"Transom Saver" on a sneakbox rig

Jay K

Jay K

Active member
Do any of you gentlemen run transom savers on your trailer setups? I have a fiberglass Higbee with a 15hp 2 stroke Johnson. The transom was cracked and had damage. I repaired it with an aluminum plate. It is looking great and stable but I want to prevent further damage.

I trailer with my motor completely down. I'm looking to add an Attwood transom saver braced to the lower cross bracket to brace for bumps in the road. The trailer jumps a little over bumps and I've witnessed my motor flipping a little. I was thinking of adding this to take the stress off my motor pad/transom. Have you guys had any success with this sort of setup? I think I will need to cut and modify the transom saver but it can be done.
 
I do use a transom savor on my ZTW. I did have to slightly angle it to avoid the skeg. For long trips, 7-8 hrs to the coast, I?ve always removed the motor and placed it the back of my truck. One key thing is to remember to remove it before you launch. Just saying and no it was not me!
 
Darin Clark said:
I do use a transom savor on my ZTW. I did have to slightly angle it to avoid the skeg. For long trips, 7-8 hrs to the coast, I?ve always removed the motor and placed it the back of my truck. One key thing is to remember to remove it before you launch. Just saying and no it was not me!
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Darin,

That was the other option, remove the motor and transport that way. I may still elect to do that for long transit trips. Then use the transom saver for short trips.

Any disadvantages of the transom saver in your opinion? Other than having to remove it prior to launch. Also, mine would probably sit somewhere between the gear housing and where the lower unit connects to the middle portion.
 
I use one and would highly recommend it to relieve stress on the transom. That's probably what damaged your in the first place.

Jon
 
Okay, I have to ask why you trailer with the motor down? I was taught that you trailered motor up to reduce the transom stress and reduce the risk of road damage. Now understand that I was not taught by an expert just a friend that knew I little more then I did. Please educate.
 
I was told never to trailer with the motor up, that it?s less secure and the bouncing places different stress on the transom than they are designed for. Always trailer with the motor down and locked. Or with a TS.
 
David Allen said:
Okay, I have to ask why you trailer with the motor down? I was taught that you trailered motor up to reduce the transom stress and reduce the risk of road damage. Now understand that I was not taught by an expert just a friend that knew I
little more then I did. Please educate.
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When you say "motor up " , my response is, what size motor? How far "up"? What is supporting the motor in that position?

Reason I ask is because it makes a difference. Some of my rigs the motor is resting against a transom saver bracket. The bracket provides the support and elevates the skeg for road clearance.

Other rigs where road clearance is not an issue, the motor is down resting directly against the motor bracket .
 
This really doesn't answer the original poster and question.

Sam Devlin told me on the boats that I made, there is no reason for a transom saver. My motors are up in transit. The Yamaha's have a flip down locking bracket that holds the motor up. ( 2-50 hp and 1-60) This have hydraulic tilt/trim. I personally think that you reduce the possibility of hitting obstacles with your prob and lower unit when the are up (unless you wife backs into it of course) I also think it distributes the weight better.
 
Darin and Jon somewhat addressed the reason. Couple points, I have a 2nd or 3rd generation Higbee. The builder redesigned the top half of the boat with a different motor mount that is considerably less resilient than earlier generations. As a result, it cracked at the corners. I did not see this when I bought the boat as the cracks were painted over. I had to reinforce the motor mount with a 1/4" custom bent aluminum bracket. The transom is now sturdy. However, in recently trailering, I noticed my motor violently "flipping" as I went over bumps. I imagine this couldn't be good for the transom at all. I actually trailer with the motor down as I have at least 12" possibly 18" of clearance. My goal with the transom saver is just to stabilizer the motor over bumps in the road.

I may create another solution and use a bungee cord to secure the motor from "flipping."
 
All you have to do is follow one of these little boats, (with motor mounted, of course), down a bumpy road to witness the motor thrash about on the back of the transom. That cannot be good for ANY boat transom.

Jon
 
I have always used a transom saver to take most of the stress off of the transom both during transport and storage. I look at it this way. Next time your driving down a bumpy road stick your arm straight out to the side. Your arm is the motor and your shoulder is the transom. After trying to hold your arm straight out for a minute rest it on the top of the passenger seat. The passenger seat is the "tansom saver". Do you need one? That is up to you. I see it as a cheap way of making my boat last longer without repairs. I will say this about storing the motor in the up position. When it gets below freezing out I lift the motor up and then down again and more water always drains out of it. I do this this to minimize water in the motor that can freeze. Do I need to. I don't know but it makes me feel better. I currently have a 25hp Etec and built a custom piece on the end of my attwood transom saver that secures the lower unit better than the piece that came on it. Also My buddy has a 90hp Yamaha with a jet and always stored his motor in the down position since clearance was not a problem until he had to rebuild his transom, now he uses a transom saver.
 
Steve Stevenson said:
A combination of both (TS and strap) would be my choice. Also, if your boat is bouncing it needs to be strapped down tighter in my opinion
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Steve,

It's strapped down really well. It's actually the whole trailer that's bouncing. When that happens, it takes the motor and flips it up against the positive stop. Then it slams back down with force on the transom.
 
Jay K said:
Steve Stevenson said:
A combination of both (TS and strap) would be my choice. Also, if your boat is bouncing it needs to be strapped down tighter in my opinion
Click to expand...

Steve,

It's strapped down really well. It's actually the whole trailer that's bouncing. When that happens, it takes the motor and flips it up against the positive stop. Then it slams back down with force on the transom.
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Why is the motor flipping upward? Does the latch not hold it in the down position when the motor's gear box is in reverse? Are you leaving the gear box in neutral or forward rather than reverse?
 
Would it be fair to assume that there are a few variable, such as boat size/weight, motor size and if it has hydraulic tilt/trim, and proper sizing of the trailer? I agree that the smaller sneak boats bounce a lot. They also tend to have a smaller motor, that lack t/t typically. If they trailer is actually sized to the boat, and the boat is straped down, the entire rig is moving as one, and the suspension on the trailer SHOULD be absorbing the impact. They transoms on a new boat are strong and solid. Some marinas, pick boats up with straps, other use the bow and stern anchor points to lift.

I can't say that I have ever seen motors bouncing on big boats. And our road in Iowa are not that smooth!!!! :)

I realize I am asking, not for direct issue of the original post, just in general. I think on a small boat, especially one that is known to have a issue with the transom, I would use a TS.
 
Dave,

It has a positive latch on the tilt. It's always latched but the problem is there is some "play". In other words, even with the motor latched to not tilt, it can still swing up an inch or so. A friend of mine said he bungees the lower unit to the trailer. He said his did the same thing while trailering. The trailer hits a bump and the motor will "flip" up against the latch and bump back down. Makes me cringe.

Phil,

It's pretty appropriately sized. It's enough room to fit the boat safely as well as mount a jack and spare tire mount to the tongue. Its just the nature of the boat. It's extremely light. All fiberglass with a foam core. I watch the whole suspension hop over larger bumps. I could perhaps change out the springs in the future to something softer.
 
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