It's been discussed in the past I think, but I'm interested in hearing the pros and cons again. I've lived with the transom mount for about 3 years, and it's great for sailing time, but when you're manuvering in tight quarters under power, it can be a hastle. With the new, lighter 6hp 4 strokes available, (and reasonably priced on line,) it could be a good upgrade. Plus the advantage of keeping the prop in the water. Has anyone experienced any major downside issues in using the well?
Thanks for your input

No. Depending on the loading of the vessel we have has some problem with sailing hard and having the well fill up with water a couple to four inches, that's about it. If we weren't loaded to cruising trim this would probably not be a problem. Our outboard is a 10 hp Honda four stroke, we modified the exhaust to use a thru hull fitting, engine even sounds like an inboard. This engine has a 25 inch leg, so the exhaust is too deep, the waterline on an outboard really should be right above the cavitation plate, and our is at least eight inches lower than that. This causes too much back pressure and keeps the engine from operating properly. Also we changed the prop from factory to a 5 1/2" pitch to get the RPM's up to operating range. This will push our C-26 at hull speed and uses about a little more than a pint an hour of fuel. With the long leg, and being in the well closer to the center of the vessel we have never had a problem with the prop leaving the water in heavy going.

The best thing I like about keeping the motor in the well, is that when backing up I can still turn the motor a "bit" in either direction. At low speed the rudder does very little but the motor will pull the back end around.