88 Sportcraft

[quote=1973Tsunami;18488]I have a nearly identical bracket on my SeaCraft with a 225 hp Merc. It is very sturdy but I want to replace it for something with some positive flotation and a platform.

Thanks for the reply Sunami

I was thinking about adding some foam to mine but you bring up a very good point about barnicles inside. Why not just paint it with bottom paint inside, I plan on painting the outside of mine up to the water line anyway

Does the weight of your bracket and motor have any effect on how your boat sits in the water? What setback is your bracket?

1973Tsunami

Last season was my first with the boat and it was on there when I bought it so I can't tell you what the boat was like with out it.

I don't have access to the boat right now so I can't take any measurements for you but I know from the back of the transom to the back of the motor is about 4'.

It hadn't been bottom painted before because the previous owner kept it on a lift. Even painting the outside was a last minute thought before launching last year so we just overlooked doing the inside. If you can get to it I think it would be a good idea though.

With mine already on the boat the access is so tight though I don't think I could prep it well enough to get paint to stick at all. The barnacles really weren't too bad on the inside last year. Not a ton of build up, just enough to cut up your hands bit when you reach in to pull out some of the leaves and pine needles that got in there. The problem is with bottom paint needing to be redone regularly, access will always be tough. I wonder if you could coat it with something a little more long lasting before installation. I used to know a guy that did teflon coating. I'm not sure if it would work but might be a cool idea.

Have you tried contacting the company or other owners of the same hull to solicit their opinion? Another thing to try might be to just stick some extra weight in the transom before trying the bracket and see what it does to how the boat sits in the water. I don't know enoughy physics to calculate how much extra weight you'd need to add to mimic the effects of putting the motors weight back on what's essentially a 1.5-2' lever but it shouldn't be too hard to find out. If no one here chimes in with how to calculate it, try one on the sites Bryan suggested. While it's not exactly rocket science, it is engineering to a certain degree.

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Norwalk, CT
1973 23' SeaCraft Tsunami

88 Sportcraft

[quote=1973Tsunami;18635]Last season was my first with the boat and it was on there when I bought it so I can't tell you what the boat was like with out it.

I don't have access to the boat right now so I can't take any measurements for you but I know from the back of the transom to the back of the motor is about 4'.[quote]


Sounds like the same setup indeed. No need to actual measure though, was just curious, thanks though.

Hopefully my motor will not hit the transom too but that will be trial and error I guess. I'm hoping this setup doesn't weigh to much more than the old motor(OMC Seadrve) but I never thought to weigh the old one

I will be getting my motor this week and should start the installation process soon. I will post pics as i go and post them in a few weeks, thanks for the insite, for a while there I thought I was the only one around here with this bracket