Having spent a lot of time and effort getting the selected aluminium outboard motor bracket into a usable state, it occurred to me that I should check that it was actually fit for purpose.
I had no doubt that it now worked beautifully from a mechanical point of view, but would it accommodate the motor correctly? Until now I had assumed that it would, because otherwise what use would it be?
My first worry was that there might not be sufficient room for the motor between the bracket and the transom when it was raised to maximum height and tilted back, out of the way for sailing.
I had not yet tried to tilt the motor on its new stand, so I did so - and immediately thought there could be a problem.
Oh Dear! Next step was to measure up properly, to see how much room was required by the motor head when tilted - at both half and full tilt.
This is the motor at full tilt.
And in this pic you can see that the motor head and associated metalwork do indeed intrude into the space behind the mounting pad.
I then set the motor to half tilt. This is it.
Again, it occupies the space behind the mounting pad - although to a lesser extent. Like this.
I knew of course that the outboard bracket which I had selected has an adjustment arm which projects vertically upwards behind and beyond the mounting pad, so it was obvious that we had a problem.
So... I measured the amount of room required by the motor, at full and half tilt. This drawing shows the situation.
It shows that at 'FULL TILT' the motor occupies a space 13cm wide by 5cm deep below the top edge of the mounting pad, which is the datum line on this drawing.
Similarly, at 'HALF TILT' the motor occupies a space 13cm long by 2cm deep above the datum line.
A quick glance at a pic of the chosen bracket in an intermediate position shows immediately that this is not going to work.
The adjustment arm projects directly into the space required for full and half tilt, as shown on the drawing.
This pic shows the adjustment arm projects above the top edge of the mounting pad when set to maximum height - right through the middle of the required space.
That leaves no room for the motor to be tilted, so this bracket is in fact of no use.
That, as they say, is a right pain in the a**e!
What to do? Luckily I have a fall back option, in the shape of the stainless steel bracket which previously took second place when making the final choice.
This is it, remounted on the test facility.
The adjustment arm on this bracket does not intrude into the required space for the motor, although it could potentially interact with the transom - unless the rearward sloping transom skirt provides enough clearance for it.
Next step is to make further measurements to see if the second bracket is a viable alternative, and then no doubt set about fettling it to make it fit for purpose - like the first one!
What I completely fail to understand is how the aluminium bracket, first selected, can possibly be of any real use in conjunction with any motor. It does not afford room at all to tilt an outboard motor backwards, so its only use is to raise and lower the motor in and out of the water - which is at best sub-optimal.
Once again I am find myself saying, "What a piece of crap!".
Onwards and upwards... I am sure we will prevail eventually. It just takes an incredible amount of patience.
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