Way back in 2014 we bought a used Achillies rigid inflatable dinghy that came with a Honda 9.9 HP outboard. It’s been tied up at our dock ever since. We use it usually during the summer to run around on the river. On our first overnight anchoring trip, we decided to leave it behind because we didn’t have an outboard rail-mount. We did take our inflatable kayak, but it would have been nice to have the dinghy along as well. The dinghy is a little big (11’6″) to put on deck fully inflated so we’ll probably tow it behind.
But what about the outboard? It weighs about 100 pounds, so it’s too heavy to lift onto the boat every time. We probably could leave it on the dinghy and tow it behind, but that’s not the safest way to do it. It seems most boats have an outboard engine mount on their railing somewhere. We looked at a few in our marina (most were made of wood) and figured it didn’t look too complicated.
Rich wanted to make it out of starboard and mount it on the rail at the back of the cockpit. And it had to be close enough so we could use our Garhauer lifting arm and not interfere with our stern light or barbeque. Sounds pretty simple, right? Well, the rail is sloped down and has a bowed curve. So cutting a flat piece of starboard to fit was difficult. NOTHING is ever easy on this boat!
So back in October, Rich got to work. And after about 20 hours we now have a nice outboard engine rail-mount. And the Garhauer lifting arm makes it a breeze to use. I could write about the frustration of building it, but it’s more entertaining to just watch.
