Am I nut to try this?

[Mister G.]

http://www.ifish.net/gallery/data/500/Modified_Garelick_bracket.JPG

Here's a modification I need some advice on. It started life as a Garelick adjustable bracket for motors up to 115 lbs, The adjustment arms were worn and wobbly and I didn't think I'd be able to use my Honda 9.9 kicker on it. Put the honda up on the For Sale board and you can see the original set-up there. Last night had one of those flashes of inspiration that come to me every now and then and this AM took the bracket apart, discarded the adjusting mechanism and put the remaining pieces back together and you can see the result above. This is much more sturdy, doesn't flex at all, clearances are ok for tilting the motor up and the shaft length looks to be fine. Since this motor weighs in at 98 lbs, I'm under the limit for the bracket as originally made, and I can't help but think this might even be stronger. Before I take it out on the road, however, I'd like some feedback from those of you who are "in the know."

Thanks,
Gary
db

[No Reservations]

Looks Very solid to me might consider bolting it through instead of the screw bolts or at least a safety chain very:applause: nice work though.

[Mister G.]

Looks Very solid to me might consider bolting it through instead of the screw bolts or at least a safety chain very:applause: nice work though.

I was thinking about that. Maybe get long bolts that are threaded all the way and then as I feed a bolt through run a couple flat washers and lock washers and nuts so I could tighten them down from both directions on either side (if that makes sense) That way everyplace the bolt goes through it's tightened in two directions and the bolt itself would provide additional lateral stiffnessl I guess I was just lucky that the holes lined up. A saftey chain will definitely be an addition as well.

Thanks for your comment.

db

[Bloom]

It looks good to me too, much better than all those springs, pins and levers.Do you still cinch it down with a strap while trailering? Do you get any movement from side-to-side?If so, you could do an X brace.

[baitsauce]

Looks like a really good set up to me. Kinda like Col. Steve Austin. Better than before. Better, stronger, faster..... Well, maybe not faster but definantly better and stronger than before.

You can even "fine tune" the angle of the motor too.

//

[Danno]

There were a number of Arima owners on the old MSN Arima group that used solid kicker brackets. I think you'll be fine.

[Mister G.]

It looks good to me too, much better than all those springs, pins and levers.Do you still cinch it down with a strap while trailering? Do you get any movement from side-to-side?If so, you could do an X brace.

Haven't actually pulled it on the road yet. It's dis-assembled (again) right now until I can get the completely threaded bolts and other fittings I talked about in my post above.

I plan to strap it down for travel regardless. As it is now, the motor will tilt completely up only when on its side (it bumps into the Arima transom about one click short of full up when it's facing forward) I think that could be taken care of with a slightly taller mounting board that would set the whole motor a bit farther back as well, but then we've raised the prop up by an equal amount. Until I get her in the water there's just no way to tell.

I'm going to have to put things on hold for a couple weeks (Salty Dog Convention in Newport next weekend) but I may have some answers the first weekend in March. I'll keep folks informed as this little project evolves.

db

[Mister G.]

http://www.ifish.net/gallery/data/500/Finisher_Kicker_Moutn_Pic_11.JPG

http://www.ifish.net/gallery/data/500/Kicker_on_Port_1.JPG

Here's the finished product. All polished up and ready to go. I couldn't find bolts long enough that were completely threaded so I used pieces of 3/8 threaded stainless steel rod stock cut to size. Everything's bolted securely inside and out. One thing I learned was to have the mounting bolts that are in the wood loose during assembly. That made feeding the threaded rods through their holes much easier. Tightened up it feels as secure as can be. Saturday is the water test up on Henry Hagg. On this particular boat (Arima Sea Hunter 15) the Blind Pig found his truffle. The cavitation plate on the motor is exactly even with the bottom of the hull,There is clearance all around to rotate the motor without bumping in to anything. The motor will tilt all the way up IF it is on its side, but that's what I do with it anyway. There looks to be plenty of room to clear the water with the motor up. Now all I have to do is fabricate, bend, and thread another SS rod to mate up my Stearns Motor Link fittings and I'll be able to steer from the main helm.

See that little ear sticking out on the back side of the motor's mounting frame a little less than halfway down the wood? There's a 5/16" hole in there that you can't see in the picture. After I took this picture I drilled through that ear and through the wood and now there's a 3" SS bolt and locking nut holding the motor to the board on both sides. If this puppy falls off, it's going to have to take the whole aft end of the boat with it!

