outboard motors in well

[jolabeach]

wonder if anyone has a solution to my problem. i have a 9.8 hp 2 stroke mounted in a well. the trouble is lifting it in and out is not good for my back. i have a crude bracket that lifts the motor clear of the water in the well cutout. but its a bit awkward and is near impossible for one person. I thought i saw somewhere where the outboard was on a sliding system that could lower the motor or lift it. does anyone have any ideas or pictures so i could get some idea to make up such a system. cheers rob

[woodsy]

You could try a 2 to 1 pulley attached directly above it to the boom.

[woodsy]

This would be just to lift it onto the bracket. Obviously cant be left in place for sailing!

[Shaun]

Hi Rob, There are a number of sliding arrangements and a few photos floating around of them, maybe there is some in the gallery. I'll have a look over the weekend at some files I have that im sure there are some photos.
Another cruder option is to winch the OB up off the backstay with a block & tackle, & lash it to the pushpit, clear of the water, with the odd packer of foam to protect the OB & boat.

Think im going to move my OB off the transom to the well sooner or later.
cheers

[Troppo]

Rob, my outboard is lifted using 3 left over sailing pulleys one of which is a double. This gives a 2:1 reduction. The outboard, which came with Windchaser and I consider too big, is a 18 hp 2 stroke Tohatsu and with electric start weighs in at close to 50 kgs. It does not fit very well in the well even though a part of the well has been enlarged. Consequently, when hauling the motor up, I have to sometimes haul with one hand and jiggle the motor with the other so it does not get stuck.

When I first bought Windchaser, the pulley system was not in place and obviously I was not shown how to haul up the motor. At first after I got some pulleys and rope, I found it almost impossible. And frustrating. After a while of doing it, it became much easier. I normally have no problem now. It was tricky after I seriously injured my left hand. Used one hand and cleated off the rope after hauling in a little. Bit by bit and I got there.

I don't pull the motor up when using the sails. Some nights on anchor I don't pull the motor up if I am thinking there is a chance of dragging the anchor or maybe needing to get away quickly.

With the pulleys, I have a high solar panel bracket going over the motor to which I have tied the top two pulleys. The rope I use is 8 mm, I think, three ply silver rope but I think a braided rope would be easier to grip and handle. The rope exits one of the pulleys on the solar panel bracket so I am hauling down on the rope to pull the motor up. [I have tried various set-ups for the pulleys.] With the motor, I use a short rope as a sling which the double pulley is attached to. Changing the point where the pulley sits above the motor changes the way the motor lifts up [eg have the point to the back of the motor and the motor head tries to tilt forward and the leg tries to tilt back.]. So, I have found the best position in my situation for the position of the pulley on the the motor to give the cleanest lift.

Once I have lifted the motor, I cleat the rope and then insert a board across the seats that I lower and clamp the motor to.

When I put the motor down and am motoring along, I have the rope hanging from the pulleys wrapped around the solar panel stay on the side and held there out of the way with a quick lashing. I don't take down the rope and pulleys as they sit fine tied to the side of the frame.

Over time as I fiddled with my set up and got used to it, my frustration levels ebbed and I found lifting the motor much easier. Using pulleys may not be for everyone but for some folk, a bit of experimenting and fiddling and practice can work out quite good.

troppo

[jolabeach]

thanks guys for ideas.i will work on it. might be easier to anti foul the outboard leg and leave it in well. bit worried about the water intake getting blocked with barnacles.a boat next to me leaves his motor in the water all the time don't know how long the outboard leg would last .My wife seems to think a new motor every couple of years is better than a wrecked back. does anybody leave the prop in the drink. cheers rob.

[Troppo]

A mate used to leave his outboard in the water. River is mostly fresh. As soon as the salt moved back up, creatures built up inside the water intake. Not good for his motor.

Pity there is not a simple light handwinch to pull the motor up. Needs the right size frame over the well, like the solar panel frame on Windchaser.

Back problems are definitely best avoided.

troppo

[Phillip]

Rob,

Get a bag made up that you can put the bottom of the leg in.
Should exclude all light.
Just make sure you pull it up tight as a flapping bag will wear your anti-fouling off.

[Ianb]

Some previous discussion:
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1797&p=11272&hilit=outboard+well#p11272

[Tales]

Hi Rob,
Bonnie Lass and Sombrero both have motor lifting slides which work very well.

Bonnie Lass.jpg (357.16 KiB) Viewed 5441 times

Sombrero.JPG (139.65 KiB) Viewed 5441 times

Cheers,

Tom