bracket on a 1978 23'
 

i was going to sell her and get a bigger boat but looks like i will keep her my Q is this i have twin 175 johnsons and the boat is sitting to low in the water i think if i fill in the transom and put it on a floating bracket will this help me or will it hurt also i would like to know what i can look forward to as far as they way it will perform with it any help is great thanks

Re: bracket on a 1978 23'
 

It is a large and rather expensive project. Your boat will float higher and be safer. The hull will feel "longer", run quieter and the azz end will stay in the water better. Be prepared to spend 4-7grand. Good luck. I would do it all over again.

Re: bracket on a 1978 23'
 

My '73 with single 250 Yam. on bracket w/platform, 17 prop runs mid 40's. The enclosed transom/bracket is soooo nice fishing/swimming etc. This hull could use more HP and will when I repower. You should be really happy with twin 175's.

Re: bracket on a 1978 23'
 

ok so if i do it than what are some good brackets to look for and i hope it will help my top end right now it is about 48mph i would like to be in the mid 50's but first thing is to get the azzz up sitting way to low for me

Re: bracket on a 1978 23'
 

Check out the Potter/Hermco bracket - all glass, most flotation of any bracket out there, so will help maintain static trim and self-bailing capability. I believe the consensus is that a bracket will add 2-3 mph because shifting weight aft makes it easier to trim bow up, reducing wetted surface area. Don Herman can probably explain it better. May also reduce drag by allowing you to raise motor. Cavitation plate on mine is ~4.5" above keel with 30" setback. Boat will run almost 50 w/150 E-Tec.

Re: bracket on a 1978 23'
 

Armstrong and Stainless Marine also make them from aluminum. Maybe you should let Hermco do the entire job! He does fantastic work!!

Re: bracket on a 1978 23'
 

I second that motion.

Re: bracket on a 1978 23'
 

Don at hermco did my 18ft SF a couple of months ago he does great work if you go to his website www.hermco.net checkout gallery 2 mine is the yellow 18 ft.

Re: bracket on a 1978 23'
 

I have a full flotation aluminum bracket on my 23 footer.

I hear that the hermco bracket is the best bracket out there for the SeaCraft. Also, I heard that they are reasonably priced.

FYI, I get up to about 57 MPH with the bracket and my twin 200 HP Yamaha OX66's. I am guessing (but could be off) that you would get a WOT of 52 MPH to 54 MPH.

Re: bracket on a 1978 23'
 

so it sounds like i should get hermco to do the job i will give him a call and see what he can do for me thanks for the help i know i will have Q to come

Re: bracket on a 1978 23'
 

If I were to put twins on a 23, I would get the biggest bracket I could find, probably the hermco, it's huge. I haven't been on a 23' with a hermco, but I have been on single engine 23's with DnD and Armstrong, and it is a good upgrade. Personally, I wouldn't put twins on a 23, I would look at a 250 or one of the new 300's. You might be able to hit 50+ mph with the twins, but how often can you do that in the open ocean.

Re: bracket on a 1978 23'
 

Yes but the reliability you have with twins is very nice!

Re: bracket on a 1978 23'
 

I thought that twins were an overkill on a boat like a 23" SeaCraft (until I got a boat that came with twins)

Now I am on my 2nd SeaCraft with twins. They are great to have.

Re: bracket on a 1978 23'
 

Hermco also installed my bracket; it's the white Seafari "Restless Lady" in Gallery 2 on Don's web site.

Re: bracket on a 1978 23'
 

If your running the middle grounds or bahamas out of Florida, or the Canyons up north, twins are nice, but a bigger boat is even better :D. 23' seems to be the edge of where twins make sense. A big 23' with a big bracket is ok, but whether you have 1 or 2 motors, it's still a open 23' boat. I guess the reliability of twins is an option, but I would rather have a satilite phone, 2 radios, and SeaTow than a second motor. As for speed, you can rarely run wot in the open ocean.

Can you get a SeaCraft up on plane with 1 motor? I have never tried that. I wouldn't have twins unless I knew I could get on plane with one motor. Just my opinion...

Re: bracket on a 1978 23'
 

Good point.... ;)

Re: bracket on a 1978 23'
 

JohnB,

I cannot get up on plane with one engine. However, I did have an issue this past summer where I was 15 miles offshore and had to come home on one engine. I averaged 8 miles per hour but made it home.

Regarding some of your other comments:
I like to go offshore and cannot afford a bigger boat at this time. A satellite phone alone is not going to cut it. Redundency is the name of the game offshore.

I bet if you poll the users that have this setup most, if not all, prefer the setup to a single engine.

