Reply To: Engine Transom height

[David Stanton]

Interesting way of measuring! …..that’s the first time I’ve seen 3-fingers used to measure anything except filling a glass of ice with whiskey!

Ideally, you want to have the cavitation plate below a center keel on the hull due to turbulence caused by the keel, so if there is no center keel (or anything else hanging from the center of the hull), you can usually have the plate pretty much even with the hull.

I’ve noticed Johnsons/Evinrudes form the 1950s on up that I’ve measured give you about 18 inches from transom to cavitation plate for a short shaft motor, and this allows approx 3 inches to get far enough below a center keel.

Dave