Transom Saver - Yes or No

[Hunter]

Just so not to hijack Crabby Pauls recent new member thread, I thought we could move this subject to another room.  In this article below by BoatUS, it seems that the rest of the world is really not much different than all the fine folks on this forum..   Some like the TS and some don't for various reasons.  I personally am in the NO camp but after educating myself a bit more I can at least better understand the YES camp...

And like my dad told me.... "Never be so stubborn that having your mind changed can never be an option." 

https://www.boatus.com/expert-advice/expert-advice-archive/2013/april/who-needs-a-transom-saver

[DARice]

Thanks for the article, Hunter.

Dave

[fishmeister]

Thanks for posting this Hunter.  Interesting article.  It looks like folks disagree on this topic beyond this forum too.  Discussion is a good thing, even if we disagree, as long as it's kept respectful.

I did get a transom saver soon after buying my boat.  I'll admit that I didn't really do a lot of research into them.  Until I bought my SH 3 years ago, the largest boat that I had owned was my 12' Lund.  This boat was definitely a "major purchase" for me (and continues to be one  ) and my biggest concern was protecting it.  So, I was "easily influenced" into buying the transom saver. (In other words, I fell for an advertisement.)

I don't have the ground clearance to trailer my boat with the motor tilted/trimmed down.  I have to trailer with the motor partially tilted.  This means that there is the potential for added bounce forces on my transom vs. if the motor was tilted/trimmed all the way down.  (At least I think that is the case.  I could be wrong.)

After seeing the info that has been presented recently....If I were able to trailer with the motor all the way down, I'd be inclined to ditch the transom saver completely.  But, for now anyway, I'll continue to use it most of the time.  I do skip the transom saver for the 10-minute drive to the launch when fishing the Skagit River.

I don't use a transom saver on my kicker (Not sure that would even be possible for my set up).  That motor rarely even gets tilted at all (I raise/lower the bracket instead.).  I do, however, use a ratchet strap around a railing support to cinch the motor up nice and tight against the transom.  It eliminates almost all of the "bounce" that the kicker bracket would otherwise allow.

As I've stated before....Opinions are like A$$h0!es.  Everyone has one and they all stink sometimes (I'm no exception).

So, to wrap up my 1-cent (inflation took the other one)....I'll continue to use my transom saver most of the time.  But, I can certainly understand the arguments from "the other camp" and respect those opinions.

[Omega3]

No.

[disposable]

this is my line of thinking, i'd bet a dollar i'm wrong so help me out, but it's kind of my settled position after bouncing around for years...

when i bought my boat i went to meet my local honda dealer for a once-over and some guidance. he told me honda recommendation is to keep the motor firmly trimmed down onto the "kick stand" while driving, and as plumb as possible while parked/stored. (EDIT: it appears this could be a mistake, as a similar manual says the exact opposite... soo... IDK) years later, my buddy (who's built some boats) told me "a transom is a way to mount a boat onto a motor; if you don't trust it to hold your motor on the road you probably shouldn't trust it to hold your boat on the water... you should focus on preserving your hydraulics and outboard, but if you're worried about your transom you should probably stay out of the water" and i thought that was a cool way to think about it. so here's my journey:

early on, i adopted the steering stops to save my hydraulic steering (which used to leak a lot of fluid back then)... and i also didn't like the way the motor would sag sideways and look all limp while driving. warning, don't forget these or you will make a big dumdum trying to leave the launch ramp. ask me how i know.

i've followed my boat a few thousand mexico miles, and in my own experience, the outboard/kick stand works fairly well for driving, except when you catch big potholes, when the outboard flies *up* and settles down kinda harshly. in light of this, i've added a strap from one transom eye, over the outboard lower, to the opposite eye when i am towing longer distances.

then, over the years, i've had two separate sets of leaky ram seals, and someone suggested that lowering the motor onto the kick stand might start those leaks (like, you press down until you hear the little whine/screech and then let go, but all those repetitive instances add up)... plus the nearly-horizontal position you get with the kickstand puts too much weight in the motor well, and perhaps, contributes to the bouncing... so the better position has the motor just barely more upright, creating more balance over the transom... so i've stopped using the kick stand and instead use one of those "over-the-ram" rubber doohickies. so far so good with that. i believe a wood block would work equally well here.

personally, i don't use a trailer-mounted outboard brace... just don't want more holes in my trailer, but i could be persuaded. i've seen these on smaller boats, valcos and power skiffs, and they seemed fine, but what do i know. i am fairly confident my straps unify the boat to the trailer, and i'm fairly confident saying the biggest movements are not boat-vs-trailer but outboard-vs-boat.

