Hi, Ron--
I used a piece of 1/2-inch plywood, as well as the two angle pieces that Cat
Direct sells you (very expensive pieces of steel, but probably worth it).
The plywood was an odd-shaped piece that extended over an area of about 18 x
15 inches, spreading the load somewhat. I later learned by reading Judy
Blumhorst¹s detailed accounts, and some others, that you could put in a
certain amount of work to account for the fact that the inner and outer
walls of the transom have a gap, by filling with things that would keep the
gap stiff. But it looks as though I got away with it in my ignorance of
that, and possibly because I added the piece of plywood and distributed the
load.
Regards,
Dave S.
On 7/27/08 3:03 PM, "Ron Johnson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> Dave-I am just reviewing your detailed and very informative outboard bracket
> recommendations. I am contemplating buying the Z2275. I gather that a
> template and directions for mounting does not come with the bracket--right?
> What did you use for a backing plate? I see that Catalina Direct sells a
> couple of angle pieces for this for this purpose.-Ron
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>>
>> From: David Shugarts <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>>
>> To: [email protected]
>>
>> Sent: Sunday, May 13, 2007 6:16 PM
>>
>> Subject: catalina27-talk: Outboard and bracket
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Hi, All--
>>
>> I wanted to give a quick update on my outboard and bracket. Launch day was
>> yesterday and I was able to get everything ready and working in time,
>> although it got a little tense.
>>
>> First, I should mention that Catalina Direct got back to me on the matter of
>> the claimed 17-inch bracket travel and they say they went out and tried it
>> at their warehouse, and found 16.5 inches. They say you won't learn this due
>> to the geometry until you can get the bracket down to the bottom notch. I
>> will measure and confirm this if I can.
>>
>> The Catalina Direct bracket works very well and has just the right amount of
>> spring for this engine, when going to the fist notch down. The second, or
>> bottom, notch will take a lot more force to reach.
>>
>> I mounted the bracket using the middle set of holes, so that at a later
>> date, I can set it about 1-1/4 inches higher or lower. Lower will not be
>> necessary, as it sits nicely at the first notch with the cavitation plate
>> buried about two inches.*
>>
>> Upon drilling the holes, I found by probing that the inboard two would
>> probably take two-inch bolts (3/8 diameter), but the outer ones (only about
>> 7 inches away) would require about 2-3/8 inch bolts. So I bought 2-inch for
>> the inboard and 2.5-inch for the outboard holes. That was a major mistake.
>> When I cranked on the outboard bolts, the transom compressed a bit, and this
>> jammed the nuts down on the threads without tightening the bolts up. It took
>> a session with the Dremel tool to cut these off, and then the 2-inch bolts
>> were appropriate for all four holes.
>>
>> I chose the port side for the bracket, the edge of it 9.5 inches off the
>> centerline, so as to clear the swim ladder. For various reasons, I chose to
>> put the remote control box on the starboard side. It is my plan to put an
>> aluminum plate over the entire area where the existing engine switch and
>> meters are. For the time being, I put in a piece of plywood, and mounted the
>> control box to it. This setup allowed me to use seven-foot control cables
>> that do an S-turn in the aft lazarette. The standard cables available at
>> iBoats.com are 6, 7 and 8 feet, so this was a good outcome.
>>
>> I made a two-inch hole for the cables and put a three-inch boot on it,
>> exiting the transom at just about the topmost possible point. This has to be
>> lined up with the starboard side of the engine, where the control cables go.
>>
>> Although I had started out by buying a Tohatsu 9.8 long-shaft, what I wound
>> up with was a Nissan 9.8, the same engine with a different decal. It's a
>> really long story, but the bottom line is that the guys in Tennessee are
>> prone to numerous errors.
>>
>> When I protested there wasn't any set of instructions as to how to use the
>> parts kit that modifies the engine for remote shifter/throttle, they faxed
>> me a diagram that is all they use themselves. By staring at this enough, I
>> eventually figured out what was needed. I got some help via a phone call to
>> their mechanic, but also got some conflicting info, too, so it was a mixed
>> blessing.
>>
>> The final challenge came when hooking up the electrical cable, which has
>> five leads. There is a diagram in the engine book, but very poorly labelled.
>> Again, I stared at the diagram until I came to understand it at the level of
>> the person who drew it. It turns out that an unlabelled item in the drawing
>> is an electric choke actuator. My engine doesn't have one, so I could omit
>> the blue lead. The other four leads had the effect of cutting out the
>> electric start switch and the neutral gear lockout switch.
>>
>> I had to remove the engine's tiller because I needed the holes for its
>> cable, in order to move the battery cable over, since I had to use THAT hole
>> for the manual choke, which had to be moved over in order to get the control
>> cable boot in. This is the sort of thing that they don't explain at all, so
>> you figure it out by standing and holding the parts in position.
>>
>> Electrically, the start switch is replaced by the key switch at the remote
>> box, and the neutral switch is replicated at the remote box. They don't just
>> come out and tell you this, which would be too easy. The neutral of the
>> remote box does not necessarily agree with the engine's position. You have
>> to adjust this with the control cable distance. At the present moment, it is
>> just barely not correct, leaving the engine in forward gear unless you
>> momentarily shift to reverse. Should be easy to rectify.
>>
>> The engine starts nicely but needs about five minutes to get warm enough to
>> idle. But it is still early; it has only run a total of about 20 minutes.
>> The four-stroke engine is wonderfully quiet--essentially silent at idle.
>>
>> *I had worried a little bit about how the heavy bracket and outboard would
>> lower the stern vis-à-vis the waterline, but it was not a problem. I
>> estimate it only depressed about 3/4 inch. But it was a small disappointment
>> that with the bracket in the up position, the engine doesn't clear the
>> water. I have some maneuvering room, since I can set the bracket higher. But
>> I still have the Atomic Four in the boat, and I am going to wait and see the
>> result of removing that weight.
>>
>> I had heard that reverse is sometimes disappointing with these outboards,
>> but I don't yet see a problem. I don't have the knotmeter hooked up and will
>> wait until the engine has some time before opening full throttle, so I won't
>> know for a while whether she will drive it up to hull speed.
>>
>> Regards,
>>
>>
>> --Dave Shugarts
>> C-27 #4866 Cahoots (1981)
>> SR, A4, Nission 9.8, Tiller, Dinette
>> Newtown (Housatonic River), CT
>> E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>> Website: http://www.BoatDiddly.com
>> ~~~~_/)~~~~~~~~~~~~(\_~~~~
>> ~~~~~ (\_~~~~
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
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