Transom savers

[POk3s]

The previous owner of my boat used one, and therefore I use one. Still the same one. It’s a 16 foot and definitely gives me peace of mind. How much it really does I guess I don’t know. But I think if we want to get down to minuscule movements, the TS is connected by a mere rubber bungee. If it needs to move that 1/8 inch I’m sure it’s doing it.
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[kandersonSLC]

[quote SBennett]Follow any boat down a bad road and you will see what I mean. It may only be 1/8" but it is there.[/quote]
Thanks. I can see your point. So is that why folks go with the My Wedge device to absorb shock but keep the motor de-coupled from the trailer?
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[Tin-Can]

I have only owned 2 boats. A 2004 17' Lund Pro-Sport with a 115 HP 4 stroke Merc with hydraulic steering and power trim and tilt, and a 2007 14' Lund with a 15 HP 4 stroke Tiller Merc.
I used a TS with my 17's Lund at the recommendation of the dealer that sold it to me. (it was the first boat I ever owned). I only had it for 2 years, so can't say if the TS I had on it was a positive or negative.
But I have never used a TS on my 14' Lund. That 15 HP is thru bolted to the transom, not just "clamped on" and the trailer frame is so far up under the stern hull, I would have needed to make a special TS with a "bend" in it to go out from the trailer frame, then up to the motor lower unit.
First time I trailered that boat anywhere I noticed what another has posted, the motor would swing back and forth in a turn. So I got a ratcheting cargo strap, hooked one end to the lifting handle around the front of the motor, pulled the motor all the way over to the left side, then looped the other end of the strap down around the stern hull and around the back trailer frame. Take a few ratchets on the strap, and for 12 years now, my motor stays in place no mater how hard of a turn I make. There isn't anything attached to the motor LU, so if the trailer and boat "bounce" a bit on a bumpy road, the boat and motor will bounce together, but the motor won't swing violently back and forth.
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[WET1]

It's what was recommended by Yamaha when I bought my boat in 2008.
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[Old_Coot]

Man, no way would I own a boat with an outboard without employing a transom saver! Without a TS, those motors are up and down floppy-woppy going down the road. And to take this conversation a little further, I would say that unless your so-called transom saver doesn't transfer the bounce pressure/energy to the trailer (away from the transom), it isn't a real "transom saver". The My Wedgey for example just keeps the motor propped up. I don't see where it relieves the pressure from the transom. The TS I use quickly connects to the trailer with just a half twist and a rubber bungee strap and I'm ready to hit the road.

However, I don't believe that transom savers do much at all for keeping outboards from flopping side to side when going around corners. To stop that, just find a way to keep your steering wheel from turning. I just run a strap from the steering wheel to a cleat and no more left-right flopping.

Here is [url "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8smyPF8IxQ"]a YouTube video[/url] of the transom savers that I have on both my main motor and my kicker … and I LOVE them!: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8smyPF8IxQ

It's called the "Extreme Max Transom Saver".

--- Coot ---
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[SBennett]

That is exactly why.
I run a Motor Saver rod on my XS 175 and it handles it perfectly.
Try this test as proof,assuming your motor will have hydraulics?
Put your motor in any position and see if you can move it even an 1/8". I bet you can't.
Now imagine the shock of the road traveling through your trailer, and remember your trailer does not have shock absorbers, and the abuse your motor is taking to its hydraulics through the transom saver.
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[SBennett]

I am more than happy to agree to disagree.
Just please do yourself two favors.
First, never let the rubber pads wear out or you will have new drain holes in your LU from the protruding bolts.
Second, depending on your method of attachment of your saver to your trailer frame, pray every trip it does not become unattached from the frame and digs in to the highway. It will catapult your LU up in a violent manner.
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[Kent]

I just had a lengthy conversation with Lee Leavitt, owner of Lee's Marine in Hyrum. I and many others of us consider him the local premier source of knowledge on almost anything to do with boats and outboards.

His advice is to use a transom saver, on heavy outboards, for the following reasons:
1) If your hydraulics fail the transom saver will keep your outboard from letting the outboard hit the pavement.
2) Transoms are not designed to handle the vertical up and down movement that is put on it by a bouncing outboard. It can cause damage to the weakest point of attachment of the outboard, which is near the bottom of the transom.
3) The stress that is put on the hydraulics is far greater when one runs the outboard, in the water (both forward and reverse), than would ever occur while driving down the road.
4) The hydraulics are designed to give a little when the outboard hits something solid, which also saves damage to the hydraulics and the outboard and transom.
5) If you have an outboard with carburetors, you have to tilt the outboard much higher if just using tilt locks, instead of using transom savers and your carburetors can spill causing a mess.

He has seen a few transom savers damaged when they came loose, while driving down the road, but never seen any damage to anything else.

