outboard pod

I have a 1981 18 ' Hourston Glascraft with a 140 outboard on the factory transom. I would like to raise the transom to the height of the sides of the boat and install a pod on it. The reason is to gain more room in the boat. Any ideas or advice would be appreciated. thanks

You will likely be amazed at how much extra room you get with a motor extension, and normally they will improve running performance and handling. Several firms make outboard motor extensions for different size boats. Mine is an Armstrong. You can combine that with a manual or hydraulic jack plate, which will allow you to move the motor up and down. As Kim stated, you will need to get longer cables and possibly a longer wiring harness (or if you are really good at wiring, make your own extension.)

For optimum cruising performance, the anti-cavitation plate on your engine should be even with the lowest point on your transom for a transom mounted engine. However, for every 12 inches the engine is set off the transom, the anti-cavitation plate should be one inch higher. If you want to tool around in shallow water, or you are often grounding on sand bars, a hydraulic jack plate is invaluable. Just set it so that it will not normally allow the water intake ports n your engine to come out of the water.

One other thing. A motor extension puts more stress on your transom. The amount of stress is probably geometrically proportional to the length of offset. So if you plan to make your own motor extension, you should consider adding reinforcement plates to your transom.