Hi guys, I have done quite a bit of reading of threads on this forum, and have gotten a lot of good information. I bought a Carolina J14 to rig up for flats fishing on the coast of New England, and to use in the lakes ponds and rivers around here as well.
It is a 1996 J14 with a 2011 9.9hp merc with a se 200 fin.
It is completely underpowered, and it is time for an upgrade.
Looking at a 2006 Merc 30hp tiller tomorrow (boat is rated for max 30hp) and probably going to pull the trigger on it.
Big question is:
How hard is it to install a through transom motor? I plan to mount it myself. I am mechanically inclined with a whole machine shop at my disposal. I watched a video and it seems simple enough. One thing im worried about it the motor height. The 9.9 Long shaft i have sits with the cavitation plate at 24" below the transom top, and i read here somewhere that CS are built to have the cav plate right at the bottom of the transom. Should i mount the new motor with the holes drilled so that the top of the mounting bracket rests on the top of the transom? or should I line up the cav plate with the stern of the boat and mount it there, even if i have to drill the holes in a place where the top of the mounting bracket is "floating" a few inches over the top of the transom?
Other questions are, is a 30 going to be too heavy?
Is it going to be 'too much' power for my skiff?
Please let me know where to post this if the intro area is not right for questions.
Thanks guys!
It is a 1996 J14 with a 2011 9.9hp merc with a se 200 fin.
It is completely underpowered, and it is time for an upgrade.
Looking at a 2006 Merc 30hp tiller tomorrow (boat is rated for max 30hp) and probably going to pull the trigger on it.
Big question is:
How hard is it to install a through transom motor? I plan to mount it myself. I am mechanically inclined with a whole machine shop at my disposal. I watched a video and it seems simple enough. One thing im worried about it the motor height. The 9.9 Long shaft i have sits with the cavitation plate at 24" below the transom top, and i read here somewhere that CS are built to have the cav plate right at the bottom of the transom. Should i mount the new motor with the holes drilled so that the top of the mounting bracket rests on the top of the transom? or should I line up the cav plate with the stern of the boat and mount it there, even if i have to drill the holes in a place where the top of the mounting bracket is "floating" a few inches over the top of the transom?
Other questions are, is a 30 going to be too heavy?
Is it going to be 'too much' power for my skiff?
Please let me know where to post this if the intro area is not right for questions.
Thanks guys!