Outboard mounting advice sought

[Timm R Oday25]

Last summer while trying to raise the outboard up and out of the water while sailing ,I found it very difficult to do .
I didn't think much of it at the time as the bracket itself has always been finicky. It was original to the boat when it was sold in 1981 .
The mount pad that was holding it to the transom had cracks that got worse over the years .
This fall ,I removed the bracket and pad to assess the amount of rot the wood filling had .
The word mulch would be a much better description of what used to be several layers of plywood .
 Once I had the bracket removed and brought into the garage ,it was far easier to determine why the outboard had been harder to raise up .You cannot view this attachment.
The bottom set of torsion springs had broken
I searched for several weeks trying to find a replacement spring . Having no success , I bought what I hoped would be replacement bracket . There were no spec's listed for the hole spacing on the replacement bracket . It "appeared" to be a copy of my 40 year old Garelick .
Once it arrived I found out the mounting holes are about 5/8" further apart horizontally from one side to the other.
I'm loathe to drill more holes in my beloved boat .
I was able to source a replacement double torsion spring that would fit onto the original bracket .
 As of now I'm unsure whether the replacement spring is up to the task of raising up and even heavier motor .
I'm seeking the advice of any of you . Thanks

[Timm R Oday25]

You cannot view this attachment.
The replacement brackets has a much nicer mounting plate for the outboard and more range of motion .
The original mounting pad was several layers of plywood . Is they anything inherently wrong with using solid wood seriously encased in fiberglass . I'm making 2 versions of the mounting pad . The thicker one will give more clearance for the outboard front mounted controls will and inch or two. Make that much differance in how the boat handles the weight being further back ? You cannot view this attachment.

[GlenG]

I'd go with the new mount, with greater range, and the thicker mount.  Handling and weight distribution won't be affected by an inch or two. I know we have to keep the prop in the water, but with a high transom it is awkward to pull the rope or adjust the choke with only the top half of the motor sticking up over the transom.  A little more gap would help.

[Timm R Oday25]

Thanks for the insight . The new Yamaha has an electric trim . In theory I should be able to raise the outboard out of the water .
This outboard also has electric start .
Looks like I'll be welding on an aluminum strap over the factory holes .
Then I'll be able to drill new holes to line up with the holes already in the transom .
By the time I get this mounted ,it will be the best part of the boat