Now it's time to get 'er wet.

db

[Hawk JJ]

She looks mighty good Bro...................:D


Did you put some marine spar varnish on the wood?

[DJD]

I think you would be fine in the water; going down the road...... maybe some kind of transom saver arrangement or take kicker off when trailering. Just my two cents.

[Don't fish e nuff]

Looks great to me. The only other thing I would suggest is to counter sink the threaded rods for the motor. I have made a few mounts over the years and espacialy on electric trolling motors for bass fishing, I have found when you turn the motor 90 degrees under full power, it tends to slip on the wooden back board if it is not really tight. Most have a "fender washer" or disk that is part of the rod. If it's 1 1/2 inches, I use about a 1 5/8 Forstner bit and drill in about 1/4 inch. That gives the disk a depression to sit into. It has helped me out in the past.

[mtpar]

Looks like it should work fine under normal usage:pray:

One suggestion if you get some lateral flexing you might try fabricating some X braces to help reduce side flexing. From upper left to lower right
then upper right to lower left.

Might also consider a cable and lock to keep from going to bottom in the event of failure and give thieves a harder time if they try for your kicker.

mtpar

[Mister G.]

Thanks for the input guys, good ideas one and all.:applause: I like the forstner bit idea especially. No spar varnish yet, but it will go on when I do the forstner drilling. Safety chain is already in place, just not shown in the picture. I plan to travel with the motor tilted up and strapped to a mount inside the boat. Don't know yet about side to side movement while trailering, I'll have to get someone to follow me down the road and see if that might be an issue. This whole project was started so I wouldn't have to take the motor off when trailering. :pray: I'm not quite as young and strong as I once was.:(

db

[goatram]

http://www.ifish.net/gallery/data/500/Finisher_Kicker_Moutn_Pic_11.JPG

http://www.ifish.net/gallery/data/500/Kicker_on_Port_1.JPG

Here's the finished product. All polished up and ready to go. I couldn't find bolts long enough that were completely threaded so I used pieces of 3/8 threaded stainless steel rod stock cut to size. Everything's bolted securely inside and out. One thing I learned was to have the mounting bolts that are in the wood loose during assembly. That made feeding the threaded rods through their holes much easier. Tightened up it feels as secure as can be. Saturday is the water test up on Henry Hagg. On this particular boat (Arima Sea Hunter 15) the Blind Pig found his truffle. The cavitation plate on the motor is exactly even with the bottom of the hull,There is clearance all around to rotate the motor without bumping in to anything. The motor will tilt all the way up IF it is on its side, but that's what I do with it anyway. There looks to be plenty of room to clear the water with the motor up. Now all I have to do is fabricate, bend, and thread another SS rod to mate up my Stearns Motor Link fittings and I'll be able to steer from the main helm.

See that little ear sticking out on the back side of the motor's mounting frame a little less than halfway down the wood? There's a 5/16" hole in there that you can't see in the picture. After I took this picture I drilled through that ear and through the wood and now there's a 3" SS bolt and locking nut holding the motor to the board on both sides. If this puppy falls off, it's going to have to take the whole aft end of the boat with it!

Now it's time to get 'er wet.

db

If the motor is hitting the boat at full tilt up you could put a couple of PT 2X8 pieces between the bracket and the transom. I t would allow you to get the motor in the correct plane when it is down and running. Looks good and will work for you. my:twocents:

[Mister G.]

Just back from the water and everythings works just fine:excited:
Travel with the kicker tilted up was not an issue, There was tiller clearance (just) when deployed to run, and about 6" of prop clearance above the surface when fully tilted up and the boat at planing speed.
Now to get that front steering rod threaded, bent and hooked up.
db

[Primerib]

Hello DB
Any updates since the maiden voyage of the motor bracket? I am fabricating a fixed bracket as I type and came across your's.. Looks to be a simple and strong solution.
Was there any problem with the wieght of your kicker?
Did you 'beef' up the inside of the transom to carry the heavier weight?

I have a Mercury Pro Kicker that weighs in at 125lbs..my 'original' OMC bracket was maxed out and would not lift, plus plenty of flexing.

Your bracket looks really nice..great inspiration :applause:

[Mister G.]

Hello DB
Any updates since the maiden voyage of the motor bracket? I am fabricating a fixed bracket as I type and came across your's.. Looks to be a simple and strong solution.
Was there any problem with the wieght of your kicker?
Did you 'beef' up the inside of the transom to carry the heavier weight?

