Transom Saver

cornish_ribber · 23 June 2009, 11:18

Hi All

Could anyone let me know where I can get a transom saver in this country? They seem to be well publicised across the pond, but not over here.

Any help would be MUCH appreciated.

Thanks

Nasher · 23 June 2009, 11:48

Welcome to Rib.net

Do you mean one of the solid supports that fits between the trailer and bottom of the engine leg?

If so I'd be very wary, as any very small movement of the boat on the trailer is then transfered through the hydraulics of the engine, which I've never liked the idea of. Just my opinion though.

Nasher.

Leapy · 23 June 2009, 12:34

Quote:

Originally Posted by cornish_ribber

Any help would be MUCH appreciated.

When we picked up our first boat the Suzuki owners manual insisted we should only tow with a transom saver fitted. Looked all around and never found one for sale outside the US.

Even if they were available, on our current boat (and previous boats) there's no trailer structure far enough to the rear for anything meaningful to be fittted.

It will be interesting to see what others say...

I'd completely agree with Nasher's comment

codprawn · 23 June 2009, 13:24

I have seen some that are like a polybush only longer that fit over the rams like a sleave - they look pretty good - what do people think of those???

jyasaki · 23 June 2009, 16:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nasher

Do you mean one of the solid supports that fits between the trailer and bottom of the engine leg?

If so I'd be very wary, as any very small movement of the boat on the trailer is then transfered through the hydraulics of the engine, which I've never liked the idea of.

Hmmm. If there's movement between the boat and trailer, you don't have the boat strapped down well enough.

I use the transom saver to minimize wear and tear on the motor pivots and hydraulics moreso than preventing damage to the transom (my hull is welded 1/4" aluminum, and I doubt any engine movement is going to do much to that.) In my case, the support runs between the lower unit and the hull, rather than between the LU and the trailer (can't get to the trailer without having a dogleg support bracket.)

Trailering over less than glass-smooth roads will cause the motor to bounce around, penduluming back and forth. Preventing that is why I use the bracket. That force is absorbed first by the motor pivots, then through the mount to the transom. The transom saver not only transfers some of that energy to a different structure (usually the trailer frame), but also prevents the penduluming in the first place (the penduluming of the motor greatly increases the forces seen by whereever it's applied to.)

Using a block of wood between the engine mount and the engine (or the ram-mounted blocks such as the M-Y Wedge) will relieve the stress imposed on the pivots, but will transfer it to the transom. If you're sure your transom is beefy enough, fine. If there's any question about it, well, I'd suggest going with something that transfers at least some of the load somewhere else.

That's just my opinion;

jky

Nasher · 23 June 2009, 17:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by jyasaki

Hmmm. If there's movement between the boat and trailer, you don't have the boat strapped down well enough.

jky

Sorry jky, I really don't believe you can eliminate absolutely ALL movement between the boat and trailer. I believe there will always be a small amount such as 1/4inch. The trailer itself will flex slightly causing some movement.

My solution is below, but as you've said it counts on the transom being strong enough to take the loads, which I believe it should be.

Wood, carpet, retaining strap, and held down with a small ratchet strap to the eyes in the transom.

Nasher.

nugent · 23 June 2009, 17:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by codprawn

I have seen some that are like a polybush only longer that fit over the rams like a sleave - they look pretty good - what do people think of those???

not poly bush but works for me 2 x keel rollers from tow sure

nugent · 23 June 2009, 18:03

mind you ive just built these. to be sure the transom stays where it is ment to

Hightower · 23 June 2009, 18:16

I've replied to a thread like this one before on RIBnet.

I think transom savers are a waste of money and are a marketing ploy to get the boat owner spending more.

There is nothing wrong with the normal engine bracket if you have one or similar devices used by Nasher and Nugent.

IMHO, if your hydrualics don't leak I would be happy to tow tilted up on the hydraulic rams.

