Transom Saver

[grout-scout]

Ever seen what an outboard is doing running across a rough lake??

I know it puts a hellacious strain on the transom, more than either type of saver does.

[pmgoffjr]

Yes more than a little. Busted three jack plates, busted a few troll motor and some windshields.
If you spend time on falcon Rayburn or Toledo you’ll find all you want.

[Jim Smith]

If you remove ALL of the movement of the motor, how does it 'bounce' on the transom?

[grout-scout]

If you remove ALL of the movement of the motor, how does it 'bounce' on the transom?

I think these guys assume that the old school toter takes the weight of the motor off of the transom, I’m with Pat though, I watch the motor take the jarring from the trailer when hitting any kind of bump. That’s bound to cause quit a bit of stress to the transom with the upward travel against the lower unit.

[Champ2005]

I've used the old school toter, Lock-n-Haul and now use MotorMate. My favorite is MotorMate.

[bass-o-maticjm]

I followed my tourney partner home 3.5 hours last fall after he spent the money on a MotorMate. After watching his motor bounce around on every bump, I decided to keep my $100.

[Champ2005]

That's interesting bass-o and it causes me to wonder if what you saw wasn't the whole boat responding to the road and not just the motor? When my MotorMate is on, there is no movement in the engine, unless it's the whole boat moving. I mean literally there is no play in that motor. My wife has followed me and said the same thing, she sees no play in the motor. Hitting bumps in the road may cause the trailer and boat to move, but the motor isn't moving independently from the boat. Of course this is just what I've observed with my boat.

[pmgoffjr]

I'm glad we live in a country that allows us to have opinions.
I'm sorry all you guys that think a stick tied to the trailer is the answer.

Ask some of the smart guys in the business, like Rick Pierce, what his opinion is. I've never had that discussion with him, but I'll bet a crispy it's not a stick on the trailer.

[MMosher]

^BCB recommends the traditional transom saver

[grout-scout]

^BCB recommends the traditional transom saver

But don’t they recommend a certain style or type, not just the cheepo from Walmart? Or am I thinking about someone else?

[BalsaBee]

BCB recommends the traditional transom saver or the Lou's which also attaches to the trailer. I think they are more rightly concerned with protecting their own transoms instead of lower units but the only damage I've ever seen to a lower unit is scratched paint.

[Ziggy]

what about this one?

http://www.attwoodmarine.com/store/p...hock-absorbing

Interesting discussion here...

http://www.bbcboards.net/showthread.php?t=820713

[bass-o-maticjm]

That's interesting bass-o and it causes me to wonder if what you saw wasn't the whole boat responding to the road and not just the motor? When my MotorMate is on, there is no movement in the engine, unless it's the whole boat moving. I mean literally there is no play in that motor. My wife has followed me and said the same thing, she sees no play in the motor. Hitting bumps in the road may cause the trailer and boat to move, but the motor isn't moving independently from the boat. Of course this is just what I've observed with my boat.

It wasn't the whole boat, just the motor. I have been using the combination of a M-Y Wedge and centering clips the last few years. I'm sure that system too doesn't eliminate all play, but after following him for almost 200 miles I couldn't justify the $100 for something different.

[kmed2]

http://www.m-ywedge.com/products.html

[cwill]

what about this one?

http://www.attwoodmarine.com/store/p...hock-absorbing

Interesting discussion here...

http://www.bbcboards.net/showthread.php?t=820713

Thats what I use

[Nova Kaw 650]

I don’t like the old style transom savers.
Why?
Boats tied down to the trailer front and back.
When you put a rod from trailer to the lower unit, every bump goes straight through the motor into the transom.

Thanks you just helped a ton with that reply

I won't explain it again, as it's been explained before, but this ^^^^ is utterly and completely incorrect.
Okay, a quick explanation:
The boat is resting on the bunks, and is strapped down. The trailer and the boat are now one unit. There is NO movement between the trailer and the hull. Any movement of the trailer assembly above the suspension means movement of the hull as well. The only item left with any movement is the motor. For those of us that have to trim the motor up in order to tow, the risk is that the motor will bounce (with any supporter other than the original style transom saver), and every bit of that bouncing/twisting is transmitted directly through the motor mounts to the transom of the boat.
The transom saver makes a triangle connection between the boat/motor/trailer, so they are now one collective assembly. Should the motor try to bounce, the downforce is transmitted directly through the transom saver to the trailer frame rather than the transom.
This, and Bass Cat Boats recommend the transom saver style support for their boats.
And after saying all this, the force on the transom created by bouncing along the road is much less than the forces on the water, so it probably doesn't matter much anyway.

[pmgoffjr]

Man that just sounds awesome.
Except when you watch a trailer go down the road, hull is strapped down to the trailer, and it hits a bump in the road. WATCH IT...no matter how well you think it's strapped down it will move, and the hull and motor go this way, the trailer goes that way, and when gravity and compression meet, watch the motor take a shot from that transom saver. Akin to hitting a log in the water. Over and over and over.

The old school champ guys hated transom savers, I too thought they were stupid until I really started to pay attention.
It's your boat, do whatever you want, but remember it's your opinion, just like mine is mine.

[Nova Kaw 650]

If you see a boat that's moving independent of the trailer, then I'll show you a trailer with a really bad trailer/bunk set up. The boat should be tight to the bunks with no gaps or movement, period.
Our bass club is like follow-the-leader on the way home after a tourney; I've never seen a boat moving/bouncing independent of the trailer, nor have I heard anyone else mention it. If I saw that happening to someone else's boat, I would be immediately notifying him so he could set up/repair the trailer before damage was done.

[grout-scout]

My transom ratchet straps don’t get tight enough to lock the boat down to the bunks. I’m thinking maybe our roads in Texas must
be a lot worse than some of the roads in the north. I have never seen an old school transom saved get tight enough to keep the motor from shaking either. I have seen them rip off some paint though.


anybody remember the swinging steel balls where the kinetic energy makes the steel ball on the end of the line shoot up when the first ball hits the 4 in the middle? That’s what I see a trailer and transom saver doing.

[Nova Kaw 650]

My transom ratchet straps don’t get tight enough to lock the boat down to the bunks. I’m thinking maybe our roads in Texas must
be a lot worse than some of the roads in the north. I have never seen an old school transom saved get tight enough to keep the motor from shaking either. I have seen them rip off some paint though.
anybody remember the swinging steel balls where the kinetic energy makes the steel ball on the end of the line shoot up when the first ball hits the 4 in the middle? That’s what I see a trailer and transom saver doing.

The boat won't bounce off the bunks if there's NO straps on it.
If the bunks/bow roller is set up right.