I have a Mercury Pro Kicker that weighs in at 125lbs..my 'original' OMC bracket was maxed out and would not lift, plus plenty of flexing.

Your bracket looks really nice..great inspiration :applause:

Primerib,

Thanks for the kind words, There actually are some updates. The Merc 60 HP 2 Stroke and Honda 9.9 engines in my original application have been swapped out for new Yamahas, a 60 main and T-8 kicker. (No pics yet) The T-8 is listed at 115 pounds, right at the published limit of the originally configured Garelick bracket, but that was the bracket with all the lift mechanism attached. I can't help but think that with that bracket in its extended position like it would be when the kicker was actually in use, a lot more torque force was put on the transom mount than is the case now with the modification I made. I did try it out with my Honda and it flexed like crazy and was hard to lift. (I wonder now if the 115 lb. capacity had more to do with the strength of the lifting mechanism than anything else) After the mod there was no flexing that I could determine (and I pushed and yanked on it pretty hard) and of course no lifting issues at all with the Honda motor at 98 lbs, nor has there been with the Yami.

No beefing up of the transom. The original bracket was installed at the Arima factory as the boat was being manufactured. It's bolted through two layers of marine plywood and then glassed over. It's going to take one heck of a force to wrench that loose.

In operation it has been flawless so far.

Gary
(db)

[Highmark]

lookes great. Only thing I would change is the 2 through bolts.
to a longer bolt. So way the nilock in the nuts are fully ingauged.
they could work off the bolts.

[shorthair]

As someone who had a kicker stolen you need some way to prevent some lowlife from simply removing the bolts & wandering off with the whole shebang.:twocents:

[jimh]

Is that really a 2 by something out of wood? My biggest concern about it is when it breaks it will give no warning. I'd probably also consider adding a tether for the motor.

[Mister G.]

Is that really a 2 by something out of wood? My biggest concern about it is when it breaks it will give no warning. I'd probably also consider adding a tether for the motor.

The mounting board is 16 Ply Marine plywood. Garelick does make a Plastic mounting board on its newer brackets, but I think I'll stick with honest to God wood.

Highmark,
The nylock inserts are fully engaged and what you can't see from the picture is the Threadlock compound under the nuts.

Shorthair,
I have a safety cable that I didn't install when I took the picture.

Trying to get all the bases covered.

db

[shorthair]

When they took mine they took everything including the lock with them.:twocents:

[Gundog]

I had that same kicker motor bracket with the wood when they stold my kicker I had the mounting paddles locked together and they just unbolted the wooden part and took it all.

Mike

[Mister G.]

I had that same kicker motor bracket with the wood when they stold my kicker I had the mounting paddles locked together and they just unbolted the wooden part and took it all.

Mike

Mike,

I just went out and looked and you are absolutely right, undo 4 nuts and off goes the whole thing wood and all. They'd still have to deal with my safety cable that's attached from an eye on the motor housing to a bow eye I bolted through the transom. but I guess that could be done, too.

I've read here on Ifish about guys who have actually welded their kickers to their transoms or brackets, but I guess you'd need an alunimum transom to do that. Aren't there some special kind of nuts that will tighten with a regular socket but take some kind of special tool to remove them? (I really don't want to be only 4 nuts away from losing my T8)

Maybe I should just tether the Mastiff to the trailer.

db





db

[Gundog]

The fact is if they really want it they will get it all you can do is make it harder to get. You could drill through the nut into the bolt but not all the way through and drive a 1/8" pin in each nut but remember you will have to cut off the nuts to ever take it apart so that means they can too. Try to make it hard to get and make sure you have insurance in case they do get it. There are some other locking systems you can try but all of them can be defeated if someone tries hard enough.

Mike

[Gundog]

Looking at the pictures again it looks fine strength wise for running the motor theft wise if I were going to take that off as fast as possible I would just use bolt cutters on the SS allthread bolts and be gone in seconds. Maybe a SS sleve over that all thread and a spot of weld on the nuts instead of nylock nuts would make it much harder to take. You can grind off the end of the nut if you need to take it off later. Just a thought.

Mike

[Roostertail]

Looks Very solid to me might consider bolting it through instead of the screw bolts or at least a safety chain very:applause: nice work though.



Saftey Chain is a must!:yeahthat: