Sled for transom mounted outboards?

[unbusted67]

The issue with transom mounted outboards is that they dunk and or come out of the water in a seaway. Am I out of my mind in thinking that there’s a market for a track to mount an outboard on with some kind of flotation so that it could rise and fall somewhat independently of the transom? Has this already been invented and is a just a terrible idea? You’d think with the amount of trailer sailors out there this would be a thing.

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by unbusted67

The issue with transom mounted outboards is that they dunk and or come out of the water in a seaway. Am I out of my mind in thinking that there’s a market for a track to mount an outboard on with some kind of flotation so that it could rise and fall somewhat independently of the transom? Has this already been invented and is a just a terrible idea? You’d think with the amount of trailer sailors out there this would be a thing.

There are plenty of sleds out there. Mostly on multihulls because it makes a little more sense to drop them down between the hulls.


For a monohull, you could make a sliding track with floats around the outboard so that it goes up and down. That would probably work better. Sleds are long

[thomm225]

It's usually not a problem with an adjustable bracket.

Also, once offshore you could always mount your outboard on your stern railing

Earlier on the day of this video the waves were close to 8' and breaking on the boat when I was sailing closer to beam too, the outboard though never went under water.

It started fine after I got into my creek and started it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nXfjcCuiPk

[Rapanui]

Our Fountaine Pajot Maldives had a sled with the engine position under the cockpit in a hood. The sled had a raising and lowering tackle so that it was properly immersed when motoring and clear of the water when sailing. That brought the outboard location forward enough so it did not pitch out and race which tends to be what happens when mounted aft of the transom. All in all, it really worked well.

[Benz]

I just had a sled built to replace my old fixed OB bracket. Haven't installed it yet (refit's going slow), but I'm keen to see it in action. No floats though--it'll just be up for storage or down for use. When up it will be as though hooked to the stern-rail, so futher out of the water than before.