i am building a longtail for my 27hp kawi and have an idea for the mount and looking for advise, so all are welcome to comment . i have a 1448 jon with 16" transom. my thought is the make thru hull mount with sealed bearings on the ends for vertical movement and for horizontal to use a heavy duty caster without the wheel arms mounted between two pieces of 3/16.only worry is the force that the forward thrust will put on the caster. do yall think it will work ? it will sure move easy im thinking. also should the motor be balanced center or a litte back to keep the prop in the water?
thanks for your thoughts and any ideas on building a mount

Weve just used grade 8 bolts as pivot points on ours and its worked out good. Lock nuts on the ends and just make em tight enough to take out any play.