He said to notice how much your outboard bounces when you are going through waves, or similar rough water, and this is far greater stress on the hydraulics than it would ever experience on a trailer.
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[dubob]

[quote fishgiver]I have a 16' Lund w/40 Merc. Considering a transom saver but would like to hear from you all.
Thanks,[/quote][font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000][size 3]So, have you decided yet?[/size][/#800000][/font]
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[/size][/#800000][/font]
[font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000][size 3]This thread isn't going anywhere fast. There are several of us that don't use them, don't need them, and don't think they are needed on our boats. Others want them , need, them, and think they are needed on their boats. Nothing said here is going to change anybody's mind.[/size][/#800000][/font]
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[/size][/#800000][/font]
[font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000][size 3]I hope you (fishgiver) have gathered enough information to make an intelligent choice. And the very BEST thing you could do is to call LUND, tell them what you have, and ask their advice. It will be a much better informed answer than you will ever get here. Good luck and tight lines.[/size][/#800000][/font]
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[fishgiver]

Thanks for all of your advice and input everyone. I have gone with the traditional TS as it seems to allieve my conserns makes me feel better.
Again, thanks to all for your advise.
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[SBennett]

That is a fantastic fishing boat, congratulations!
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[kandersonSLC]

As a new boat owner, this thread has been very informative. Thanks to all who did a great job explaining their points of view.

I'm a little surprised someone hasn't come up with a hybrid TS that uses a shock absorber attached to the trailer.
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[MSM1970]

Mine has a spring in it on my main motor, so its not solid from the frame to the LU, it seem to be which ever give you the warm fuzzy feeling is best,
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[Old_Coot]

[quote kandersonSLC]I'm a little surprised someone hasn't come up with a hybrid TS that uses a shock asorber attached to the trailer.[/quote]

They have ... but if one of the things you are trying to accomplish is to minimize the flexing on the transom, a TS with a shock absorber defeats the purpose because it allows that unwanted flexing. Think about it ... if the motor is attached to the transom saver and the transom saver and boat are securely attached to the trailer, then the trailer suspension IS the shock asbsorbsion.
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[kandersonSLC]

I used to test jet engines for a living. This makes me want to rig my boat and trailer with strain gauges, pressure transducers, thermocouples, high-speed cameras, etc. to see what is really going on when we haul our boats down the road. []
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[Old_Coot]

[quote kandersonSLC]I used to test jet engines for a living. This makes me want to rig my boat and trailer with strain gauges, pressure transducers, thermocouples, high-speed cameras, etc. to see what is really going on when we haul our boats down the road. [][/quote]

Or even better, just follow behind me without my transom savers connected and then follow behind me WITH them connected. I think you'd be a believer in transom savers pretty quick. [cool]
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[dubob]

[quote Old_Coot]Or even better, just follow behind me without my transom savers connected and then follow behind me WITH them connected. I think you'd be a believer in transom savers pretty quick. [cool][/quote][font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000][size 3]Nahhhhh - I wouldn't!!!!! [/size][/#800000][/font][] [] []
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[SBennett]

I just thought of something...
Just curious, usually when a transom saver is used the motor's center of gravity is almost at the 'over-center' position. Maybe yours is not?
With your motor in the 'transom saver' position, and let's say your hydraulics failed and your motor 'free-floated', how much weight would you guesstimate the saver would actually be supporting?
I know it appears to be a lot but the power head weighs much more than the lower unit.
One guy can lift/position/attach a lower unit on his own.
A engine hoist is required for all but the tiniest power heads to be lifted.
Mine would not be much.
Maybe yours is a lot more?
I think knowing how much weight the TS is actually holding could help a guy make the correct decion?
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[wiperhunter2]

My last two bigger boats that I had before the one I currently have did not have hydraulics. I had each boat about 5 years each and always used a TS, with no issues. IMO the weight was plenty heavy enough to keep the motor's lower unit from coming off the TS and I was going down some pretty rough roads, like the one going to Porcupine.
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[Old_Coot]

For my purposes, the transom saver isn't supporting weight so much as it is keeping the lower unit from going up and down (flex on the transom and up/down flopping).

For a motor with hydraulics (like a main motor): Because the hydraulics has the motor "locked" in position, any bumpy road up and down flexing would be transferred to the trailer via the TS. The TS prevents the lower unit from moving up/down … i.e. prevents flexing of the transom (assuming the boat and trailer are properly secured to each other). As for how much weight you ask? I have no clue. For me, it's not a matter of weight … rather a matter of flex pressure at the motor's mounting and the transom.

For a motor without hydraulics (like a kicker): The kicker on my boat isn't really "locked" in position unless it is in the fully lowered trolling position. So going down the road sitting in the up position, it is pretty up and down floppy-woppy. So for the kicker, the transom saver has two purposes; (1) keeping the lower unit from flopping up and down and (2) relieving the minor transom flex pressure when bouncing. Once again, I don't have any idea of how much weight is involved.

When the motors are in their up position (whether it be a small kicker or a large main motor), as you pointed out, their weight is basically balanced over the transom … not on the transom saver. The transom savers help to prevent transom flex and motor bounce. It's really not much of a weight issue.
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