Mounting Honda 2hp Motor

omdurman2

New Member
I recently bought a Honda 4-cycle 2hp outboard for my Capri 14.2. Because of a slightly protruding rubber edge around the boat, the motor could not be securely attached to the transom. Also, it appears that when mounted on the transom the motor could interfere with the operation of the boat. Any suggestions? I am not handy with repairs or modifiations and would probably have to have somebody do whatever needs to be done to make the motor work with the boat. Thanks for suggestions!
 
I'm just sitting around waiting for an answer to my question, so I'll try yours. First, your profile is blank...shy? Where are you located? If you are any where near Ventura, CA, I would like to help you mount it. (Whoa, that's a mental picture) What rail are you talking about? The rub rail?

Here is some tips from the FAQ (If you are a noob, that stands for "Frequently Asked Questions")

Motor Mount - What to use? Catalina will sell you a fancy mount, but I don’t think it’s needed. You can mount the motor on top of the transom, on either the port or starboard side. (Steer with the tiller.) Make sure it’s far enough to one side so the rudder can’t touch the prop. Only don’t clamp the motor right to the fiberglass transom. I’d glue and/or screw a pair of thin (say 3/8” or 1/2” thick) oak pieces to the transom on each side of where the clamps would go. This gives a more secure grip for the clamps and doesn’t screw up the fiberglass. The width and height of the oak pieces depends on the motor and clamp configuration, but they will probably end up measuring about 5” x 10”.

One reader sent this: “I use a Fulton 380321 adjustable bracket with a Fulton transom adapter. The bracket slips out of the adapter when not in use. I drilled two new holes in the adapter just below the top two so that I could through bolt through the Capri's internally reinforced area on the Port side of the boat. The adjustable bracket lets me skim shallow in low water areas and place the motor deep into the water when waves are running high (though I seldom need a motor when waves are high). Cheapest source is C-ME marine but they often run low on supply (they have an 800 number and a website - ship UPS from Buffalo).”
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I am not handy with repairs or modifiations
One of the best things about a boat is "Messing around" with it, You had the stones to get a sailboat and then weighed in with a Honda motor, grab some simple tools and give it a whirl, I could or I believe others here could walk you just about anything you would ever want to do, just add some pictures. (FAQ how to post pic's)
 
I also picked up a Honda 2 last friday. I am opting for the safe route and will let my local sailboat shop install it with a standard Catalina motor mount. Still waiting on the mount to arrive but will let you know how it goes as soon as all is done.
 
I have an electric trolling motor on the back of my C-14, but the principles are the same. My boat came with the standard Catalina mount (I think), which offsets the motor about 6" to the stern as opposed to actually mounting it on the transom. As it is, the motor handle and housing tend to foul the traveler/main sheet if I don't idle it in the proper position when not in use. I can't imagine how much worse it would be if it were mounted forward 6" on the transom.

Hope this helps,
Jim
 
Motor Mount, we don't need no stinking motor mount...

Seriously... the gas motor might need a motor mount (larger cowling?), but I went electric, with the battery in the cubby (I have a Mod 1, and thus have the room). Ran Jumper cables (spliced and run to a 40 amp fuse) under the decking, to get it there.

But for mounting? I use just two (not)fancy plywood blocks (stained and sealed). They look better now than they do in this picture (and the stain is off the hull). I am cheap, and don't class race, so the function takes precedence over the look. Price takes precedence over all.

Attached picture.
 

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Motor Mount

Thanks everyone for your replies. I did purchase a catalina motor mount for the 14.2 (identical to the one pictured on a previous thread). In theory looks like it would be easy to install: four holes/four bolts. Never having attempted this before and seeing as the margin of error would be small, does anyone have any specific suggestions on what to do - or should I take it to a boat guy? E.g. how do you drill the holes so they are exactly perpendicular to the transom surface, etc. Thanks a lot. Tom in Virginia.
 
Thanks everyone for your replies. I did purchase a catalina motor mount for the 14.2 (identical to the one pictured on a previous thread). In theory looks like it would be easy to install: four holes/four bolts. Never having attempted this before and seeing as the margin of error would be small, does anyone have any specific suggestions on what to do - or should I take it to a boat guy? E.g. how do you drill the holes so they are exactly perpendicular to the transom surface, etc. Thanks a lot. Tom in Virginia.

Are you near Richmond, Tom? If so, you're welcome to take a look at my motor mount installation.

