4 Strokes

wilberding · #1 02-28-2001

I just bought a Johnson 9.9 4 stroke for my 1985 O''Day 26. The motor bracket is a Fulton. I talked to the people at Fulton about whether or not the bracket will handle the motor ... all 112 pounds. They said weight is not really the issue (my bracket is rated to 110 pounds). Higher thrust of the 4 stroke is the issue. There is a possibility that the bracket could bend or eventually break under load. Fulton said this is a common question and many people decide to try their old bracket and keep an eye on it. Anybody out there with any experience on this?

Fran49829 · #2 03-02-2001

We were circling our Freedom 21 in round Lake waiting for the bridge to open when a nother boat turned in our path so I put our Honda 5hp 4 stroke in reverse. Bang, the motor was gone. Thank goodness we had a cable securing the motor to the boat and thank goodness we were prepared and had the sail cover off and the halyard rigged. Our black synthetic motor mount board had a defect--a crack-- which caused it to fail. Fulton sent us a new "board" even though this particular motor mount was made in Canada by the firm Fulton eventually bought out. By the way, if you have enough motor oil , you can get a 4 stroke going in less than an hour, on the water, but that''s another story. If you have the black synthetic board I would remove it and inspect it for any defects, and I would secure the motor to the boat. I realize this doesn''t fully answer your question but hope it helps some.

burke · #3 03-09-2001

I had a Honda 9.9. on my ODay 23 on its original outboard bracket for 4 yrs. The bracket held the load and the thrust with no problem for 3 yrs. It finally cracked in the 4th yr.I then rpld it with the top of the line Garelick brkt. Sold boat and motor the next year.