Which power tilt/trim?

[Fishfried]

On my 14’ long x 48” bottom jon boat. I have a 15hp 2-stroke. Which do you recommend? Panther or CMC?

Thanks!

 

[wmk0002]

I have a Panther 55 I got used, but I have never had another unit to compare to. It is built very stout but I'm not sure if I am a fan of the actuator. It is a mechanical, linear actuator versus your typical hydraulic one. When I got my unit used it had water intrusion and forced me to buy a new actuator for $280 since I couldn't find a place to repair mine. I also replaced the relays with a winch contactor that TurboTodd and some guys on other forums suggested.

Bob's Machine also has a tilt and trim unit that is in the same price range as the CMC and Panther.

 

[Fishfried]

Good info thank you. I’ll look into the Bob’s unit, I hadn’t heard of that one.

 

[Fishfried]

I like that Bob’s unit. I might go with that one. I emailed the CMC company 2 weeks ago and got no response. So Bob is looking good.
The river by my house has a lot of shallow spots so a power trim will be very useful.

 

[nccatfisher]

I have had three CMCs on different motors/boats. The key to them is mounting the relays where they will not get wet. I mount mine in completely weatherproof containers usually in dry compartments. I have never had any issues with mine. But have worked on some that the relays were exposed and if they gave trouble that usually was the first place I would look.

 

[turbotodd]

atlas and cmc are almost identical, relays, wiring and actuator. Even the plate itself is VERY similar. I recommend replacing the relay and a lot of the wiring with an atv winch contactor. The contactor doesn't fail and the wiring is greatly simplified. The relays-do (all of them). CMC/Atlas changed the relays up in the last few years and they are supposedly better quality-and they are-but "better" means that they're still gonna fail at some point, after a year in duck hunting flooded timber vs the old relays which one was very lucky to get a month out of. When they fail, it either stays stuck "up" or stuck "down", so if you are out on the water, tilt up, and the down relay dies, you're up a creek unless you've got a spare relay or know how to swap them to get 'em to work. I've never seen a relay pack (CMC/atlas) that did NOT fail. They ALL do. When I'm pricing out an install at work, I always price out the contactor and a little labor to change it over; as it's a better deal in the long run. Sometimes folks don't understand that (hey it's brand new it outta work?)--but they also don't see as many as I do. The options (in my case and example here) are (1) pay a little more up front or (2) pay more later on + downtime + frustration.

Bobs is a little better quality for sure than atlas and cmc; but I have little experience with the wiring that comes with the kit.

atlas and cmc do not send bolts; been a while since I put a bob's unit on-don't remember if they do or not. So if you choose atlas or cms, make sure you pick up a set of bolts to hold the unit to the transom.

 

[Fishfried]

Well I went with the CMC. I got a new one on EBay for $499 and $43 shipping. I’m not impressed that they don’t respond to general inquiries via email. I hope that if I have a problem down the road that customer service is not a problem.
Thanks for the replies on this topic. I hope to post some pics of the install etc that may help folks out in the future.

Fishfried

 

[turbotodd]

That is par for the course with Cook (CMC).

 

[Fishfried]

Turbotodd, I have a 15hp 2-stroke Evinrude short shaft and need some guidance on installing the CMC tilt trim unit. It’s going on a 1448 jon. The instructions with the unit say the cavitation plate to be 1-3” above the bottom of the boat. What’s your experience with this? Should I be closer to 1 or 3”. Or other? Any other tips you have? Thanks!

 

[nccatfisher]

Closer to 3" with the setback.

 

[turbotodd]

Yup start at 3" and work your way up from there. There's a lot of dependencies (prop, hull, etc) but 3" up is probably a good starting point. Only one I know of that couldn't run at 3" was an older Mercury that had the exhaust coming out under the AV plate, which aerated the prop and made it blow out while attempting to plane. Had to drop that one a little; and it solved it. I want to say it ended up around 1" above but I don't remember for sure.

 

[Fishfried]

OK, thanks fellas! I just don't want to be drilling a bunch of holes in the transom. I hopefully get it right the first time. I'll go for 3" above the bottom of the boat. thanks again.

 

[nccatfisher]

If it were me from my experience with them in the past I would set the motor in the middle hole at three" and start there. That way you shouldn't be worrying about transom holes anyway. You still have some play with motor settings. Your instructions tell you what height to set the CMC unit which I believe is 3/4-1" higher at the back of the boat. You can re drill the CMC unit if worst comes to worst if it isn't positioned correctly to get your motor positioned correctly if drilling your transom bothers you that bad.

Also is your motor a clamp on motor? Are you going to be using the clamp on plate? I have used them and also not used them. You can go both ways but be careful if you don't use the adapter plate some the knobs on the clamps depending on how they are positioned will interfere and when you tilt all the way up and bind.

 

[Fishfried]

Thanks for that post, it really helped explain a couple things for me.

I installed the unit last night. Only thing is I had to either lower the unit from the 3/4”-1” to 3/8” above the transom. I could have drilled new holes in the mounting plate but after measuring everything I think the 3/8” will be ok.