Transom Height for Outboard...

[Shawnk04]

Hey everyone, first time poster to the forum. I am currently in the market for a kicker outboard motor for my boat. But before I buy, I have a question about the transom height. I currently own a 17ft Sylvan Pro Select boat that measures at 25" for the transom height. Therefore, I would need a Ultra-Long shaft (25 inch) motor to fit the transom. My question for you is, since I will only be using this motor as a kicker, do I need to take this into consideration? I am hoping that I can get by with the Long-shaft (20 inch) instead since the price difference between a long shaft and a ultra-long shaft is somewhat substantial. I have also noticed that it is more diffilcut to find ultra-long shafts if I decide to go used.

When the boat is in the water, the top of the transom is not far from the water. Thats why I am wondering if I would be able to get by with a long-shaft motor. What do you guys think?

[DTro]

You could always throw a Mini Jack Plate on it.

[marine_man]

If you put a regular long shaft on with no jack plate, kicker mount bracket and you run at full throttle on the kicker your prop (and water pump for that matter) will be starved for water and you won't get far. The prop at a minimum needs to be below the transom to work properly at higher speeds (including kicker speeds in some applications)

marine_man

[dkf]

You should be able to get a spacer, a longer driveshaft and a longer water tube for your kicker. I've converted short shaft motors to long shafts already and it is very simple.

The trend seems to be for larger transom lengths within the last 10 years and honestly I don't see that as a bad thing.

[Wish-I-Were-Fishn]

The trend seems to be for larger transom lengths within the last 10 years and honestly I don't see that as a bad thing.

That trend came about do to the extra weight of the 4 strokes. The transoms were not strong enough before the change.

I was told this by the Alumacraft factory guys.

- Wish