Mark, I leave the outboard in the cutout on Corndog all the time. I did reinforce the transom first, though, to make sure there weren't any problems. Much better than having to remove it all the time and adding one more chore at the launch ramp. My motor is the 6hp Suzuki. Same as your 4hp. If you mount it as far to port as possible you should be able to clear your rudder all right. That's one of the benefits of the Suzuki, having the control arm coming out the front instead of the side like the Yamaha. Larry Yake On Fri, 25 Feb 2011 21:03:58 -0700 "Mark House" <itsmark@bresnan.net> writes:

Jerry Montgomery says that the outboard belongs in the boat while sailing, but that's simply not practical. My old M-17 with cutout transom is said to be too weak to trailer the boat with the outboard mounted. Is this true? Has anyone actually had damage or a failure? I use a 4 HP 4-cycle Suzuki, weighing 57 lb. Seems like if the transom is strong enough to take the weight and thrust while vibrating and slamming into waves, it ought to be ok going down the highway on a trailer...

My cutout transom is pretty close to the rudder, and I have had the outboard prop hit my new $600+ IdaFoil. Luckily there was no damage. Looks to me like a Davis Doel-Fin mounted on the cavitation plate would prevent the problem. Has anyone tried to install a hydrofoil on such a small motor? If so which one?

Thanks, Mark House # 232 "Seranita" _______________________________________________ http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/montgomery_boats

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