Auxiliary motor installation.

[dxg68]

I saw on some pictures that people install small emergency motor (probably less than 10HP) on their Macs in addition to the main motor. Could somebody share the experience and pictures on how and where the aux motor is installed? I am thinking about the gas motor with a pull rope in case my electrical system fails. Thanks in advance for your help!

[ALX357]

In July, last month, ran this thread of ideas, suggestions and items .... (click on the 3 links)

http://macgregorsailors.com/phpBB/viewt ... =9&t=13858

http://macgregorsailors.com/modt/index.php?view=1001

http://www.defender.com/product.jsp?pat ... 1&id=56208

.... should answer exactly your questions, as ithey did mine.

[Kelly Hanson East]

Just to re-iterate some of the points made in the thread....

- Moving a 60# motor on/off the transom without a 'motor crane' is quite tough...its very easy to drop the motor overboard. I finally worked a good system to move my Nissan 4HP this year!!

- Jacks mod is appropriate for a long shaft, while mine works for a short shaft. It is possible to mount a short shaft motor and just get it out of the water for motoring, and yet also be usable as a auxillary kicker. This might be dependent on your motor make. Obviously the long shaft motor works easier for this. In the 3.5 HP and up range, there is no downside to a longshaft on a dinghy imho...I use long shaft Seagulls on my boats all the time.

[dxg68]

Thank you very much!!! It is all I needed to know! What a great forum!

[dxg68]

I am sorry but I still have a few questions.
The bracket and location makes sense.
I was thinking to use Mercury 6HP with 20” shaft.

Would 20” shaft work for the same location as described in Jack’s mod?

I assume that if I steer with the rudders and the motor is in down position it will not interfere with the rudders. Is this true?

If the rudders are fully up and I steer with my main motor and AUX motor is in up position will it interfere with the rudders?

When wakeboarding my rudders are out of the water but tilted forward. Will they interfere with AUX motor then?

When wakeboarding I connect the tow harness to two rear docking clits. Would tow harness interfere with the AUX motor if I move the motor to down position?

It looks like when the motor is in down position it is hard to get to. How do you trim power and start? Do you install another remote control on the pedestal or you can do it directly on the motor?

Is the motor fixed in place or you somehow use tiller to steer with it?


Sorry for that many questions but I would really appreciate if somebody could answer them. Thank you!!!!!

[Kelly Hanson East]

Okay - Ill take a stab

Would 20” shaft work for the same location as described in Jack’s mod?

>> Jacks Mod is for a longshaft motor which is usually defined as 20 inch. I think Jack referenced the exact motor he used in this post, so you can check the shaft length on the web to see how it compares to yours

(Short is 15 inch, long 20 inch, Uber long 25 inch)

I assume that if I steer with the rudders and the motor is in down position it will not interfere with the rudders. Is this true?

True on my and not too hard to make sure this isnt an issue.



If the rudders are fully up and I steer with my main motor and AUX motor is in up position will it interfere with the rudders?

>> Not necessarily - you have to fit this to your exact motor and bracket position as part of your install. There are positions on my Nissan 4/5/6 HP install where the rudders will foul the motor in the rudder up position

When wakeboarding my rudders are out of the water but tilted forward. Will they interfere with AUX motor then?

>>cant help you on this one

When wakeboarding I connect the tow harness to two rear docking cleats. Would tow harness interfere with the AUX motor if I move the motor to down position?

>> They dont on an X

It looks like when the motor is in down position it is hard to get to. How do you trim power and start? Do you install another remote control on the pedestal or you can do it directly on the motor?

>> It is hard but startable from the transom on an at least. A marine tiller extension costs 150 USD and will solve this problem. So will a 3 USD piece of white (not blue) PVC pipe from Home Marine Depot.

Is the motor fixed in place or you somehow use tiller to steer with it?

>>You can do both, but I use the rudders to steer and lock the motor in the straight ahead position


Sorry for that many questions but I would really appreciate if somebody could answer them. Thank you!!!!!

[dxg68]

Kelly, thank you very much! I think I got it now…