Transom saver

Do I need a transom saver on a 17 foot tiller with a 60 yamaha four stroke? I only need to trim up a few inches to have over a foot of clearance. Is one necessary?

Years ago I had a 17” boat with a 60 hp on it.
I used a transom saver but not for clearance.
Anytime you can keep the weight of a cantilevered lower unit from bouncing is a good thing when it comes to stress on your transom.

I also run a 17 foot 60 hp tiller.
No you do not need one.
I run one still though. I feel better with it on, less bounce, zero movement. I like how it locks things in place.

Like mentioned no you don’t need one. Yes you should have one. Could just go with the small hard rubber one that squishes, can’t remember the brand.

Check out the “Wedge”. Should solve your issues and save you time.

Transom saver is to keep pressure off the hydraulics while transporting.

You’ll never convince me the stress load on the transom with an accelerating and cruising boat full of gear and guys is less than a boat out of water bouncing down the road on a spring trailer.

They’re equivalent imo to social justice yard signs, it feels good but don’t do a dam thing

I have similar set up with a 60 on it. I always run a transom saver to to help with the motor load. A simple transom saver is a cheap piece of mind

I use a m-y wedge and think of it as a hydraulics saver (or safety for if the hydraulics failed) rather than a transom saver.

I’ve watched trailer/boats with the pole transom saver. On bumps, they are not rigid,…they flex. (if they didn’t why would a safety bungee around the lower unit be needed?) I cant reconcile this in my mind thinking that you could be doing more harm than good. I do use a wedge to save on the lift hydraulics. As was said before,…the torques associated with running the motor gotta be significantly more stress on the transom. My opinion.

Deuces wrote:

Transom saver is to keep pressure off the hydraulics while transporting.

Transom savers have been used long before hydraulics were ever offered on less than 100hp class engines. My first boat with a Merc 115hp was a manual tilt engine.

If they are for the hydraulics, why are they not called “hydraulics savers”?

I used to be a transom saver guy. When I bought my current boat in 2015, I was intending to continue that. The lead marine mechanic talked me into a wedge instead. It was similar in cost, similar in effectiveness, and took up 1/10 of the space, so that is what I use now.

As far as what either of these items are specifically designed to do, perhaps the best source might be an engineer, not a forum. I do it because is prevents some bouncing but I would be interested in what an engineer has to say in terms of simple physics on this subject.

Huntindave wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Mr.Beads wrote:</div>
Transom saver is to keep pressure off the hydraulics while transporting.

Transom savers have been used long before hydraulics were ever offered on less than 100hp class engines. My first boat with a Merc 115hp was a manual tilt engine.

If they are for the hydraulics, why are they not called “hydraulics savers”?

Do any outboard/boat manufacturers produce a “transom saver”? Seems like someone got an idea, people bought it, and now a lot of people think it’s needed/effective. I’ve got a Skeeter paired with a Yamaha outboard, they are owned by the same company. When I bought the boat it came with a sleeve that goes over the hydraulic rams of the outboard. If anything we’re to fail with the motor or transom, Yamaha corp. is covering the warranty. If they thought a transom saver was going to provide the best protection I think they would provide it instead of the cover over the hydraulics. The stress on my transom is exponentially more when I’m running big waves than any bump on the road is going to be.

gimruis wrote:

I used to be a transom saver guy. When I bought my current boat in 2015, I was intending to continue that. The lead marine mechanic talked me into a wedge instead. It was similar in cost, similar in effectiveness, and took up 1/10 of the space, so that is what I use now.

As far as what either of these items are specifically designed to do, perhaps the best source might be an engineer, not a forum. I do it because is prevents some bouncing but I would be interested in what an engineer has to say in terms of simple physics on this subject.

Ranger’s Trailer engineer Rick Huddleston says they work and they work better than a “tilt/lock feature” you typically find on motors.

https://www.boatus.com/expert-advice/expert-advice-archive/2013/april/who-needs-a-transom-saver#:~:text=%22There%20is%20a%20great%20deal,’tilt%2Flock’%20feature%20on

So either take the advice of forum goers or the engineer. Basic physics tells me they reduce wear and tear. Anything you can do to lock the center of gravity more directly above the transom is good. Putting the weight onto the trailer itself is probably better.

FinickyFish wrote:

Ranger’s Trailer engineer Rick Huddleston says they work and they work better than a “tilt/lock feature” you typically find on motors.

https://www.boatus.com/expert-advice/expert-advice-archive/2013/april/who-needs-a-transom-saver#:~:text=%22There%20is%20a%20great%20deal,’tilt%2Flock’%20feature%20on

So either take the advice of forum goers or the engineer. Basic physics tells me they reduce wear and tear. Anything you can do to lock the center of gravity more directly above the transom is good. Putting the weight onto the trailer itself is probably better.

Thank you for posting that. I have a Ranger so its certainly useful information.

I run them on all of my boats. Even on my 16 ft Jon with a 25hp. For the jon boat it does a great job of holding the tiller motor in place. Prevents it from swinging left/right when you go around a turn.

-J.

So I have one on my 50HP tiller/Alumacraft but I questioned this as well and got about 50/50 in opinions. My son just bought a Reatta and his Ranger manual recommends a transom saver worded something like “rigid tied to the trailer”…don’t remember exactly how it was worded but it was your basic, pole type to the trailer frame. He asked his dealer and they threw on a wedge type…go figure. Personally, I don’t see the harm in having them but lots of people think it transfers shock and road vibration to the motor/transom.

Jon Jordan wrote:

I run them on all of my boats. Even on my 16 ft Jon with a 25hp. For the jon boat it does a great job of holding the tiller motor in place. Prevents it from swinging left/right when you go around a turn.

-J.

A friend that passed a couple years ago was an aluminum welder. He did work on boats and lower units for several shops. He’d repair 1 or 2 lower units a year that were damaged by transom savers. He said OPERATOR ERROR was always the cause. The 2 most common mistakes were not replacing the rubber buttons or pad the lower unit rests on before they are worn enough to wear a hole in the lower unit. The other mistake was putting too much pressure on the transom saver, usually to prevent the motor from swinging from side to side and cracking the lower unit housing.

Pat K wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Jon Jordan wrote:</div>
I run them on all of my boats. Even on my 16 ft Jon with a 25hp. For the jon boat it does a great job of holding the tiller motor in place. Prevents it from swinging left/right when you go around a turn.

-J.

A friend that passed a couple years ago was an aluminum welder. He did work on boats and lower units for several shops. He’d repair 1 or 2 lower units a year that were damaged by transom savers. He said OPERATOR ERROR was always the cause. The 2 most common mistakes were not replacing the rubber buttons or pad the lower unit rests on before they are worn enough to wear a hole in the lower unit. The other mistake was putting too much pressure on the transom saver, usually to prevent the motor from swinging from side to side and cracking the lower unit housing.

This is interesting. I’ve actually bent two transom savers from the motor moving side to side, I’m surprised the lower units will give way before the transom saver, but I also bought the cheapest savers I could get. Now I just use a tilt bracket/wedge type to keep the weight more over or forward.

Smellson wrote:

When I bought the boat it came with a sleeve that goes over the hydraulic rams of the outboard.

As I said, transom savers were around before outboards even had hydraulics.