26X, Kicker Mount

[mallardjusted]

I'm thinking of installing a kicker mount on the starboard stern of my X. The install should be like Duane Dunn did on his. He has 3 pics of that on his mod, but I was wondering if anyone else has done this on their X. Is there anything specific I should be wary of? Did you put a support plate or brackets behind the mount?

I have sent email/pm's to Duane for more details over the last couple weeks, but haven't heard back yet. BTW, the current o/b I'm thinking of using is either my 5 Suzuki (47 lbs) or my 8 yamaha (60 lbs), both long-shaft.

[mallardjusted]

bth, this is Duane's install:

http://www.macgregorsailors.com/cgi-bin ... record=427

[Frank C]

Duane has been out cruising on his 26X.
Watch for his comments when time permits.

[Duane Dunn, Allegro]

mallardjusted

You should find a PM response.

We got back yesterday from 4 days out in Puget Sound, two nights in the Poulsbo Marina and one night at the Brownsville marina. A nice little winter outing for my wife and I, our 3 boys and 2 dogs.

I just used fender washers on the inside. The transom is quite heavy and these seemed to be all that was needed for support.

The only thing to watch for is the panel about 3" behind the transom wall in which you install the access plate. you want to make sure your bolts don't line up with where this panel tee's into the transom. I got lucky and just missed although it was a bit hard to get a couple of the nuts on the bolts. If I had it to do again I would go about and inch further outboard.

[Chip Hindes]

From a previous post:

My 4HP dinghy motor can power the big boat at about 5 knots through the water. But it's also it's quite a big PITA to get it right and it only works well in fairly favorable conditions.

The transom is surprisingly thin, 1/4" to more more than 3/8" in that location. IMO it was far too flexible to support the weight of the motor alone, let alone the motor driving the boat. I cut a hole for a 6" deck plate on the inside of the transom in order to get access behind where it was to be bolted. There is a lot of foam in that recess and stiffening ribs right through the middle of that area so I pulled out the foam in pieces and fabricated a two piece backer plate out of aluminum. Even with the large hole for the deck plate I couldn't reach past the ribs to put the nuts on the bottom mounting bolts, so I had to put those on from inside. Put as much of the foam back in before I put the deck plate on.

This first time I mounted the bracket I followed the instructions that came with it and ended up with the cavitation plate too high and a ventilation problem. I moved it down several inches, had to plug the holes, and it now works marginally well.

However, with its off center location, if the boat heels to port for nearly any reason, from windage on the side of the boat, to slightly off center weight distribution, crossing a wake, whatever, the motor will ventilate. And even with 11.5 inches travel on the bracket, in the up position if the boat heels more than a few degrees to starboard, the motor will drag.

It works, it might save my butt in an emergency as long as conditions are favorable (but isn't that the antithesis of "emergency?") I'm not sure I can recommend it.

**********
Update:
Here's a pretty decent phot of mine in the up position




I don't have a clue what Duane's talking about "the transom is quite heavy". See my statement above; I found it surprisingly thin. Even with two good sized backing plates just the weight of the 60 lb HP Nissan flexes the transom quite a lot; smaller motor (or a two stroke) would be better in this area.

[mallardjusted]

Thanks for the insights, guys. It sounds like if I go this route I'd be better off using the 2-stroke 5hp, at 47 lbs.

Chip, are using a short or long shaft? And when you said putting the bolts on the inside, I assume you mean from inside the cabin?

Thanks again.

[Chip Hindes]

Yes, I had to crawl under the cockpit and stick me hand way up inside the transom to put the nuts on.

Mine's a short shaft because it's really my dinghy motor, but short shaft or long shaft makes no difference because you can mount the bracket so the motor is at the right height. What's more important is the travel of the bracket; mine's eleven-some inches and it isn't enough to put the motor in the water when down, and still get it alll the way out of the water when up.

[kmclemore]

Yes, I had to crawl under the cockpit and stick me hand way up inside the transom to put the nuts on....

Did you say "Turn your head and cough, please" as you put them on?



(Sorry... I could't resist.)

[Snowdancer]

Hi Mallardjusted? I am purchasing a yamaha 2018 F70LA to replace my Tohatsu 50D too. Are the throttle and shifter cables reusable? Original length was 13 feet. Did you go smaller or bigger.
Please advise any issues and reinforcement requirements. Please send bolting requirements and photos
.
Regarding kicker my buddy installed a 15 inch travel and added a plastic cutting board to flush it up. .

[mallardjusted]

Snowdancer, I sent some answers to your pm just a little bit ago. I had someone do the install so I don't know about the length. They did have to use new cables since I went from a Suzi 50to a Yammie 70. And, no reinforcements were needed. The Yamaha F70 is not that much heavier than the 50 it replaced.

Your 15" travel on the kicker mount should be better than the original mount I had when I used the 6hp kicker.

[Tomfoolery]

And, no reinforcements were needed. The Yamaha F70 is not that much heavier than the 50 it replaced.

Just remember that the weight of the OB is only a small part of the load imparted to the transom. My 50 HP Honda, which will push the boat at around 16 mph, exerts nearly 1000 lb of force at the center of the prop when the boat is at speed. That's assuming 60% prop efficiency (thrust at speed to total shaft hp), which is somewhere in the neighborhood.

There's a lot of moment at the engine mount with the prop that far below it. And it adds to the moment the weight of the OB at some small distance abaft the mount causes.

[mallardjusted]

Tomfoolery, the reasons for recommending the original 50 hp engines by McGregor never listed weight vs hp vs transom issues. Bluewater Yachts used to install 70 Suzies on Ms. I'm not sure, they may have added something for those, but then again they were 70 or so lbs heavier than a Yamaha F70.