start)

Also try to position the bracket so that there is nothing that prevents the engine from being tilted. On my boat one of the pushpit rail uprights is in the way. Because the prop is deep there is not sufficient lift on the bracket to get it totally out of the water without tilting it. In practice I have two pins for the rake adjustment of the motor. One is fixed in the normal running position the other is the original movable one which I insert to give the maximum rake in lieu of the normal tilt position. It just leaves the tip of the skeg and a bit of one prop blade in the water.