MY Wedge...

[Esox_Magnum]

When your boats strapped front and rear to the trailer they are as one. I run a transom saver and loacaly never tie down the back but if going more than localy it gets strapped down. I prefer to put the weight of the lower unit/motor on the trailer rather than taking a chance of the motor bouncing around.

[CAMAN]

But back to the weight issue. The transom saver does very little to take the weight off the transom. As you lower the motor onto your transom saver, the hydraulics of your motor is still holding the weight of your motor. If you do not have a tilt and trim unit then the entire weight of the motor is now on the transom saver. The traditional transom saver will stop the motor from bouncing but so will the wedge.

If you take off your transom saver, your motor ( if equipped with tilt and trim ) will still hang there supported by the motors hydraulics. I am not supporting one over the other just stating the obvious.

Mike

That is completely incorrect if the transom saver is installed correctly. Attaching the transom saver and lowering the motor so it just touches the TS will do nothing. You MUST lower the motor and keep going a little bit so it compresses the pad on the TS. There is absolutly no weight on the hydaulics if done correctly.

[LMITOUT]

Once again, the weight is a moot point.

The shock load is the problem.

[Sonicrunch]

agreed about the shock load. That's why I trailer with my motor down.

[Wish-I-Were-Fishn]

I stand by my last post. Mechanical Engineering 101

[LMITOUT]

I stand by my last post. Mechanical Engineering 101

Backyard Engineering 101 maybe, but it sure ain't Mechanical Engineering.

[PTocko]

This post obviously has strong feelings on both sides of this. And in the end all I can say is use what you want and thinks does a better job. That being said, the ONLY thing a wedge will do is take weight off of the hydraulics. Now before you jump on me limit - you have to admit you are using a wedge because there is weight you are trying to disperse or mitigate (or as you say reduce the shock of). I agree with you, that's why we use either of these devices. That being said, once you have lowered the weight (you are trying to disperse) onto the wedge it is being supported by the TRANSOM via the wedge. Any (and all of the) weight, or for that matter any shock (and all of the shock), is now being transmitted directly into your transom. On top of that, you now have a force multiplier because the weight is extended out from the boat - you have in effect a lever. Transoms are built to be pushed against, they are not designed to be torqued against. Why should they be, they never should see this force (unless you are using a device like the wedge). But, you are saving your hydraulics... Good Luck, Paul

[PTocko]

Backyard Engineering 101 maybe, but it sure ain't Mechanical Engineering.

[LMITOUT]

It actually is mechanical engineering 101. I am PE and mechanical engineer by school and by profession. You are saving your hydraulics with the wedge but you are putting more stress on the transom than with a conventional transom saver that mounts to the trailer. Whether or not your transom can handle it is your call, maybe it can.

What I meant is some of the thought here in this thread is backyard engineering 101.

I'm an engineer by trade as well and I agree with everything you said, however, if there is no bouncing or dynamic load, there is no shock. The outboard and the boat are essentially "one" and the static load is a moot point. That's why this method works just as well as the conventional method.

I also agree with you that this is a Ford/Chevy, Vexilar/MarCum, Yamaha/Mercury debate and probably won't ever be agreed upon. This isn't the first time I've seen this question come up and probably won't be the last. People have been debating this for more than a handful of years and it's the same thing every time. Until people are willing to view a new product with an open mind it will always be substandard to your "old faithful tried and true" method and that's half the battle.

[Walleye Guy]

Hopefully you all agree that a tilted motor and a transom form a "v" which is ultimately a lever. The transom savor restricts the end of the lever from being moved by attaching it to the trailer. The wedge is installed very closely to the fulcrum on the lever. Its ability to inhibit the lever from working is very limited. The force applied (at end points of the lever) is proportional to the ratio of the length of the lever arm measured between the fulcrum (pivoting point) and application point of the force applied at each end of the lever.

Mathematically, this is expressed by M = Fd, where F is the force, d is the perpendicular distance between the force and the fulcrum, and M is the turning force known as the moment or torque.

The Wedge will help with the the jarring of the hydraulics. It does very little to minimze the effect of the lever. Thus it does very little to minimize the torgue on the transom caused by the lever. Its too close to the fulcrum.

[Wish-I-Were-Fishn]

Why don't you call the boat manufacturer and ask them. Not the dealer.

Clever sales pitch for an over priced product.

[randerson]

I wonder how the transom saver works when u see the guys going threw 4 ft waves at 50 mph I think if you dont need one then then you don't need one on the highway

[Cecil]

I promise you your motor takes more abuse going across the lake versus on the trailer. Also, if you think your transom is going to be weak or break from your motor hanging on it, you need a different boat.

