Motor Tie Down

[mark24]

Why do racers tie down their lower units to the transom? I run this classic model with a '53 Hurricane short shaft. is it in the event the motor kicks up or to take some force off the engine mount? I dont have my motor tied down and wonder if I should. Thx

[Jakeroub]

If you don't tie the motor down and it cuts out at high speed, the drag from the lower unit will rotate the motor up and you won't have any steering!

I think everybody just uses plain old rope... The trick is to turn the motor to the side then tie the rope across (most people do a few passes from one side to the other). When you straighten out the motor the rope will be nice and tight.

I have actually seen a case where a stretchy rubber rope was used and actually saved a lower unit when it hit a rock. The rope actually broke and front nut totally stripped off the stud, but the unit remained held on by the back stud. I believe that if the motor was tied down with a "real" rope the unit would have been lost.

[oldracer]

Jake is right. The last thing you want to happen in a race is to loose your steering if the engine quits. Always tie down.

[mark24]

Oh, you mean like this?

See picture... rope caught in coaming pulley... I do not leave ropes tied on anymore....

Thanks for the post. Makes complete sense. Steering is important.

Mark

[mark24]

Lucky for that turn at the last minute. Why my wife was so interested in documenting my demise, I do not know!

[hydroid]

HOLY S__T; you must have filled your pants!
Your wife likely took the pic to have the life insurance claim processed quickly.
Hope you have a kill switch installed.
Nice boat(8' Glen-L?) w mod KG7/H?..do you have a better pic?..how fst will it go?
Erik

[Jakeroub]

Wow, that is a crazy photo. Almost looks like photoshop!!!

No joke with steering stuff. I had a steering bar bolt loosen up and fall out on me one time. Took a few seconds to figure out what was happening as I was zig-zagging down the lake. I should have used lock-nuts but didn't.

Post some photos of you setup so we can inspect.

[mark24]

More Pics

Boat: Northwesten Boat Co. ... Curly Craft
Motor: right on KG-7H (not matching S/N... It has been raced most of its life till the 80's, rebuilt several times, but runs great) I refurbed it a few years ago and now treat it very kindly.
Speed: 42.9mph with me driving (200lbs)
Kill switch: on my list of improvements... need to install one of those...

Will Run this weekend... pics of setup attached.

[mark24]

Here is another one of Dad... he is a bit old school without the helmet, but he and I built the boat when I was 13... 27 years ago... wow that boat is old! All these pics have the old coaming pulleys. I built new ones out of white oak... look and work much better. I do not use the springs on the steering rod anymore as they interferred with the transom when turning hard.

[bh/]

Springs are just another part to fail, get rid of them.
In addition to steering, the reason for tie downs is 'brakes'.
If the motor flips up after you release the throttle,
you will be surprised how far it coasts,
w/o the drag of a prop

[jkimble12]

Another little tip is soak the rope in a bucket of water before you tie the motor down. Rope tends to strech when it gets wet, so by soaking it before you tie you take that out of the equation and the rope will stay tight even after you put the boat in the water.

[mark24]

OK, you guys convinced me. What do I need to do to install cleats on the boat? I imagine they must go on the transom down low. ...or should I put on the side wings that support the transom? do they have to go through with bolts or would simple screw in cleats be sufficient?

Thanks, Mark

[PRO-MOTIONRACING]

3/8 eye bolts about 12" apart a little lower than the place the rope rides on the motor. Cut off extra bolt inside boat for safety.

[smelt farmer]

at hight enought speeds and your motor quits, the motor could be in the cockpit with you if it's not tied down
smelt farmer

[Bill Huson]

loss of steering can be exciting . . .

in a negative way. My experience did not result in a crash on the beach. My 15ssH rig was fast, and after the start I was cruising out in front of the pack and entered turn #1 when the boat twitched . . . next thing I know the boat is going straight up and doing axial rolls midair. It was pretty spectacular. The pit crews scored my acrobatic stunt a 9.6. My lovely wife who was head scorekeeper scored it *SHRRIIEEKK!!!*. I splashed down and dove until I heard the whine of 15s fade and then surfaced and crawled into my boat which had landed right side up. It was then I figured the reason for the crash - my steering had sheered off a chunk of tower housing and was dangling on the cables.

So tie down the engine, and always pre-flight inspect all steering components and connections.