Correctly supporting your outboard motor during travel on your trailer is an essential component in increasing the longevity of the power plant of your boat. The key words here are “correctly support”. As a Yamaha authorised dealer and servicing outlet, we are very lucky here at Stones Corner Marine that Yamaha offers three motor supports that provide the correct support for their range of motors. In fact, we so strongly believe in the importance of using these supports that we include them in every Boat, Motor and Trailer package we quote.
I will take you through them in more detail shortly but let’s look at the DO NOTS in motor support first.
All motors have a lug or service stand to support the motor (if you wish) while your boat is not in use (in your garage etc). This is its only purpose. It is not a travel support. In fact, using this as a travel support will likely cause damage to the housing and leg of the motor and cost you a significant amount of money in repairs. DO NOT use this as a travel support.
Using no motor support at all is also not recommended. In the short term you may not see any adverse effects, but after a period of time the fatigue damage caused by the motor moving and flexing during transport can result in large repair bills as well.
Yamaha Motor Supports
Yamaha has three motor support’s purpose built for their motors (with power tilt) from 20hp up. Two are designed to insert around the tilt ram, while the other inserts onto the tilt ram. The concept is pretty simple, get the correct support for your motor size, put it in place, trim the motor down so that it is held snugly in place (it does not need excessive pressure) and now your motor is correctly supported while traveling to and from the water, avoiding fatigue and travel damage due to the motor bouncing up and down.
We make a point of showing this to our customers during our handovers (new boats), as well as showing the value of them to our repower clients.
Don’t forget your small motors as well
Supporting motors that do not have a power tilt during transport is just as important. Unfortunately, it is not always possible, however if your trailer has a motor support fitting on it, we recommend a V support for travel. There will be images of the support and the fitting on the trailer that is required. They are not hard to use and generally are held in place with a bungy cord or something similar. Again, the simply function they offer is reduced movement of the motor during transport, meaning less likelihood fatigue issues will occur over time. A small investment with a long-term gain.
Aftermarket supports
First and foremost, we would like to say, any motor support that supports the motor correctly is better than none at all. There are many aftermarket options available. Many are a variation of the same theme but at a different price point. All we would like to say is be aware of the materials these products are made of. Some do not hold their original shape and can very quickly no longer support your motor in the way it should.
We hope that this blog helps you to understand what our Yamaha motor supports are all about and why we recommend them to all our customers.
Captions
- These are the three Yamaha motor supports available for their outboard range.
- This Yamaha support is the smallest of the range and is designed for motors 130hp and below.
- A recent addition to the Yamaha motor support range is this one to suit the 150hp–175hp models.
- Multi ram motors can be correctly supported using this Yamaha motor support option.
- Motor supports are just as important for smaller motors. A V-support is the preferred option as long as your trailer has a support fitting.
- Bar Crusher Colour options
