# CMC Tilt and Trim?



## bluegrasser (Mar 18, 2011)

Not sure if this should be in the Boat forum or Motor forum...

Pretty soon I will be painting my boat (hopefully next week!), then onto the next step of putting motor on. It does not have power tilt and trim. I have talked to a local boat shop and they said they would install a CMC power tilt and trim unit.
https://cook-mfg.net/cart/index.php..._id=14&zenid=aa215eb48cee30c5ca521c892183577b







My buddy has the smaller version of this unit on his boat (a 16' Gheenoe with a 25 hp motor), and it works great. However I have some questions -

The unit itself creates about 6" of setback. Most things I have read say that that is a good thing, increased performance, etc.

But does that create an unusual torgue or weight distribution on the transom, or for the rest of the boat - to have 175 lb motor NOT resting on the actual transom, but sitting 6" further back?

I am not good with physics. It seems like this would be an issue, but I see these or similar units on all kinds of boats. Maybe it's not that big of a deal?

Thanks for any input or insight!


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## Ictalurus (Mar 18, 2011)

You should be alright with the setback. Although I don't have dimensions of your boat, there will be slight lever effect. You may notice that you will need to move some weight forward, battery maybe. What HP is your hull rated for? As long as you don't exceed the recommended HP, the 6" setback shouldn't torque your transom too much. One thing you should definitely consider though is a transom saver, the extra weight set back at 6" will definetly stress your transom bouncing down the road. Power T&T is awesome, you'll love it and I'm jealous.


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## crazymanme2 (Mar 18, 2011)

Yes the setback will create more stress on your transom.

Instead of x amount of weight on your transom it will have a 6" lever with that weight.


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## bluegrasser (Mar 18, 2011)

It is a 15'6" v-hull, rated for 40 HP. The old evinrude I am replacing was 140lbs, with a newer mercury 40HP that weighs 175 lbs. I was planning on moving battery and some other things forward to counteract that extra 30lbs. (For instance, my 180lbs of operator weight will be fairly forward in the boat at the console.). However, the CMC unit itself weighs about 30lbs too. 

Also, an additional 6 inches of overall length may require some modifications to my garage to make the boat fit. It's pretty tight right now.

I have seen on ebay kits for Mercury outboards to convert from manual to power tilt. They are only marginally more expensive than a CMC tilt and trim unit.

I may go ask the boat shop what the difference would be in labor hours for installation. If it's similar, I might try to convert the motor itself.

Will keep y'all updated.


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## bluegrasser (Mar 18, 2011)

Ok, Well, at lunch I ran down to the boat shop that I've had work done in the past. 

to switch out the manual tilt and trim on my outboard itself with parts from Mercury to convert to power tilt and trim would be about $1000-$1200 for the parts and about $250 in labor. I have seen the exact same conversion kits on ebay for about $600-$700, but the guy at the shop said, "what if there was a missing part or something on it was defective once we got into the conversion," he continued by stating, "that would be your baby." That sounded like too much of a gamble for me.
So, approximately 1400 to do it this way.

He said it would be about $600 for the CMC tilt and trim unit plus about $175 for the install. He didn't think I would see much performance benefit on a 40 hp by having the 6" of setback. (I'm not that much of a "speedster" and that's not the reason for the unit, so that doesn't bother me.) But, he also said that the setback shouldn't cause any problems on the transom. I did tell him that it was a fairly lightweight aluminum boat and not some heavy-ass bass boat. Anyway, looking at about $800 to do it this way, and also about a week quicker turnaround for getting parts and job completed.

My remaining budget for the boat is about $1200. I could scrounge together 200 more bucks to do it the "right way," but then I would really be cashed out. Or for about $800 I could have a nicely functioning setup that does exactly what I want it to do, but a)might not fit in my garage without knocking down some drywall, b)might worry me about the transom integrity and the overall balance of the boat.

Arggh.


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## LonLB (Mar 18, 2011)

If you can install your own motor you can install the CMC. Buy it from Cabelas or Bass pro, and install it yourself.

Adding a manual jackplate to a engine install adds about 5 minutes TOPS to the job of installing an engine. Add a little bit extra to that setup because of the electrical.

One other thing. I voiced concern about your transom in your build thread. Now I'm REALLY concerned. Adding that much more weight, and mounted higher, and now farther back is going to add alot of stress on the transom. And it was already going to be marginal.


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## bluegrasser (Mar 18, 2011)

LonLB said:


> If you can install your own motor you can install the CMC. Buy it from Cabelas or Bass pro, and install it yourself.
> 
> Adding a manual jackplate to a engine install adds about 5 minutes TOPS to the job of installing an engine. Add a little bit extra to that setup because of the electrical.
> 
> One other thing. I voiced concern about your transom in your build thread. Now I'm REALLY concerned. Adding that much more weight, and mounted higher, and now farther back is going to add alot of stress on the transom. And it was already going to be marginal.



hmmm...

LonLB, you've got me rethinking some things.

will make some updates on my build thread soon.


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## richg99 (Mar 18, 2011)

I had a CMC T/T added to a 14 ft Carolina Skiff with a 25 hp motor. Great device. Does what it is designed to do. 

I didn't see the thread with the concerns about your transom. I agree that adding more leverage to an "iffy" transom would not be the best thing to do. Rich


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## bluegrasser (Mar 18, 2011)

Well, one of my fishing buddies had a perfect solution. The motor currently has a hydraulic "gas assist" manual tilt feature. He suggested, why not just mount the motor to the transom and use it for a while to decide if a power tilt and trim is even that necessary. I made it for years with my older jon with a 25 hp motor with manual tilt. I just had to walk back to tilt it in the shallow sections. It really never was that big of a deal. For some reason I have just been fixating on the idea of power tilt.

Spitballing and daydreaming, thinking through ideas - that's what's great about this forum.

Thanks!


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## richg99 (Mar 18, 2011)

this "Motor tilter" device might help, too. Rich

https://www.overtons.com/modperl/product/details.cgi?i=201242&pdesc=Motor_Tilter


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## LonLB (Mar 19, 2011)

bluegrasser said:


> Well, one of my fishing buddies had a perfect solution. The motor currently has a hydraulic "gas assist" manual tilt feature. He suggested, why not just mount the motor to the transom and use it for a while to decide if a power tilt and trim is even that necessary. I made it for years with my older jon with a 25 hp motor with manual tilt. I just had to walk back to tilt it in the shallow sections. It really never was that big of a deal. For some reason I have just been fixating on the idea of power tilt.
> 
> Spitballing and daydreaming, thinking through ideas - that's what's great about this forum.
> 
> Thanks!



My engine is a 65hp Johnson, and I'm going to run it all this year without power trim/tilt. It's actually not that hard to tilt up.
In the future though, I want one. The biggest thing with trim/tilt is that you can trim the engine while running and get the best performance AND fuel economy.


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## peabody (Jun 23, 2012)

Wondering? If maybe build some kind of manual tilt and trim device.
like we had on the old corn cultivating farmall tractors.
Long lever on the transom with a chain to pull motor up where you want it. Lever latches on a notch.
That would seem to work?
Peabody


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## nomowork (Jun 23, 2012)

I have a power tilt/trim like that on my fiberglass boat which originally came with a Johnson 48 Special. It saves a lot of wear and tear on this old back. I saw another exact same boat with a 50hp motor with a manual trim/tilt and I couldn't imagine raising that thing before approaching the ramp. It's much easier to push a button, but I also carry a spare battery in that boat.


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