Side-mount outboard bracket ideas please

[Chris.]

I have a 22 sq metre yacht, 40 ft x 6.5 ft by 4.5 ft, 4800 lbs displacement, and it has an outboard well in the port aft area of the cockpit, put there by a previous owner. This places it about 1.5 ft from the centreline, and about 15 ft forward of the stern. Handy position, but sharing a cockpit with a noisy and smelly 4 hp 2-stroke can really spoil a day's sailing - as it usually gets used to get back to the mooring at the end of the day. Water also slops over the top when on starboard tack. I do not like this well.

I rarely use the outboard motor, and have for a couple of seasons now kept promising to plank over the well opening but have yet to find a satisfactory way of attaching the outboard elsewhere. The 22 sq metre guys in Sweden have a nice method of attaching their outboards (see picture), but having an outboard located some 15 ft or so aft of where i want to sit in the cockpit has, in my mind, some shortcomings.

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid201/p3a903efe0e4394801fc86a3d62942465/effef99b.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid201/p0ddab880bcabc416a1fe1f9b6796e38c/effefed4.jpg

I would prefer a side-mount bracket but the options seem limited. Searching the WB archives for ideas hasn't really helped. Has anyone seen any good ideas for attachment of outboards to the side of yachts?

I need an easily removed bracket, as it will be only used when required. The Bristol Bronze and Spartan brackets look good for stern mounting, but I am unsure about how they would handle all the thrust coming from the side.

If I can't come up with a good idea I will just trade the 2-stroke on a new quiet 4-stroke, and live with the bloody horrible well .... but I would prefer to close the opening in the bottom.

All ideas welcome.

Thanks,

Chris.

[J. Dillon]

http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/3167/mightymite6yj.jpg

I designed one for my 18' sprit rigged skiff. It bolts on the gunwale as shown with two 1/2" bolts. I comes off and on easily.

Each situation requires it's own thought and designing to fill the needs of the boat in regards of accommodating weight,thrust and torque.

I used it once. The motor proved too noisy and under powered. At full rpm it could only move the boat at 2.5 kts.

However I hope you can use some ideas shown above and other posts here on the WBF.

I can post other views of the bracket if needed.

JD

[Chris.]

Thanks JD, your style bracket has possibilities.

I would need to modify it a bit becuase of the greater freeboard of my boat. I figure that by lowering the motor mount below the gunwhale, I would increase the turning moment exerted by the prop thrust. The thrust exterted by the outboard at full throttle trying to overcome the inertia of the boat could be quite high, so some strengthening could be needed.

CM

[J. Dillon]

Here's another view without the motor. The hole is where the the tightening clamps go. The motor hangs off to the right in the image. This unit is all wood . In your case I would think some metal will have to be incorporated in the design. Gives ya something to ponder on these cool winter evenings. ;)

JD

http://img516.imageshack.us/img516/6968/outboardmount22yw.jpg