Photo update
 

Sea trialed the boat this week. The difference is huge. The boat sits much higher in the water now and the water line is 3-4" lower than it was. He did a ton of work to the boat including replacing the transom, building the new bracket that extended the running surface of the hull, moved the scuppers to the transom,re-rigged the engine, pumps, trim tabs, moved the plug to the bottom of the hull, re-sprayed the transom and rear portion of the hull sides in Awlcraft 2000 to match the existing paint, moved both the leaning post and center console forward about 12", etc... The boat now sits much more level in the water now. It planes at a much lower speed but I didn't have the electronics hooked up so we didn't get speed and mpg data yet. The motor needs to be raised up one hole so I will update when I have more data if anyone is interested. The improvement in how the boat runs and handles is much more than I was expecting. The old waterline/scumline was in the middle of the blue boot stripe. pics to follow...

included a few of the bracket build/design as well

Brilliant! Now, for a Guinness!

That came out great! Congrats on both the looks & improved handling/balance. I will he very interested to see your #'s & how they compare to a stepped up bracket.

Did he make a mold for the bracket & bolt it on, or do a hull extension mold & glass it in place? Also curious if he tied it into the existing stringers. You've got me seriously thinking about how to do my new bracket vs hull extension.

A welding buddy of mine wanted to do a bracket like that for my old boat out of aluminum, except that it would have been wider according to his explanation. My modification would have been to allow enough of a flat spot at the bottom so the existing hull drain plug could be used. There should be more drag with the extension but adding the flat spot at the bottom I thought would help it act more like level (huge) trim tabs with less drag.

Thanks. When he replaced the transom he tied the stringers into the transom, added knees, and glassed the deck to the transom as well. Then bolted the mold to the transom and layed up the mold glassing it to the transom then through bolted the bracket to the transom. Its more elaborate than that but that was the basics of it. Billy could answer more detailed questions about it. Both the new transom and bracket are seriously stout.

This was the first time I have even been able to run the boat without using the trim tabs. Didn't matter if I was going 3mph or 45mph I have always needed them to get the boat to ride even remotely flat. It now sits, accelerates, and rides very flat and even, slow or at speed. I'm sure there is more drag but I have a slower plane speed now which will result in better economy and a better ride in rough water and no bow wave to push over to get on plane. There are trade offs no matter what path you take I think. So far I'm very happy with the result.

Very nice indeed! Looks like a lot of added floatation volume. I'm curious how it dose turning with the extension? Glad it worked well for you

Wow she looks great! Hope to see you around this summer.

My expectation was that there would be some issues with higher speed sharp turns but surprisingly that was not an issue at all. I did not notice any difference.

Thx. I'll be around assuming the fish will be around this year...

That all makes sense - thanks for the info. What is your low speed planing threshold now (& before)? Do you notice any downside in scenarios where you want to get the nose up - like running downwind in a bigger down sea swell?

I'm having issues getting my trim tabs to work but my planning speed is a little better than it was before, about 16 mph right now depending on load, sometimes higher if I have it loaded down. It was closer to 18/19 mph before if I remember correctly but that was with ful tabs. I have been running the last month and a half without working trim tabs. I raised the motor one notch but its still too low so I'm hoping that with working tabs and the motor raised to the proper height my planing speed and mpg will drop.

I haven't had any issues with wanting to get the nose up. Its runs/handles well in big seas both head and following.

Good stuff. Your posts & positive results have really changed what I am thinking about for my bracket job. I am definitely leaning towards a hull extension like yours vs a stepped bracket for the lower planing speed & keeping the hull more level coming on & off plane.

If I had to do it again there are a few things I may do differently. I would probably go a little wider on the tub itself but that is a trade-off due to the added weight. Tho I think the bracket could be built a little lighter. Maybe I would feel differently if I had an optimax 250 on the back at 150 less in weight than the verado. I think the boat sits and rides well but there is always room for improvement.

It's good to hear your thoughts on what works & what you would do different.

I've got twin 225 etec's on a Formula 233. The current bracket has basically no flotation. It sits ok at rest, but squats more than I want going on/off plane, and I would like to lower the planing threshold. I'm in the low 20's right now, but it's not very efficient at that speed.

It's better to have the bracket strong and a little on the heavy side... I will foam core some of mine and use epoxy to keep an eye on weight, but I def want it strong. It looks like they did a nice job on yours, and it certainly sits well at the dock.