I'm sure everyone handles it differently, but the position that I chose required each hole to be handled quite differently. In fact, only one hole was "in the clear"... three were inside the seat and required me to cut out an opening on top of the seat for access (which I closed with a water-tight marine screw cover). Also, each hole required different spacers and backing because of location or the number of layers being drilled through. The "visible" bolt went through both the inner and outer hulls, so a plywood spacer was required there since you can't torque down on thin plastic. Another bolt was through only the thin outer hull, so a large plywood backing piece was needed there. The other two bolts were near the reinforced corner, so only large stainless washers were used for backing there.

Anyway, to get the integrity that I was looking for, it took a little creativity.
 
Thanks everyone for your replies. I did purchase a catalina motor mount for the 14.2 (identical to the one pictured on a previous thread). In theory looks like it would be easy to install: four holes/four bolts. Never having attempted this before and seeing as the margin of error would be small, does anyone have any specific suggestions on what to do - or should I take it to a boat guy? E.g. how do you drill the holes so they are exactly perpendicular to the transom surface, etc. Thanks a lot. Tom in Virginia.

Well I,m proud of you for trying, (As if that has any bearing on anything...) but seeing what Scott had to do, you may want someone else's help, yikes! cutting a hole in the seat is not a typical DIY project. Keep us posted on your results. Compelling stuff.
 
Thanks everyone for your replies. I did purchase a catalina motor mount for the 14.2 (identical to the one pictured on a previous thread). In theory looks like it would be easy to install: four holes/four bolts.

Hi Tom,

longshot.jpg

Here's a pic of the 4-bolt pattern to the right of the Baby Bob. As you can see, none of the bolts ended up below the seat. The only reason for extending the pattern that low is to get additional resistance to twisting or leveraging the motor up or down. So far the narrow pattern up and down has worked fine for my boat, even though I suspect the transom is hollow in that area.

Never having attempted this before and seeing as the margin of error would be small, does anyone have any specific suggestions on what to do - or should I take it to a boat guy? E.g. how do you drill the holes so they are exactly perpendicular to the transom surface, etc. Thanks a lot. Tom in Virginia.

Drilling the holes perfectly perpendicular is difficult for even the most experienced craftspeople. Without doubt the only foolproof method is use a drill press or similar device mounted to an electric drill. Then pre-drill the holes through a short 2x8 (or whatever works) to make sure the distances are correct in regard to the mount, then clamp the 2x8 onto the transom in the right place to drill the holes through the transom.

If your transom is hollow (the preferable characteristic given that plywood eventually rots in a boat), you can fill the area around the mount with expanding polyurethane foam (not the window/door stuff) to get more stiffness and resistance to collapse under the bolt compression.

Hope this helps,
Jim
 
2HP Mount

I have the factory mount for the 14.2, same as pictured on other threads on this board - it looks like it can be installed with 4 bolts across the transom without any of them falling below the seat. Problem is that no matter how far I place the mount to the side, the rudder still hits it. If I position the mount as far to the port side of the transom as I can, the rudder will hit it at about a 45 angle to the transom. Not a perfect fit but how big a sailing problem would this be under actual operating conditions? Could I just pretty much sail with this limitation? I've got a mod 2 boat, do the mod 3's come with a different shaped rudder that would clear the mount?
 
Seriously... the gas motor might need a motor mount (larger cowling?), but I went electric, with the battery in the cubby (I have a Mod 1, and thus have the room). Ran Jumper cables (spliced and run to a 40 amp fuse) under the decking, to get it there.

But for mounting? I use just two (not)fancy plywood blocks (stained and sealed). They look better now than they do in this picture (and the stain is off the hull). I am cheap, and don't class race, so the function takes precedence over the look. Price takes precedence over all.

Attached picture.

I like electric motor and currently I am in dilemma should I buy electric or honda 2HP. I have old capri omega and my bunk is small, but I could squeeze two 12V batteries in, I guess. Do not like to run all that cabling through the whole boat. I just want to be able to sail under power for a while if necessary as I have small kids and do not want to get stuck in the middle of the lake. Not a big fan of the internal combustion engines but not sure how electric motor would perform and what range would give me. How much thrust does your electric motor creates? How fast can it push you? How many min/hours do you get on a charge? I was thinking to get some old 2-3HP motor, rip off the engine, and install 600W, 24V system with a controller right inside of the housing. No need to run any cables or so. I know such a motor would give me 20-30 miles on the bike, but not sure how many amps would it suck to move 14 foot sailboat, with 2-3 people forward.
Any suggestions and ideas are welcomed.

emeded.
 
