mounting motor on transom

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baldrob

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beaumont, tx
I've never owned a boat before and just bought a 1987 starcraft seafarer 16ft with a 2000 25hp yamaha 4 stroke on it. when I took it out for the first time the motor almost fell off when one of the clamps came loose. I didn't even think to check to see if they were tight before we went out.

My question is does a 25hp motor need to be bolted to the transom or is it small enough to be fine with just the clamps tightened down?
 
I'm always worried about somebody stealing my motors. Believe it or not, a few months ago I stepped outside my house to find a guy under my carport, checking out my boat motors. I asked him what he was doing and he replied with a question...."do you know that you have two boat motors?" I told him that, of course, I know I have two motors. Well, he then wanted to know what I needed with two motors if I only had one boat and wanted to know if he could have one. I quickly ran him off my property and wrote down his license plate number as he drove away. I now keep the boat and trailer chained and locked and keep the motors on motor stands locked up in the garage!
 
I would certainly secure it somehow. I use a padlock on my two clamp handles to deter theft and I use two safety chains in the boat to keep the motor from falling to the bottom of the lake should it ever decide to go walkabout.
 

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Years ago I went to work (dealership) and found a boat outside with no motor on it. Was dropped off the day before, WITH the motor clamped to the transom. Talk about an upset customer. Nothing I could have done to stop it, however. Filed the report, he filed it on his insurance and the boss was looking at ways to deter theft. The thieves actually attempted to get into the building through an overhead door window, and cut his arm pretty badly. Blood everywhere-even some tissue on what was left of the glass. The perps were caught by hospital records from the night before. Still didn't get our outboard back though.

You would be surprised how many people have had motors stolen right off the transom. It happened almost daily in this area for a while.

Bolt it on. Use lock nuts. The 25 4 stroke shouldn't even have had clamps to begin with, in my opinion. Should have been bolt on only like the long shaft/power tilt motors were.
 
My current boat has a 25hp. I clamped it on and it's holding good, so I haven't bolted it on (I hate putting holes in my boat). I do have a lock to help prevent theft.

https://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?productId=33919&catalogId=10001&langId=-1&storeId=11151&storeNum=50366&subdeptNum=50411&classNum=50412

My previous boat had a 9.9 but the clamp didn't hold it well, so I bolted that one on which helped a lot.
 
txneal said:
I'm always worried about somebody stealing my motors. Believe it or not, a few months ago I stepped outside my house to find a guy under my carport, checking out my boat motors. I asked him what he was doing and he replied with a question...."do you know that you have two boat motors?" I told him that, of course, I know I have two motors. Well, he then wanted to know what I needed with two motors if I only had one boat and wanted to know if he could have one. I quickly ran him off my property and wrote down his license plate number as he drove away. I now keep the boat and trailer chained and locked and keep the motors on motor stands locked up in the garage!

This is great, :LOL2:
 
gillhunter said:
If you don't bolt it on put a padlock on it.
i had mine come loose once as well. now it's padlocked on and it makes it hard to steal or loosen.i don't want to bolt it on in case i want to remove it for storage,service or when i go back country i like to tow the boat without the motor on it.
 
I have a 20 hp and it's clamped on,part of my start up routine is to check the tightness of the clamp blots. Never thought much about putting a lock on it but now I am, thanks guys...
 
Here in Florida, boat and boat equipment theft is so rampant it's ridiculous. Guys try to prevent it with locks and what-not, but like the old saying goes - "Locks keep out the honest people". Unfortunately, if they want it bad enough, they'll get it from you.
 
True, but given that many people don't put a lock on theirs, the likelihood of yours not being the one they take is a little higher. If they do want it and happen to have good bolt cutters on hand a lock will only slow them down for a few seconds...but it is an added deterrent when the boat next to yours has a motor that is just clamped on with no lock.

Another good deterrent is to not have the newest or cleanest motor. ;) jk

It's the same logic most folks that open carry a knife or handgun use...it doesn't give a 100% assurance that you won't have someone try to attack or rob you, but if you are a criminal and you are looking for a victim, would you pick the person that is clearly armed or the one who looks defenseless? It's the same as a lion in the wild - they go for the easiest antelope, the weaker, slower, easier to catch meal.
 

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