Raising Motor

[teecro]

Ok I'm sure that I must be overly cautious as for as many times as I've read y'all raising and lowering a motor with nothing more than a floor jack, the thought of doing just that is making me all get out nervous. Is there any special precautions or steps? For some reason I can just envision the motor trying to exit stage left or right when the last bolt is removed.

[mpilot]

Ok I'm sure that I must be overly cautious as for as many times as I've read y'all raising and lowering a motor with nothing more than a floor jack, the thought of doing just that is making me all get out nervous. Is there any special precautions or steps? For some reason I can just envision the motor trying to exit stage left or right when the last bolt is removed.

On many motors one set of the boat holes is notched so that the motor will slide. If not then yes the motor could tilt. I've also seen people raise the motor with an engine hoist or overhead chain hoist fairly easily. Your motor should have lift points on it or you could create a sling for it.

[teecro]

Ok I'm sure that I must be overly cautious as for as many times as I've read y'all raising and lowering a motor with nothing more than a floor jack, the thought of doing just that is making me all get out nervous. Is there any special precautions or steps? For some reason I can just envision the motor trying to exit stage left or right when the last bolt is removed.

On many motors one set of the boat holes is notched so that the motor will slide. If not then yes the motor could tilt. I've also seen people raise the motor with an engine hoist or overhead chain hoist fairly easily. Your motor should have lift points on it or you could create a sling for it.

At work now but looking at picture I took after a cleaning and can see holes both upper and lower, no slots. If I had access to a hoist I would not be concerned at all...

[Bryden24shp]

If you don't have the slots T, don't try it. The slots guide the motor up or down. I made a little stand for doing mine. The bottom of the skeg rests on the top of the lower slanted board, that's mounted to a level board on the floor jack, and then I screwed in to 2x4's that slide under the cav plate. That way the motor is supported in 3 places. I can raise and lower it like an Indy Pit stop. I always do it with the trailer hooked up to my truck, to keep it steady.

[teecro]

If you don't have the slots T, don't try it. The slots guide the motor up or down. I made a little stand for doing mine. The bottom of the skeg rests on the top of the lower slanted board, that's mounted to a level board on the floor jack, and then I screwed in to 2x4's that slide under the cav plate. That way the motor is supported in 3 places. I can raise and lower it like an Indy Pit stop. I always do it with the trailer hooked up to my truck, to keep it steady.

I can picture that and can build the same.... God didn't give us power tools for nothing! Too bad Mercury didn't use slots and holes on their mount.

[Bamaman]

Is Mercury still using the ring you screw in to the flywheel on top of the motor?

[teecro]

Is Mercury still using the ring you screw in to the flywheel on top of the motor?

I'm sure they likely do but it really matters not as I have no lift, know no one with a lift, and don't have a suitable tree.. Plus my garage has a fully finished ceiling with living space above so I really can't safely eye bolt a lifting point either...

[mpilot]

Is Mercury still using the ring you screw in to the flywheel on top of the motor?

I'm sure they likely do but it really matters not as I have no lift, know no one with a lift, and don't have a suitable tree.. Plus my garage has a fully finished ceiling with living space above so I really can't safely eye bolt a lifting point either...

We had to get creative when rigging a Mercury 50 4 stroke to an older tri hull we restored a few years back. We didn't have a lift of anything but we did have a Toro Dingo (mini bobcat basically). We put the lifting boom on it and away we we went. Also, don't know if you or a buddy have thought about buying an engine hoist but one can be had at Harbor Freight for under $200 so it might be a worthwhile investment. You could make some sort of system that pulls the motor and stabilizes it by running straps around the motor and cleats or U bolts on the back of the toons. Just spitballing here a little now.

[Strake]

I too was wondering about how to safely raise the engine. Did you ask your friendly marina, what they would charge to raise it up? Might not be as much as building a "fixture" to support the motor, or going to rent an engine lift.

On our Yamaha, the bottom two mounting points ( left side, and right side) are slotted with about a 2.5" to 3" slot. I have no option, but to pay the marina to do it as we don't have a trailer. I've been thinking about trying it as I'm in the top hole, which puts the engine all the way down in the water. Looks low just sitting there tied up, and I can only get 5600 and sometimes 5700 RPM max..... would have liked to see closer to 6000.

[teecro]

My kingdom for a stinking big azz oak tree....

Asking y'all for idea has helped a lot as I can build a stabilizing rig for the floor jack out of 2 x 4 materials and from the looks of the pictures I have the eyelets on the back of the toons will line up good for a strap around the back of the motor to help keep it firm to the transom itself....

[Bryden24shp]

Good old American ingenuity! That's how we overcome problems. Get together with others and get the job done! Maybe the higher-ups in DC can read this thread and see how its done! Oh ya, half of 'em can't read!
Keep us posted, T...

[r&s20]

On our Yamaha, the bottom two mounting points ( left side, and right side) are slotted with about a 2.5" to 3" slot. I have no option, but to pay the marina to do it as we don't have a trailer. I've been thinking about trying it as I'm in the top hole, which puts the engine all the way down in the water. Looks low just sitting there tied up, and I can only get 5600 and sometimes 5700 RPM max..... would have liked to see closer to 6000.

I have raised and lowered motors in the water, by finding a sandy beach and backing up to shallow water. we then took out top bolts,loosened bottom bolts and used power trim to assist in raising or lowering motor. Just throwing that out there

[Scott1]

If your boat is on a trailer and it has the slots you can put something (wood) under your skeg and then raise then raise your wheel on front of trailer by handle and that will push the motor up. Of course you need to loosen bolts and a few other small details, but you get the picture.

[Bamaman]

I too was wondering about how to safely raise the engine. Did you ask your friendly marina, what they would charge to raise it up? Might not be as much as building a "fixture" to support the motor, or going to rent an engine lift.

On our Yamaha, the bottom two mounting points ( left side, and right side) are slotted with about a 2.5" to 3" slot. I have no option, but to pay the marina to do it as we don't have a trailer. I've been thinking about trying it as I'm in the top hole, which puts the engine all the way down in the water. Looks low just sitting there tied up, and I can only get 5600 and sometimes 5700 RPM max..... would have liked to see closer to 6000.

When you trim up your motor to about 3/4, are you getting any ventilation? How about when you go into a tight turn? You may be just an inch or two off on the pitch of your propeller.

My Bennie will slightly ventilate when I accelerate from a dead stop with the engine 3/4 trimmed up. But it bites hard when I throw the throttle to it--getting 6000 rpm's @ 40 mph. When I picked the boat up when new, it had a 14M Yamaha prop--and it easily bounced off the rev limiter @ 6300 rpm's

[rebel442]

Look into renting an engine hoist, Typically $20 or $30 for the day. They fold up and fit in most vehicles easily. Small price for piece of mind not dropping the motor.