Outboard position

[frank]

Hi Everyone.
When !!......... I get my Top Hat I have the option of altering my transom to position the outboard in a well (trade skills) I sailed a Nolex 25 a few times and hated the noise and fumes. So would like to hear people's thoughts on a transom well mounted , not a bracket , but a proper well cut into the transom. Do you think in open water the position would be prone to too much submersion and better cockpit well mounted ? I want to sail to Tassie so I'm thinking it would I personally don't like the look but could live with it if I can be rid of most of the noise and smell, I think the cockpit would look neater also. Thanks, Frank.

[Troppo]

Hi Frank, there has been a bit of discussion on outboards in the past, you may find some answers in these threads:

http://www.tophatyachts.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1797&hilit=outboard

http://www.tophatyachts.com/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=1778&hilit=outboard

To answer your questions quickly: My outboard-in-well hardly ever fumigates me. Not enough to be a problem. Maybe the breeze keeps the exhaust from filling the cockpit. The noise gets a tad wearisome at times. The motor is a 18 hp Tohatsu 2 stroke and I most often run it under 1/2 throttle which is quiet for a 2 stroke. Darn good motor just too big. Easy to reach in the well. The motor in well takes up precious cockpit space.

Others have said they practically never have any cavitation with outboard over the stern.

troppo

[Shaun]

Hi Frank,
My outboard is on a good Tenob bracket on the transom, im not happy with it.
The controls are too far away, when you need to go between fwd & rev quickly in close quarters, suppose I could get remotes for that. It also heavily cavitates when going across bars which I have to do on the Mid Nth coast NSW. I should have installed the bracket another 60mm lower. You may have the same issues if you do the major surgery of building a well of sorts into the transom. I don't think your custom well would suffer from much submersion in seas under 3m.
Don't know how it would effect the structural integrity of the transom though.??

I prefer them in the cockpit well. You can also swivel them in the well, giving much tighter turning circles.
I had an outboard in the well of a previous TH, & the secondary exhaust(just under the rear of the engine housing) had a tiny timber plug in it, preventing most of the exhaust fumes in the cockpit, it didn't seem to worry the performance of the OB at all.
Maybe a box with sound insulation built around the OB in the well would reduce the noise enough?
cheers

[Phillip]

"Don't know how it would effect the structural integrity of the transom though.??"

The Transom on Seaka is 13mm thick.

The Mark 2 & 3 should be similar.

[frank]

Thanks everyone. I suppose ill just get a good pair of ear muffs and see about diverting some of the fumes as best I can. I remember reading on here about a foam / rubber gasket that the motor was pushed through and kept the fumes below it. Anyway food for thought.

[Miker]

Unlike Shaun's cavitation problems, I have a bracket over the back and a short leg Tohatsu 8 four stroke. It's mounted as low as possible, and the only time it cavitates is when I'm alone and walk to the front, but only then in a short chop. I've had it come out once or twice at The Swansea bar, again, on a NE swell, and an outgoing tide. Almost all of the time, it's perfectly fine.

Shaun, I have a 30mm x 400mm piece of PVC water pipe over the gearshift to help me get it into gear. Again, not ideal, but way less expensive than the morse controls.

[Troppo]

When it comes to positioning the outboard, you can put it anywhere you like.

Just some places are better than others.

In my opinion, which don't count for much, I find the back of the boat better than the front. On the front and running in reverse the benefit is you can see clearly where you are going. When you run into something like a rock or sandbank or log or canoe, you can see it before you hit it. With the motor at the back you sometimes have to run forward up the deck to see what you have struck.

Just thinking about it, maybe with my motor at the back of Windchaser if I start going everywhere in reverse it will give me the advantage of seeing what I am about to hit. Yup, just decided to go everywhere in reverse. Going backwards has a strong connection to local history. We had a politician who once walked backwards from Rockhampton to Emerald, a distance of 270 km. Maybe going backwards is becoming the new forwards. Seems like it with the economy.

troppo

[frank]

When it comes to positioning the outboard, you can put it anywhere you like.

Just some places are better than others.

In my opinion, which don't count for much, I find the back of the boat better than the front. On the front and running in reverse the benefit is you can see clearly where you are going. When you run into something like a rock or sandbank or log or canoe, you can see it before you hit it. With the motor at the back you sometimes have to run forward up the deck to see what you have struck.

Just thinking about it, maybe with my motor at the back of Windchaser if I start going everywhere in reverse it will give me the advantage of seeing what I am about to hit. Yup, just decided to go everywhere in reverse. Going backwards has a strong connection to local history. We had a politician who once walked backwards from Rockhampton to Emerald, a distance of 270 km. Maybe going backwards is becoming the new forwards. Seems like it with the economy.

troppo

Haha I think you've been too long at sea.

[Troppo]

. . . . .ike it with the economy.

troppo

Haha I think you've been too long at sea.

Hehehe, Frank, I think you are right.

Too long at sea and I got water on the brain. Or something.

Maybe I got water instead of brain.

Freaking hot sultry weather today, not a breath of air and cloudy and sweat dripping down my back just from the effort of typing the keyboard. It's like other times just before we get massive tropical downpours and floods.

troppo
who is feeling the tropical weather a bit much today