Please don't take this as a bash at a single engine setup. It is not. I have had both and merely prefer the twin setup.

Peter

Re: bracket on a 1978 23'
 

Maybe one of the guru's (Father Frank) can answer this....but if you had twins and lost one, and you had a much lower pitch prop for the remaining engine that would let the engine rev up to it's proper RPM but at the RPM would only be pushing the boat a little past it's minimum planing speed.....would that work....???

Re: bracket on a 1978 23'
 

That's the perfect scenario. But most would have to carry one each for counter-rotation.....and then one each for spun hub....for a total of (4) spares. Overkill? Yes, but what's the right answer??

Re: bracket on a 1978 23'
 

If I'm just trying to get home I guess the cheapest aluminum prop I could get would work...;)...if it'd work at all as I described. I know with a kicker it's best to get a much lower pitch prop.....

Re: bracket on a 1978 23'
 

I've come home from West End in the Bahamas to Ft. Pierce Florida on a 25' Robalo being pushed by a 15hp Chrysler (yes, Chrysler) kicker motor after losing the big Merc main motor. It took over 12 hours.
I absolutely endorse the use of twins when venturing more than 30 miles offshore, or at the very least, a reliable kicker motor.
BTW, the first 20' SeaCraft I ever rigged was a 1974 Seafari repowering from a 135 Evinrude to twin 85 hp Mercurys.
Twins = best choice for offshore
Single + Kicker = 2nd choice
Single + radio/Sat phone w/ no backup motor = too risky for cruising far offshore, IMHO
SeaTow or TowboatUS = Necessary insurance any way you go.

Re: bracket on a 1978 23'
 

she will not get up on plane with one but it will be alot faster than seatow i had to use seatow this year when i was fishing the ska turnament out of douphin island i was 56 miles offshore when me ignition switches when out was not a good fealing but i will have all the above on my boat sat phone twins 2vhf and anything else i can think of

Re: bracket on a 1978 23'
 

I'm with Father Frank on the priority list.....I will add:
Most of us have a budget and we are pretty smart to stick with what works for our own situation-bang for the buck. The SeaMark bracket has proven itself and deserves it's reputation-read the last 5 years of threads. PeterB is right, most of us would choose twins over a single outboard for offshore. JohnB, Eggsuckindog, Fellowship and many others say single all the way-I see their point as well(singles allow the 23 a better center balance and are more efficient). Most recent twin bracket set-ups are either light 4strokes like Briguy or new 2stroke Etecs/Optis like Skiblet's twin 200 Etecs, Generaider's Evinrude DI 135's, Ect..

Re: bracket on a 1978 23'
 

On a Bahamas trip, the best spare engine to have is the one on the other boat you're running with! Also includes other spares (hull, radio, beer, etc.)! :D

Re: bracket on a 1978 23'
 

In the original question, turftime was asking about performance/engineering, and most of what I was getting at revolved around that. I agree with what everyone is saying about redundance/safety with twins, (to a point), but I was addressing the question of performance/engineering. If I am going out so far in a boat that I think I needed twins, it sure isn't going to be in an open 23' boat.

Specifically regarding twins, if you can't get up on plane, and can only run 8-10 mph, IMHO, your better off with a 20 horse kicker with a nearly flat pitch prop. It will get you in at 8-10 mph, weighs alot less, and cost a whole lot less. If speed is what your after, well, than, go with triples :D

The "bathtub" brackets like the hermco are really only turning a 23' boat into a 27' boat. This is a pretty radical change, and I haven't been on one with a hermco with twins, so I don't know how they work. I know guys that have used armstrongs and DnD brackets with twins on a 23, and most, if they had to do it over again, would of gone with a single 300. It's not that it's terrible, but in ugly seas, where you have to run slow, in the 20's, the balance is screwed up, and they tend to be nose happy and stern heavy, especially in following seas. These boats, like most deep V's really aren't at their best in following seas. Too much weight in too short of boat, for the most part. Remember, the original design spec was for 2 motors that weight about 100 pounds more than a single current 200hp. On flat days, well everything rides good on those days.

Re: bracket on a 1978 23'
 

Actually, in getting back to the original question if you go to a bracket the WOT speed should be a couple of miles per hour higher and the gas consumption should be slightly better.

Re: bracket on a 1978 23'
 

And when you fill in the transom, it keeps the sea out of the boat, and the guest out of the sea :D. I believe SeaCraft is yiddish for "wet feet".

