Hi Tom, Your question really consists of two questions: The first is: Is the M17 transom strong enough to take the weight, bouncing, and shock loads imparted by driving over expansion strips, curbs, or pot holes. Bob Eeg says it is strong enough. The second question is: How much do trust your fellow man while waving an $800 "goodie" under his nose? To remove an outboard all you have to do is undo two screws, and lift it off. That can be done quite rapidly; in the time you stop at a gas station; go to the toilet; and return to your vehicle. If you have some form of lock on the motor, it takes longer, but overnight at a motel the determined thief - equipped with heavy duty bolt cutters - will be stopped for about 1 minute; or there are the stories of the determined thief with a Sawsall just removing the portion of the transom containing the motor mount. Now that will really fry your hide when you see that.... Result: One nice 2, 3, or 4 HP outboard has disappeared - never to be seen again. At the current price for four cycle outboards, similar to the cost of laptop computers, would you leave an $800 item out in the open, and hope that everyone in the world around you is honest, and will leave your property alone? I carefully removed my HONDA 2 HP motor while towing the M15, and stowed it in the locked (and covered) back end of my VW Jetta station wagon. It was always there when I arrived at the launch ramp. I never had any unpleasant surprises. My $.02 worth. Connie ex M15 #400 LEPPO ----- Original Message ---- From: Tom Jenkins <tjenk@gte.net> To: For and about Montgomery Sailboats <montgomery_boats@mailman.xmission.com> Sent: Sunday, May 4, 2008 3:29:31 PM Subject: M_Boats: dangling motors Montgomery people, On occasion, raising even a Honda 5 onto the outboard bracket of a 17 seems threatening to the skeleton, so I am wondering if any of you with a 21st century M17 leaves the iron jib in place while traveling. The transom and bracket look strong, but I certainly would not want to compromise any of that nice fiberglass. Sorry if this has been discussed already. Thanks, Tom Jenkins M17 Scintilla (2004) _______________________________________________ http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/montgomery_boats