[kdawg]

The wedge is installed very closely to the fulcrum on the lever. Its ability to inhibit the lever from working is very limited.

Having taken a number of physics classes, I have a basic understanding of levers. When you put a wedge between the narrowest portion of a lever, you still will restrict the movement of the lever. Admittedly, the closer that you place the wedge to the angle itself, the more force the lever will have on the wedge - that's a given.

When you use the hydraulics of the motor to lower the lower unit onto the wedge, you are compressing the wedge somewhat, increasing the resistance imparted by the wedge itself. Is it as good as a long lever? I don't know, probably not. But to state that the wedge is inhibiting downward motion of the lever very little - I don't know how you reach that conclusion.

If the same wedge were aluminum, I think we'd all agree that the downward motion of the lever would be restricted to almost nothing, thereby significantly reducing the torque placed on the transom. The difference between the aluminum and the plastic would be the amount of compression deformation each substance goes through given the same amount of compressive force. I think that the compressive deformation of the plastic wedge has to be significant enough to limit the compressive force substantially when compared to not using the wedge at all.

Not that it matters, but that's my .02 and why I feel fine about using a plastic wedge (the one used and recommended by the boat manufacturer) on my new boat. If anyone out there doesn't feel that the wedge is adequate, spend a few bucks and get a long-lever transom saver. Good luck and tight lines.

[Wish-I-Were-Fishn]

You are missing the fact that you are not touching another object to relieve the weight and stress of the motor off the transom. The transom bar takes the weight and stress off the transom because it adds a fulcrum point by touching the trailer.

[CAMAN]

I've come to a conclusion....use what you want to use and be responsible for your own equipment. If YOU think the Wedge will work for your boat, use it. If you don't, use a transom saver.

[Northlander]

Transom Saver here. To me it seems like it would do the most to take the tork/weight off the transom. I just dont see how a wedge can do that.

[LMITOUT]

Once again, the job of a transom saver is NOT to take the weight off of the transom.

[jac714]

Transom saver here as well, it does not take the weight off of the transom, rather it reduces (not eliminates) the torque on the transom from supporting the motor when it is tilted up.

[LMITOUT]

That's not the reason for a transom saver, either.

[LMITOUT]

Got this today from Yamaha and thought it may help shed some light on things:

Quote:

Bounce Beaters

Save Your Transom – Support Your Outboard

By: Yamaha Marine Group

It’s an all too familiar sight – the happy angler cruising down the highway with a boat in tow, and the big outboard on the back is jumping for joy every time the trailer tires cross a crack in the pavement. Our angler is thinking about fishing, while the outboard is considering jumping ship on the way to the lake.

The Flex Factor

A typical boat transom is around two inches thick, and an integral part of the hull structure, designed to transfer the engine’s thrust (pushing power) from the transom to the rest of the hull, enabling the boat to move forward.

An average 200-350 horsepower outboard tips the scales somewhere between 500-800 pounds, and only four bolts hold this monster to your boat. That’s fine for using the boat in the water; however, when you trim up the engine to trailer the boat, the outboard’s weight acts as a lever, trying to flex the transom. Given sufficient time, the transom will eventually fail – not a good thing for the boat, outboard, or your wallet.

Imagine taking a thin piece of plastic, say a credit card, and you bend it repeatedly. Flex it enough times, the card will crack and then break – just like a boat transom with a bouncing outboard bolted to it.

This phenomenon isn’t unique to high-horsepower outboards or specific hull materials; all unsupported outboards – no matter what the horsepower rating – will work against the boat’s transom without some kind of support to hold the engine in place.

The Fix

Ideally, we could trailer a boat with the outboard trimmed down, but this is impossible because the skeg would drag on the pavement and break off.

The solution is to trim up the outboard and secure it in place with a device generically called a “transom support”. A transom support reduces the outboard’s lever/bouncing effect to the point where it’s negligible.

There are several brands of transom supports on the market. Most consist of an adjustable bar that attaches to the trailer on one end and to the outboard’s gearcase on the other end.

Another approach is a composite tube, such as the Yamaha Outboard Trailering Support, that clips over the outboard’s trim rod (or ram) with the engine trimmed up. Insert the tube over the trim rod, and then trim the unit down until the weight of the outboard is on the tube.

Either product works well to keep the outboard in place during transit, as long as you use the transom support properly.

The key is getting into the habit of using a transom support. Make installing the support part of your pre-trip routine. Your transom will thank you for it.