Jim Sorry I missed your call. I was at soccer and baseball games all day w/ the kids and left the phone back home. I'd have to go up at least one hole because the little tabs on the front of the motor mount, which sits on the transom, would be against the transom and would keep me from lining up the first (top) set of holes. Do you think I should just go up one hole? I think that will get the tab to clear. Or should I go two holes? Looks like one hole will do it, though.
Installation complete. Pictures attached. My son was the mission photographer and able assistant. We hoisted the engine with very slight pressure on the engine crane, removed the engine bolts, cleaned the bolts to remove the old 3M5200 sealant (we re-used the 5" bolts on the bottom, and purchased new Mercury 6" bolts, part no. 10-67755003, on the top). While the engine was off, we cleaned the transom and re-sealed the transom cap and the tops of the transom support plates with silicone. The mounting holes were cleaned out and re-filled with 3M5200, then the new bolts were pushed through on top, the bolts were sealed at the outside of the transom, and then the wedge was installed. The bottom bolts were put in and sealed and then the engine was re-installed one level (one set of holes) up from the lowest mounting height. The hoist was adjusted to get the engine into position to bolt back to the transom. The whole project took a couple of hours and went smoothly. The wedge will prevent a direct seal of the engine mount to the transom and will potentially allow water to get at the mounting holes in the transom. Thus, it seems like a good idea to really seal the bolts with alot of 3M5200 right at the outside of the transom where the bolts go through. Hope this helps others. Markbano
Great, I am sure you will like it. The bolts should seal against the metal plate on the outside of the transom. It really can't move around. If that plate was not there I would be concerned. jim
I think you're right. My only concern is that the wedge is slotted and so that will leave open the potential for water to collect around the mounting hold inside the wedge. I could have filled the slots, as others have done and that would prevent that. On the other hand, if the hole is sealed up well around the bolt, it shouldn't be a problem anyway.
Mark, book report please. How did the test drive go? What differences did you notice? Might take a few trips to try everything (skiers etc) but a running commentary would be interesting.
Unfortunately, it will be June before this boat sees water this year. I will absolutely report back on the impact of the wedge once I do get it in the water, though. I've got a few more things to get done on the boat to get it ready and my schedule is such that I won't get the boat up north for at least a couple of weeks yet.
Mark, If you are worried about water intrusion, you could insert one of those rubber grommets like are use on the end of shock absorbers (auto) or something similar between the motor and the transom plate. It would be inside the wedge. Use plenty of sealer and there would be a definite seal against the transom plate. I am amazed at the length of this "wedge" thread. jim
I added transom wedges to my Glastron CVX-16 for better low-speed planing. Lighter hull than a Dyne (725 lb w/o motor) plus my 120 Evinrude. Planes at 14 mph or so. Bob's Machine transom wedge is what I think I ended up finding online. Around $20 so it was an inexpensive experiment.
Mark I just dug up this thread to refer somebody else onto it (a barefooter with a sanger) and was hoping you'd finish the thread with an update of how the wedge has changed your boat and the positives and negatives. Thanks Greg
