Mounting an outboard to your E25+.
Phil, I did just that by replacing an OMC 10HP long shaft on an aluminum strap and stainless steel spring assist mount (brand name eludes me) with a lovely Yamaha 10HP extra long shaft mounted to an OMC hydraulic lift mount. It was a beauty to behold. By the way, I absolutely cannot say enough good about that engine which served me faithfully year in and year out for the six plus years we owned the boat. When doing the conversion, I fabricated a 4" thick, solid teak block for the reason already mentioned; to allow the engine to cantilever up to the stowed position when under way. Without that block the motor head cover would hit the rub rail (the chalky one from other recent posts). In addition, I cut two lengths of 3/4" plywood that were 3" or so wide and more than the length of the motor mount holes in height that were bolted to the inside of the transom with the mounting bolts that went through the mount, teak base and transom fiberglas. I saturated the wood in West System 105 before installation and bedded all the mounting holes. My wife still single hands and did back then too in the early 1990's and the only thing she couldn't do alone was, pull the engine up into that last tilt. I fabricated a 3 1/2" wide X 13 1/2" long 316 stainless steel "arm" with a 1" diameter bend at one end that simulated the four curved fingers of your hand. This I attached to the split back stay triangle plate via two stainless steel Harken Micro blocks, a #244 and a #245. It was then a simple matter of attaching the curve or the simulated fingers to the engine lift handle and yanking on the line that gave her a 4:1 advantage, effortlessly pulling the engine into its final position. When not in use, the arm would be stowed on the top pushpit rail with "fingers" wrapped around the rail with the line snugged up and cleated in the V of the Harken block to keep everything ship shape. If you want more details and are willing to do a little digging, I had an article with photos of this device published in Good Old Boat Magazine, the #30, May/June, 2003 issue, page 65. It's entitled "Outboard motor hoist." I had access to surplus waterproof, 28 volt Army tank plugs and sockets, a 2-conductor male/female pair of which I mounted to the transom for the engine electrical to the single house battery. The fuel hose was lead from the large factory tank, through a waterproof fitting in the transom to the engine. Just inboard of the transom in the vertical of starboard cockpit seat, I cut a hole for a deck plate that when opened, allowed one to reach a hand inside to grasp and pump a priming bulb that was suspended right there. It was all pretty darned slick and very clean looking, I must admit. Be careful when positioning the engine mount vertically on the transom to take into account the nature of the boat to "squat" when under power. The last thing you want to do is to go to all that work and effort only to discover after the fact that the engine sits too low and the bottom part of the power head housing drags in the water. That's not good for speed and certainly not good for the engine long term. Well these were the things I did to install a new outboard engine to my E25+ and I hope they will give you inspired ideas as to how to do it with yours. Keep us all posted, Glyn Judson, E31 hull #55, Marina del Rey, CA