How to Build a Boat Motor Stand

Taking your watercraft out of the water, whether for repairs or for the season, is a huge chore for any boatowner. But it’s also a necessary one, and the time comes to do it you’re going to need a plan for storing your outboard motor.

If you’re handy and have some basic tools around the house, it’s actually quite simple (and very rewarding) to build your own boat motor stand to have on hand.

Alternatively, if this project seems daunting or you don’t consider yourself a good woodworker, our website has a great selection of professionally made motor stands for you to purchase as well.

Assemble the Base

Cut your 2x4’s into pieces – you’re going to want to wind up with two 24” pieces and two 36” pieces (the longer ones are going to form the base). Put these pieces on the ground and then attach them with one of the 24” pieces on top of them. Hang on to the other 24” piece for now, but move on to the next step.

Create and Add the Support Blocks

If you have a miter saw (we strongly recommend using one), set it to a 12-degree angle for this next part. Grab one of your 2x4s and cut two 4” pieces – one end of each should be left square, and the other end of each should have a 12-degree mitered cut to it. Place these upright on one of the 36” pieces that you cut in the previous step and make a mark 16” back from the front edge of a 36” piece, and then lay it flat so that the cut (mitered) end is facing towards the “back” of your stand.

Build the Upright Supports

Cut two 32” lengths of 2x4, again with the 12-degree miter cut recommended in the previous step. Align these two support pieces and place a 24” piece of 2x8 across them – this will form the motor board. Next, you are going to cut two more 2x4 pieces to that 32” length to help support the upright supports. Align two 23.5” reinforcing pieces onto the two upright supports and fasten them into place.

Add Your Casters

Adding the casters to the bottom of your rack is a critical step. It will allow you to more easily maneuver the entire assembly, even with the heavy load of an outboard motor. Also – this is the easy part! Just pre-drill some holes with your drill or impact driver and screw the casters into place on the corners.

Attach the Motor Support Assembly

By now you should have both a motor support assembly and a base assembly looking back at you. Put them together and then clamp them in as many places as possible to keep them steady for this next part.

Start off by driving two of the wood screws through the rear of the support piece and into the 4” block that you cut a few steps ago, and then do the same thing on the other side of the assembly.

Next, measure and cut a piece of scrap 2x4 to serve as a support piece between the two assemblies. Do the same one more time, and then screw these into place (again, with your 3” wood screws) to add additional support to a piece that will need to accommodate some heavy weights.

While projects like these are a breeze for some people, others just don’t have the skills, tools, time, or patience to tackle something like this. If that’s the case for you, consider purchasing one of our quality outboard motor stands right from our website and it will arrive on your doorstep in a matter of days!