Thread: long shaft or short on a 17 inch transom

Sounds like an interesting rig

Short shaft will work just fine.

My understanding is that a short is 16” and long is 20”. Longer ones are around for salt boats , I think. My guess is that a short shaft would do fine. The decavitation plate on the motor should be close to the bottom of the boat. Setback from the transom to the motor affects that, further back let’s you go further up. This is just my understanding, Barnacle Bill might have better info.

Originally Posted by skeetbum

My understanding is that a short is 16” and long is 20”. Longer ones are around for salt boats , I think. My guess is that a short shaft would do fine. The decavitation plate on the motor should be close to the bottom of the boat. Setback from the transom to the motor affects that, further back let’s you go further up. This is just my understanding, Barnacle Bill might have better info.

Pretty close, 15" is short, long is 20", 25" is extra long and used for pontoons and such.

If the transom is angled and 17" from top to bottom, then a short shaft motor would be just about right.