Reply To: Johnson / Evinrude Trailering Tilt pin

[need2fish]

If I may opine….

I see many weekenders bouncing down the interstate with their motors tilted up high. As I follow them I see each dip in the road followed by a bob of the outboard lower unit. Sometimes the drivers are well over the speed limits, causing more vigorous bobbing.

I’m sure that up-and-down action flexes the transom, tilt mech and possibly the clamps. I acknowledge that similar flexing occurs when the boat is on the water, but I can’t help but be concerned about what all that out-of-water torquing does to the structural health of my boats. My family has a gorgeous Gt150 Glastron (James Bond) boat whose transom needs constant attention because of the years it’s been trailered about with the motor up (yes, the 115 hp OMC adds to the problem) and my ’65 Shell Lake had to have a 1/4 sheet of aluminum epoxied to the transom. Again, I believe the stresses of highway trailering with the motor up played a big part in the structural issues.

I get it — no one wants to bang their l/u on the pavement, but when I look at the clearance between the bottom of the skeg, there’s often a foot or more. The tilt locks were meant for beaching a boat or berthing it in shallow water. IMHO we should be advising anyone we see with the motor up that they are risking damage to their boat.

….. Sound of Ken stepping off his soapbox…..