Re: bracket on a 1978 23'
 

Oy Vay. :)

Or to a Catholic Christian, that famous hymn, "Oy Vay, Maria" :D

Re: bracket on a 1978 23'
 

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c2...anielle001.jpg


She easily planes on one motor ;)


:eek: ;) :cool:

Re: bracket on a 1978 23'
 

Jason-Looks like you have caught the fever........ :DYou been hanging around Doodlebug? You were looking for "balls" in your next motors, you got it! I've got twin 225's on my 23SF. Very nice. How is she running?

Re: bracket on a 1978 23'
 

Well.... I thought about putting twin 175 suzuki on her but I ran across this pair of motors and couldn't refuse the price or the conditon. The motors were practically brand new. I had twin 150's and loved them. Very quick, easy handling, and good on fuel regardless whay some may say. Boat runs like a dream even in FOLLOWING seas.

I wanted to go with the twin 175 suzuki's (485lbs without oil) but the 250's (493lbs) and the 175's were only a few pounds different.
So.... here they are.

This boat rides higher in the water than most that have brackets including most SF23's with a single motor. The motors are about 120lbs heavier than the 150's. I was going to add a bracket to my project but I've never seen a bracket that didn't hold water.

She is quick.

Re: bracket on a 1978 23'
 

On the twin engine subject! if you are running a single engine Seatow is the answer its $129 per year. Just make sure you cary the proper first aid and safety equip.

Re: bracket on a 1978 23'
 

Hey there. I'm getting close to being done with my project. I have a 1973 23' Tsunami that had twin I/O's. I've pulled the engines and closed up the transom. I'm hanging a bracket and a single Suzuki 300. I'm wondering what you have as far as a livewell set up. I was going to try and build one in the transom, but I wasn't sure if I would be able to get the bracket installed after the livewell was in place. Right now I'm planning on just dropping a round livewell on the floor. You got any suggestions?
Thanks,
Britt

Re: bracket on a 1978 23'
 

I am in the process of building an in-transom live well. When I get closer, I will take a few pictures. I converted the infloor live well to a fish box, made it bigger, and insulated it, and put a bigger lid on it.

Re: bracket on a 1978 23'
 

Here's a couple pictures of my transom area as of two weeks ago. I have glassed in the cap where I used to have some drop in buckets. I figured I could cut holes in the top and glass the buckets to the bottom after everything was finished, but I still would be stuck with my livewell sitting on my deck. I'd really prefer to have the thing inside that transom area, but I don't quite know how I build that now and still leave the guys hanging the bracket and motor plenty of room to do their work.:D

Suggestions?

Transom

Floor
Looking Forward
web page

Re: bracket on a 1978 23'
 

looks good i think i am on the same path

Re: bracket on a 1978 23'
 

I have a "loose" bait well that sits on the floor against the transom, I'll get a pic tomorrow.

Re: bracket on a 1978 23'
 

Did you have an I/O or just closing up the transom?

Re: bracket on a 1978 23'
 

If you wouldn't mind sending a picture I would appreciate it. I wish I would have found this website four months ago when I got started on this project. I've asked around and guessed at a lot of this stuff, but from the other guys' pictures it looks like I've gotten pretty close.

I saw that you have a 250 Yamaha on yours, what's your best cruise? You said that you top out in the mid forties. I hoped that I would be able to cruise at 30 and I wasn't sure if the 250 would do that for me so I opted for the 300. I was going with a single and I haven't ever heard of anyone complaning of too much HP.

You recommended the Hermco bracket. I hadn't heard of them. I was planning on going with Stainless Marine, but I'm afraid that I'm not going to be able to get one with the swim platform as I have a rounded, bumped out transom
http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/d...g?t=1195996201
Stainless said they could do it, but if it's going to be a custom fit that my bracket would be $4500 versus $1950. I want the platform, but I dont know that it's worth another 2 grand. Thoughts?

Re: bracket on a 1978 23'
 

The pictures look like a center console, not a Tsunami, did you convert a Tsunami to a CC?

If the i/o cap is the same as the inboards, I don't think you would have enough room inside it to put a livewell. I built a cap on the back of mine that has 17" inside so I could put the livewell in there. I will shoot some pictures this week, and post them.

A 250 moves at 23' along just fine, a 300 is even better, and might get better gas milage since it doesn't have to work as hard, especially at cruise. My boat is very heavy, and with a Merc 250, I cruise at 27 and wot at about 40. The top probably takes at least 2-3mph off, especially wot.

As for the bracket, a "bumpout" transom is a tough fit. If your looking at twins, I don't think there is much of an option other than the hermco. You need to add a bunch of floatation for that to work right. For a single engine, a DnD, Armstrong, or stainless should work fine. Just make sure it has the max floatation available, since the 300 is a heavy motor.