Making an outboard engine stand from old, nasty H-beams.

[mcmxi]

I need to remove the 150hp Yamaha outboard from my boat and store it for a while so made up an engine stand today. I used some nasty, messed up old steel that I bought from a farmer a couple of years ago. I got a lot of decent H-beams from him that I'm saving for more important projects, but my plan when I'm done with the stand is to remove the "transom" and add another cross member and use it as a heavy duty cart or dolly.

The mag drill once again earned it's keep. I had to drill 20 holes in the steel and the mag drill made fast work of it. The base is so heavy that I had to put the MX to work in order to flip it over onto the casters. I used some heavy duty casters and this thing rolls around with little effort. I have a little more welding to do tomorrow morning and will most likely add two gussets inside the cross member and beneath the uprights to stiffen the beam. The outboard weighs around 500lb so better safe than sorry.

The uprights are drilled for bolts to support the engine, and if I got the math right I should have about 6" of clearance between the bottom of the lower unit and the concrete. The bolt pattern for outboard engines is basically a standard today with most manufacturers using the Johnson-Evinrude bolt pattern. That's the pattern I used for the four holes on the uprights.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

OMG>>>> You could move an Abrams engine on that stand!
I'm going to put the load rating at about 10K possibly higher

Yes the casters won't hold that much of the load but the frame will.
I've got a set of casters here that would handle it!

Nicely built!

 

[PHPaul]

Jeeze Louise, I thought I over-built things...

 

[GeoHorn]

Yep…very pretty welds and work.

I’ve used those same casters on a 300 lb generator…and after 4 years of mostly just sitting….the plastic wheels deteriorated and simply crumbled. I suspect all-metal casters would be necessary for long-term use of that H.D. outboard-stand.

 

[mcmxi]

OMG>>>> You could move an Abrams engine on that stand!
I'm going to put the load rating at about 10K possibly higher

Yes the casters won't hold that much of the load but the frame will.
I've got a set of casters here that would handle it!

Nicely built!

If I were designing an outboard stand and ordering material it'd look a whole lot different! I'll take some photos once I have the outboard on the stand. It'll put things in perspective.

I think the casters are rated for 300lb or maybe 350lb, so good enough for this project.

 

[mcmxi]

Yep…very pretty welds and work.

I’ve used those same casters on a 300 lb generator…and after 4 years of mostly just sitting….the plastic wheels deteriorated and simply crumbled. I suspect all-metal casters would be necessary for long-term use of that H.D. outboard-stand.

I have the same or similar on the generator cart and so far they seem to be holding up well with no sign of deterioration. Your point about steel or metal casters is a good one. If I ever need to replace the casters on any of the carts I've made, due to the plastic or nylon or whatever it is, I'll look at steel versions.

 

[Sodbusterjr]

Nice work. And considering the value of a 150 HP outboard today, overbuilding the stand is not a bad idea.

 

[mcmxi]

Nice work. And considering the value of a 150 HP outboard today, overbuilding the stand is not a bad idea.

I think I need to make the point again that this is not how I would design and build an outboard stand if I were ordering new material. This is simply using some junk/scrap steel that's in bad shape e.g. flanges no longer perpendicular to the web, to solve a short term problem.

I didn't look into the cost of buying a quality engine stand but a quick search shows lots of junk on Amazon, but this product looks to be a good one and would only take a few hours to build. I probably have enough good material on hand to make something like this but I'd rather save the good material for non-temporary projects.

Large Outboard Service Stand

Sternmaster’s Large Outboard Motor Service Stand is the ideal, heavy duty solution for servicing your outboard with ease. Learn more on our website!

www.sternmastermarine.com

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

I think I need to make the point again that this is not how I would design and build an outboard stand if I were ordering new material. This is simply using some junk/scrap steel that's in bad shape e.g. flanges no longer perpendicular to the web, to solve a short term problem.

I didn't look into the cost of buying a quality engine stand but a quick search shows lots of junk on Amazon, but this product looks to be a good one and would only take a few hours to build. I probably have enough good material on hand to make something like this but I'd rather save the good material for non-temporary projects.

Large Outboard Service Stand

Sternmaster’s Large Outboard Motor Service Stand is the ideal, heavy duty solution for servicing your outboard with ease. Learn more on our website!

www.sternmastermarine.com

Sorry if you felt I was be insulting, I was not, I'm not knocking your stand at all!
I do the same things, materials at hand are almost always used before I go out and buy.
Especially if it's a one off / temp thing.
I was actually thinking that that would come in real handy for a lot of different tasks!

 

[mcmxi]

Sorry if you felt I was be insulting, I was not, I'm not knocking your stand at all!
I do the same things, materials at hand are almost always used before I go out and buy.
Especially if it's a one off / temp thing.
I was actually thinking that that would come in real handy for a lot of different tasks!

I didn't take it that way at all and I wasn't even vaguely insulted. I actually laughed at your comment because it was funny. There's always an element of truth in humor and there's a lot of truth in what you said. I just don't want anyone to think that I'm proud of the engine stand. It's just a short term solution that will make a much better dolly or maybe even something else.

All is good so carry on.

I don't know if I'll have much use for an engine stand once the F150XB outboard is sold, but it I thought I'd find it useful I'd be making something along the lines of the model in the link I posted.

 

[Runs With Scissors]

Wow, that's a "BEAST"

Very good use of "scrap" materials.

Thanks for posting.

What do you think it weighs?

Also, do you remove your outboard often?

(I'm jealous of the Mag-Drill BTW)

 

[mcmxi]

Wow, that's a "BEAST"

Very good use of "scrap" materials.

Thanks for posting.

What do you think it weighs?

Also, do you remove your outboard often?

(I'm jealous of the Mag-Drill BTW)

The W8 beams are probably 360lb and the uprights are probably 100lb so around 460lb all in.

I've never removed an outboard and don't think it's something I'd do again. I'm pulling the 150hp off so that I can put the new 200hp on after I've completed some other upgrades that will be easier to do with the engine out of the way. I plan on selling the 150hp at some point so it will live on the engine stand until it's sold. It only has 267.2 hours on it. I made a lifting eye today that will bolt to the flywheel. I bought three 12.9 8mm cap scews yesterday and had to cut them down a bit to get them to work with the lifting eye.

Those Hougen mag drills are awesome and worth every penny.

 

[mcmxi]

The F150XB is on the stand and all is good.

 

[Runs With Scissors]

Looks great.

I love those Yamaha 150's for their legendary reliability.