Outboard motor bracket mounted on guard rail

[Two killicks]

I bought a 2.5 HP yamaha outboard for our dinghy which weight about 40 pounds. I was wondering if the rails on the platform are strong enough to hold the outboard in place when cruising on my 21 EC? There are 4 vertical rails attached to the top horizontal guard rail, I would mount the bracket right at the "T" junction on 2nd vertical rail on the port side.

What do you think about this?

 

[Red Raven]

Hi Pat,

If you are referring to the rail on the swim platform you may want to consider reinforcing it by tying the top of the rail back to the boat with a horizontal tie (rod/rail?) at the far port side. The tie rod is removeable with pins to get it out of the way when the mother is not mounted. This is the arrangement we use on our R27 to hold our 6hp (60lbs) dinghy motor. We added an additional vertical post with tee to get the mount where we wanted it as well. There are pictures of the arrangement in our gallery. It works well for us. Without the reinforcement tie back to the boat the stress on the rail in rough seas would be too much for it. Wouldn't be as bad with your smaller motor and lower speeds but I would recommend the reinforcement anyway so to be sure.

Richard, in parts at Ranger Tugs, shipped me all the parts needed pre cut!

Curt

 

[Pilotnavigator]

On our 21ec I keep the motor on the tender when towing it. I have an eight foot porta-bote. I put a motor mount on the starboard rail to hold the motor when trailering. The motor mounts inside the cockpit. I have a BBQ mounted on the swim rail that stays on when in the water. My motor is a 2.5 Suzuki.

 

[Spinner]

I have a 2.5 hp Suzuki which I store on the swimstep railing. However, my motor only weighs about 25 pounds....