Question for SHNOOL

[QUOTE=SHNOOL;5091Ran Jumper cables (spliced and run to a 40 amp fuse) under the decking, to get it there.
I am cheap, and don't class race, so the function takes precedence over the look. Price takes precedence over all.

Like you , I don't race, am from PA and am cheap. I am about to buy an electric for my mod 1 and can put the battery in the cubby. I am concerned about running the cables under wherever you ran them. I am wondering where they come out and how did you fish the wires? I am okay with the electrics and all but I don't know the boat well enough to start drilling and hoping.

Regards
Ray in FL
 
This will teach me to stay away from the sailing boards for a while.

A 35lb thrust motor works fine on the capri. Even in 15 knot winds at full speed on the electric I can still maintain 2 knots forward into the wind (faster without wind resistance of rigging and sails flapping)...

Clamping it direct on the transome is fine, with a set of blocks, to protect the fiberglass. Get a short shaft electric, the cheapest ones are fine. A motor mount would be better of course, as it would get the motor clear of the traveller and the rudder, but I worked with what I had.

Ok now duration of battery.. well as you can guess that is an iffy subject... but here goes anyway. I bought a strong Marine maintenance DEEP CYCLE battery (meaning it can be discharged fully and recharged several times, and it won't hurt it)... So my battery is designed for trolling motors (probably $75).

On wide open, I can get MORE than 3 hours of settings 3 to 5 on the motor (5 is top speed) I've never tried more running than that (as the wind had died, and why would I be sailing still with no wind) .

In 5 knots or less wind, setting 5 can get me to hull speed. I am sure you could probably get a tractor or motorcycle motor (not designed for deep cycle by the way), or even a kids 12V play car battery, and it could sit at the transom somewhere). But then you wouldn't get the increased usage I get, or the ballast advantage for a family boat.

Hope that answers all teh questions...

My take... $800 for a 2hp gas, or about $175 for an electric. Easy decision.

Oh and you can get higher thrust electrics but people use 54lbs of thrust for trolling on #3000 bass boats, what are you trying to accomplish?

My buddy and I in high school used a 3HP electric motor to place in bass tournaments on PA lakes where electric only motors were allowed. We motored for up to 2 hours on a single marine 12V deep cycle battery.

Finally... Motor mount... I honestly thought the rudder would swing free with a motor mount? DOES it NOT? My electric is either A) nearly against the transom (and out of the way) while motororing, or B) swung almost horizontal (and out of the way) while sailing (except that the traveler can get caught sometimes on the head of the motor - so I make sure the motor is pulled THROUGH the traveller - problem solved.
 
Thanks for the info. I will defiantly go electric. As far as trolling motors, I have seen them in action and they do not give me a good feeling of being able to master some swells and winds decently. 50lbs of thrust as a measurement is something that's hard to compare with HP or Watts. I think trolling motors manufacturer invented that at it sounds much better then to say this motor is rated to 1/3 HP. Throw in prop differences, and actual comparison gets even harder. However, if I had to, I would opt always for trolling instead internal combustion engine. It is funny how everybody is blaming 2 strokes to be bad polluters, and almost sounds that 4 stroke now days do not pollute at all! Big misconception. I think I will enjoy to "kill" one of those two stroke polluters and convert it to electric.
 
The capri is really too small a boat to worry about thrust, unless you are out in 30 knot winds. A swell and into the wind, it might do only 2 knots, but definitely fast enough to get you back in.
 
The capri is really too small a boat to worry about thrust, unless you are out in 30 knot winds. A swell and into the wind, it might do only 2 knots, but definitely fast enough to get you back in.

Or you are sailing in San Francisco Bay. You really have to watch for some currents over there.
Anyway, electric (in any form) is much better option in my eyes. More cleaner lakes, and less repairs.
 
I have opted for a 3.3hp 2 stroke mercury over a 55lb trolling motor.

1. Outboard will give you way more range. This is a factor that applies to me.

2. Outboard has more power period. A 30lb trolling motor may push just fine with no wind but if you are sailing somewhere where there is current then you can find yourself burning battery while going backwards.

3. Weight, by the time you add a heavy deep cycle batter you are already going to be as heavy or heavier than a 2/3hp OB. My 3.3hp weighs 26lbs. A gallon of fuel about 6lbs.

4. Water and electrical... you do the math.

I think the decision is really more based on where you sail. For me on the St. Johns River a 30lb trolling motor during a tide change would be a better anchor that a motor.

Outbords will need a bracket that sets them 10" or so off the back or else they will be in the way of the travler.

It does help that i got my 3.3hp mercury which was basically brand new for only $200.
 
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