[oldsurfer]

Yes i have used them on every boat with an outboard for years but not          if it's 20-30 minutes to the ramp I won't use it.that's how I do it's just a part of my process

[Wiley]

I used one on my old aluminum Tracker with the big heavy outboard. It seemed feasible for that boat. The Arima has an etec and they come with a flip down motor support, I use that. I do like disposable's idea of the strap over the top though, makes sense too.

[DARice]

i'm fairly confident saying the biggest movements are not boat-vs-trailer but outboard-vs-boat.

This is my thinking, and observation, as well.

I admit that, at times, I don't drive gently over uneven pavement traversing the Oregon coast range and up to mountain lakes. I've added a second set of bunks to distribute the weight of the boat over a larger supporting structure and firmly strap the boat to the trailer--the trailer frame and boat move together (except when the bow winch strap thaws out in transit after an ice storm and creates a bit of slack, DOH!).

Torsion trailer suspension works well--that's where most of the movement happens. I use a transom saver to prevent the motor from bouncing too much when I effectively target a pothole or offset in the road.

I readily admit that another solution to keep the motor from bouncing would work, but that's how the PO had it rigged. I'm skeptical that the relatively small movement between the trailer frame and the boat would be problematic with a transom saver, but welcome evidence.

Dave

[Hunter]

I think that a transom saver that has a "piston" or "cushioning" component as apposed to a static unforgiving "stick" would be preferable.

[Yachter Yat]

  It would take a bit of research to discover exactly when outboard motor manufacturers started printing this disclaimer in their manuals.....meaning, the one relating to having to add additional support to the motor when trailering. All I can say is, I never recall any sort of instruction in the manuals for any of the outboards I purchased years ago. Personally, I think it's horseshit, and although I couldn't prove it, I suspect this disclaimer might have had something to do with the manufacturers' way of "pre-absolving themselves" from the potential litigation of any damage that could have been caused by their own "trailer locking" devices.

  In all the years I've been trailering boats with outboards (since 1976), I've never once used anything but the factory trailer locks to support my motors. I would simply bring the motors down till they touched, then add just a slight amount of additional hydro pressure. I never.....I repeat NEVER, had a problem with either the motors OR the transoms on my boats, using these factory locks. To reiterate, I would never connect my motor to my trailer. That said, if I ever bought a motor whose trailer lock (IMO) appeared to be a bit too "flimsy" to support itself, I would go for something similar to that rubber sleeve that surrounds the tilt piston. I would make sure it's long enough to keep the motor at least as high as what it would be when on the factory locks. As Hunter suggested:  I also believe having a bit of "cushioning" could prove to be a smart choice.

   And BTW, notice how all these devices don't seem to focus on saving your "outboard". No!.... They're called "transom" savers. So, let's see: First the motor manufacturers (somewhere along the way) start telling us our motors need "protecting" from their own support device........then, these enterprising individuals come along and tell us, our "transoms" need protecting. Do the people making these devices really expect us to believe both the motors and transoms we invest in are so poorly designed and built?  What the hell! I think we should at least give 'em credit for being so enterprising. Only wish I had thought of it.
 
Yat 

[Fisherdv]

I use the My-wedge support for my motor. It's mostly to protect the tilt/trim hydraulics. I have never used a transom saver.

Here is a pic from my Honda 60 owners manual.....seems like they DO recommend using one. Or, maybe they are suggesting to use one to tilt the motor up if you don't have a tilt/trim system on smaller motors?

[christianbrat]

i was gonna say... my BF90 Manual shows the same graphic as above. It also explicitly says not to use the maintenance kick stands (the flip down trim locks) while trailering, which folks in the other thread also recommended doing...

[Barnaclebob]

I don't have the ground clearance to trailer my boat with the motor tilted/trimmed down.  I have to trailer with the motor partially tilted.  This means that there is the potential for added bounce forces on my transom vs. if the motor was tilted/trimmed all the way down.  (At least I think that is the case.  I could be wrong.)

Id think that trailering with the motor up actually puts less bending load on the transom because the weight is more balanced directly over the transom.

I also wouldnt want a hard link between my motor and the trailer because bouncing would put stress on the trim actuator.

[disposable]

i was gonna say... my BF90 Manual shows the same graphic as above. It also explicitly says not to use the maintenance kick stands (the flip down trim locks) while trailering, which folks in the other thread also recommended doing...

bonkers, exact opposite of the dealer I spoke to. will make note in my entry earlier in this thread.

[croaker stroker]

Agree. Bonkers. 

As a comparison, here's what the Evinrude manual says. 

[Yachter Yat]

   "Pre-absolving" of litigation, if I ever saw it. 

