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Outboard on wheels

May 15, 2026 7:34 am

The outboard clamps to a 2 x 4 that’s notched so the motor’s bracket clears the truck’s crossbar. David fastened the board with a lag bolt at each end through the truck frame. The metal plate extends the truck’s foot to prevent the rig from tipping.

A mobile stand takes the weight

Issue 97 : Jul/Aug 2014

I live just a couple of houses from the beach where I keep my dinghy, but now that I have a heavier 4-stroke outboard it’s a chore lugging it down to the boat. The problem is with the 4-stroke, not my age. Portable outboard motor stands that I could find were really overkill for my little 2.5-horsepower engine, so I bought a very inexpensive hand truck at a local discount store and converted it to a portable outboard stand.

I added a notched crossmember made from a 2 x 4 as a motor mount, and extended the foot on the bottom of the truck a few inches to prevent it from tipping backward on uneven ground with the motor on it. This extension is just a piece of scrap metal bolted to the foot. The portable stand works very well for storing and transporting the motor. When I get to the beach and put my outboard on the dinghy, I secure the stand to the seawall with the dinghy lock.

David Sharp and his partner, Nancy Grinnell, cruise their 1969 Tartan 34, Pegasus, out of Newport, Rhode Island.

Thank you to Sailrite Enterprises, Inc., for providing free access to back issues of Good Old Boat through intellectual property rights. Sailrite.com

Tagged:2014 David Sharp Issue 97

David Sharp

After this ill-fated trip David got his masters in Ocean Engineering and has worked in that field ever since. After owning 18 boats, he and his partner, Nancy, now cruise New England waters from their homeport of Newport, Rhode Island, in Pegasus, the 1969 Tartan 34C David has owned for 20 years.