How to lock my motor in the up position

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ol sarge

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I am taking my new to me 1974 20 hp Mercury out on the water for the first time tomorrow(ice has finally melted) and I was wondering if anybody knows how to lock it in the up position so I do not drag bottom at the ramp. I have looked at it and I can not seem to figure it out. Maybe I am just stupid. Also, does it hurt to trailer the motor in the down postion or do I need to invest in a transom saver? Thanks for the assistance.

tim
 

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Look at your motor on the right side down below the shifter. Here is a pic of what you're looking for.

DSC00414.JPG

Put your motor in forward so it unlocks the tilt, then as you tilt the motor up the little arm will swing out and be more visible.

DSC00416.JPG

The slot has a notch of sort at the end and the arm has a tab bent over at 90°. If your inside the boat, grab the little tab and as you raise the motor with the other hand pull the tab toward you. Once the motor has tilted all the way up, and while holding forward on the little tab, let the motor down and the bolt/pin should settle in the notch and lock the motor in the up position. If the arm is clean (mine was gummed up with old grease when I got it and it didn't work properly), when you raise the motor a little, the arm will drop down and the bolt will disengage from the notch so the motor can be lowered back to operating position.

DSC00417.JPG
 
Ive had the same problem. When I raise it up like jmichael does and run a tight bungee cord around it even the smallest of bumps makes it slam against the transom. Im going to try to make a transom saver or just use the 2x4 trick.
 
Don't travel down the road with the motor tilted up. It's not designed for this. Use a transom saver or 2x4 to travel with or just leave it in the down position.
 
Thanks for the help. Now I know how to lift the motor. Do you know where I could get an owners manual for this motor? Any way, thanks for helping me out.
 
I went out to the garage last night and your instructions worked like a charm. I would have never figured out the putting it in gear and then lifting it. Thanks for posting the pics. That was really helpful. I am going to get the ol girl on the boat and get her wet for the first time this week. I think she should push my 14 foot Smoker Craft pretty nicely. I will post some pics of when I get her wet. Thanks again. :D

Tim
 
Glad to hear the info was helpful. Do you have a 2 or 3 blade prop on yours? If you have one, take a GPS with you to check your speed. Mine managed to get 28mph on a test with an empty gutted hull and minimal gas. Adding the batteries, trolling motor etc really cut down on that top speed though. Good luck with it.
 
Mine is a three bladed prop. I got lucky and scored this baby for $450 over the winter. It is really hard to find anything under a grand around here. It fires right up and the first pull or two. I was planning on taking my GPS out with me when I put her in the water. thanks again for the help. Not everybody is willing to do what you did.

Tim
 
Looking forward to hearing how it does with a 3 blade. Mine has a 2 blade and I've been trying to find a good 3 blade on ebay for a reasonable price. Most of them are beat to crap with chunks missing from them and the sellers still think they are made of gold. LoL
 

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