Yat

[Omega3]

My question would be,where does the energy go after the very limited travel of the suspension is exceeded?Does the solid lever attached to the trailer transfer that energy to the outboard to which it is attached.Arima transoms are not riveted aluminum boat transoms hence the very few documented failures of Arima transoms.

[croaker stroker]

"Pre-absolving" of litigation, if I ever saw it. 

Yat

I held back, but that's what I was thinking too....

"If your rotten transom falls off on the freeway, it's not our fault....use a transom saver."

[Hunter]

After reading all of this and doing some additional research in my own, I won't be trailering any more with the tilt support bracket engaged on my Honda 250.  I also won't ever be using a Transom Saver.  So that leaves me with the My Wedge or my hunk of 4 X 4.  My Wedge makes the most sense......but I'll still be keeping my hunk of 4 x 4 in case I get a flat!   

[croaker stroker]

I got motivated one day.  

http://www.arimaowners.com/index.php?action=gallery;su=user;cat=421;u=6

[AJFishin]

Regarding the Evinrude motors, the bracket looks the same as what was on my 87' 90 Johnson motor and that bracket is solid made and is more designed to support the motor when trailering than any other outboard I've had.

My Suzuki bracket I don't think would last on a hour long trip supporting the motor and Suzuki specifically says do not use, but to use a transom save or similar device to support the weight of the motor. Suzuki made theirs so slim and out of 1/8" aluminum (pointed out in my picture) I think it was to discourage its use with trailing.

I have yet to look in a manual for my 115 Mercury, but I would think it says something similar to Suzuki's.

I have use the My wedge on my old Yamaha and now I use the universal block my wedge on my Mercury single shaft that was suggested to me from the company and I've had no issues.

[Yachter Yat]

  PLEASE PAY ATTENTION TO AJ'S LAST PIC OF THAT SUZUKI.  See.....this is "not" how you want to leave your motor when trailering.  It should be obvious, trailering with the motor at such a vertical angle will impose a substantial amount of stress on the transom. For lack of better words, it will have more of a tendency to want to "peel" that transom off the boat. As we all should understand, coming down from a bump in the road will "increase" the weight of that motor.......over and over again.

    I think anyone paranoid enough to have to employ some kind of motor support, while trailering, might do best to consider one made of rubber that fits either around the tilt cylinder, or in place of the factory locks. And once again, this device should ensure that the motor sits close enough to "level" so as to balance the majority of its weight "vertically" on the transom. 

  Another point you might want to give some thought to is how the trailer itself, in concert with the boat hull, serves to cancel-out a certain amount of road disturbance. To begin with, these trailers have (what I call) "give". The rails, crossmembers, roller assemblies all have a certain amount of ability to "flex". If they didn't, they'd probably break, and in fairly short order.  Additionally, your hull bottom also has a certain amount of "give".  Consequently, it should be obvious, that a fair amount of vibration and disturbance (immediately experienced by the trailer), is probably cancelled-out, and really never gets to the motor. 

  So once again, I have to stand by my initial comments regarding tying an outboard to a trailer. I can only speculate (at this point) that these manufacturers might have begun advising against trailering with their own locking devices, solely for the purpose of avoiding any potential litigation.  That said, why they chose to suggest, and visually display, in their manual, an alternative that (IMO) is perhaps the worst of all options, is still a mystery.  

Yat 

 

[christianbrat]

lol imma just keep doing what every single manufacturer (with teams of engineers) suggests.

[Fisherdv]

This kinda reminds me of when I take my car into a small oil change/service shop. They always fill any car, no matter what the make or model, or what the manufacturer suggests, to 35psi in the tires. My Toyota Corolla commuter cars factory sticker says 30psi f/r. Last time they filled my tires to 36psi, and I told them, no, fill to maybe 32/33psi, and that the manufacturer of the car says 30psi. About 3 of their guys started debating on why the OEM sticker is wrong.

I guess these guys know better than the Toyota engineers do. 

[AJFishin]

In the above picture with my Suzuki motor is with the motor almost all the way down when parked (bow is raised very high) as I keep my motors down when not in use. Neither the bracket or the wedge was installed.

The first picture below is the minute I got my new motor on my SC16 (that I miss a lot) and before installing the wedge, so the motor is resting on the motor bracket.
The next 2 pictures are with the my-wedge installed and the motors lowered down onto wedge. On my SC16 the motor is lower then when on the wedge then when resting on the bracket, same goes for my Mercury.

As for my boat moving on my trailer, not an inch. I make sure my transom straps are tight, the bow is against the bow stop, and is tied down with a bow strap.