If the rams can cope with 150hp or whatever pushing a tonne of RIB in and out of the water, then a few little bumps in the road on a suspended trailer won't be a problem.

cornish_ribber · 23 June 2009, 18:31

Hi All

Thanks for your replies. My reason for asking about the transom saver was to seek to minimise the amount of strain placed on the transom when trailing. One of the launcing sites that I use is a cornish beach, and the road to it is bad!!. Not surprisingly the RIB and traler tend to bouce around quite a bit, and I think that the engine puts a lot of strain on the transom. I thought that perhaps one of these devices would channel a lot of that force through the trailer frame and not the transom.

Hightower · 23 June 2009, 18:35

Then you'd better off connecting the outboard leg to the boat hull somehow or taking a little more time over the rough ground

jambo · 23 June 2009, 18:47

As one who regularly trailers from south to west scotland I have never been let down by the engine bracket and a block of wood. I would therefore support Hightower in his comments.
J

PeterM · 23 June 2009, 19:52

I'm with Hightower - the loads on the engine/ transome at full chat make the trailering loads seem like bugger all to me.

Try looking at the engine when travelling at speed in rough water - makes me cringe !

codprawn · 23 June 2009, 22:11

Quote:

Originally Posted by nugent

not poly bush but works for me 2 x keel rollers from tow sure

That's it - brilliant!!!

jyasaki · 24 June 2009, 15:32

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hightower

If the rams can cope with 150hp or whatever pushing a tonne of RIB in and out of the water, then a few little bumps in the road on a suspended trailer won't be a problem.

The difference is in direction. When in the water and underway, the prop force is all in one direction.

When trailering, the motor is being bounced backwards and forwards; something the transom normally doesn't see too much of in the water.

Plus, depending on how far you trailer, it's a lot more than "a few bumps".

But, hey; it's your rig. Not saying you should use one; just stating my reasoning.

jky

chewy · 24 June 2009, 15:36

You get alot of up and down movement on the boat too though, like when you land after hitting a wave, the transom (in most cases) takes this fine.
I've never actually seen anyone using a transom saver in the UK.

Rigaud · 24 June 2009, 15:52

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hightower

I've replied to a thread like this one before on RIBnet.

I think transom savers are a waste of money and are a marketing ploy to get the boat owner spending more.

There is nothing wrong with the normal engine bracket if you have one or similar devices used by Nasher and Nugent.

IMHO, if your hydrualics don't leak I would be happy to tow tilted up on the hydraulic rams.

If the rams can cope with 150hp or whatever pushing a tonne of RIB in and out of the water, then a few little bumps in the road on a suspended trailer won't be a problem.

Oh I agree with you 100% Hightower.

If you guys would see how the motor moves at high speed or in rough conditions you would quickly realize that the movement on the trailer is very minimal.

Transom savers are sold everywhere around Canada & USA but has been a huge debate among performance boaters out here. Most don't use them from years of experience towing boats set up with large outboards.

BruceB · 24 June 2009, 20:50

I stick a block of wood between the engine and bracket for short tows and back it up with a ratchet strap for longer ones.
Haven't had a problem yet.

Cookee · 26 June 2009, 07:06

I'm with Hightower if the engine has hydraulics!

9D280 · 26 June 2009, 08:59

The high level theory of them is good, but I bet if you stuck a few relative position sensors on your trailer & hull, you;d find the transom saver may actuallty do more damage than an unsupported engine.

Bottom line is that unless you can absolutely lock the boat down onto a perfectly rigid trailer the flex of the trailer alone wil limpart a h*ll of a movement onto the extended leg of the engine, which through it's length acts as a lever..... If your PT is perfectly rigid, you have just added a big twist to the top of the transom...... It might work if you parked the PT in "manual" to allow the engine leg to move relative to the clamps, otherwiise I reckon it will actually make things worse.

I also go with a variation of Codder's lump of wood, but as I have yet to hit the dizzy heights of Power trim, the wood is a necessity for me, as the "lock up" mechanism wouldn't survive the first pothole! I lash the engine down with a 4:1 block / cam cleat system with a carrabine at each end that clips round the tilt pin - makes it ridiculously fast & easy to fit