Bracket modification
 

I am going to really eat my word now, This is an old Dusky bracket that I am going to "chop up" and modify to fit my 20 sceptre. It is way to tall and has a splash well built in. I plan on cutting it down to 24" high or so and getting rid of the splash well and building a swim platform to go all the way across the back of the boat. I originally has two small bolt on swim platforms (20"x20") on each side of the bracket, but I don't think I will use them. It weighs a ton but once I cut it down it should not be as bad. It is well built with almost 4" thick of glass/wood on the flotation tub. I got it for really cheep so I figured it was worth a try, I cant afford a new Hemco but would like one. I will see how it turns out, maybe it will be usable and not look so bad once completed. It will defiantly have a ton of flotation to help with the weight of it and the new motor.

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Wow that is one boss of a bracket there...used to own one of their 21 ft inboards...built like a tank for sure. I don't know if you could ever cut enough off to lighten up a bracket built that solid :-). I know things are tight man, but there are 5 boats in your sig...maybe sacrifice one for some $ to build out another....

Might want to also check and see if the transom angle is the same for some reason I seem to remember they are not the same.was looking at getting one from dusky before finding a stainless marine one for mine.have to say the guys at dusky were great to work with a family run business that cares for there customers

I have removed about a 1/3 of the weight off her but it is still weighing in a little heavy at 130-140lbs. I wouldn't put on a cc but with the weight forward on the sceptre and I think the weight will be less than the old I/o unit so im not to worried.
Far as selling the other projects there is not much value there, all were like orphan children and were about given to me at very low $ amounts. I am trying to do what you were saying thoe. Out of my 15 or so boats I actually got 5-6 boats up for sale right now (none of them SeaCrafts of course).
I wont be as cheep on the others SC projects. The sceptre was to be a low budget build used just solely for the purpose of pulling the kids on tubes and hydro-slides. I was trying to get it going and have less than $3000 in it total including motor.:eek:
The race boat will be started soon and I don't want to spare a dime on it. Just wanted some cheep fun for the kids with this one.
If the bracket don't work out I will loosen my cheeks, buy a sheet of 6061 aluminum and build one myself, (Have welding equipment and my father builds tops and towers for a living and can professionally do it) I just hate to spend the $1000 for a 4x8 sheet!

The angle will work just fine, checked that out before I got it. The sceptre has a angle of 13 degrees (some say 14 some say 13 mine measures 13). The dusky bracket has an angle of 12 degrees, more like 12.25 degrees so it will be close enough to use. The less than one degree will just let the swim platform have a slight angle down towards the motor. So small you wont notice and it will help the water run off the transom. I have read you can use a bracket at + or - a degree with no worries.

Good to hear that ! Glad it worked out

It hasent worked out yet, angle looks good and it seems to look like it will fit fine but it is mighty heavy. The tub is two inches thick with two 5/8 layers of glass with a 3/4 wood core between them. Took a lot of weight off by getting rid of the splash well and cutting it down but hopeing that the large flotation space will make up for the extra weight.

After seeing Bigshrimpins bracket lift (floor jack adapter) I had to make me one. It will help a lot to have something adjustable under the bracket while test fitting it ect. I could not find a pipe or rod to fit the jack so I had to turn one down on the lathe. Once I got that done with that I welded it to a plate, drilled it so that I could screw it to the bottom of the jig I made yesterday. The jig is a small pallet with two bunk boards on the top for the bracket to rest on and the whole thing sits on the jacks arm in the same hole the cup uses.

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If you want a bracket, I wouldn't suggest 6061. You won't be re heat treating it after welding, so the welds will be quite weak compared to the rest of the sheet. Use 5086 instead with much higher "as welded" yield and ultimate strength, and it will have better corrosion resistance, too. Make sure you use the right filler rod. I think it is 5183.

If you were closer, I would say buy my bracket made of 5086. I think it is 125 lb with platform.

That's a really stout looking bracket! Any idea what it weighs after all the trimming?

I think you'll want to mount it as low as possible to get maximum flotation at rest. I think Don Herman mounted mine so bottom of tub is about 4" above keel. Motor AV plate is 3.5" above keel in attached pic. We redrilled the holes to raise it another inch, but it still needs to come up about another inch, because AV plate is still under water when up on plane, so keep that in mind when you drill motor mount holes. I need to make an adapter/spacer plate because lower bolts will interfere with the swim platform if I raised them another inch!

You got a good point there about the heat treating, Im not sure what grade would be best but I will be looking into it and doing some research before buying a sheet when I get ready to do the bracket for the race boat. I will check on the 5086 and see if that will be best. I know I want something strong and know that some of the high grade aluminum will work better than others, thanks for the help. I need to study up on it a little better so I go the right direction.

Yea it is defiantly stout! A little too stout! It is around 140# right now but the tub is cut to 24" height and I will lower it down to around 21" or so and that will get it down to the 120# mark I hope. There is a lot of thickness were the splash well was molded in at on the last 2" that will be coming off when I cut it down three more inches and that will help shed some weight. I will be putting some back with the swim platform so not sure what the final number will be but it will be a little heaver than most. I got core-cell foam to core the platform with to save on weight and the bracket will have tons of flotation so I think it will be fine. The flotation tub goes all the way out to the end of the second step almost.
Mine will be mounted at around 4" up from the keel to keep the tub in the water as far down as I can so it will have maxim flotation and no drag on plane. The bolt on lip is facing outwards instead of inwards so 4" is the low as I could get it.
Far as the motor mount, I haven't cut it down yet due to wanting to get it right. The bracket is a 24" set back and with a 25" motor I figured setting the mounting tab at 27.5" (2.5" higher for the set back). Everyone says a inch per foot of set back so that is 2 inches plus I will add a 1/2" to that and may need to go even more. Everyone also says they have to raise there motor up more so I may start at 28"-29" mounting height and them go from there. I will be easy to cut it down more but going up not so easy.

What height do all you csc guys think I should set the motor at to start with for a 24" set back???? The help is appreciated.

Making a little progress on the mold for the swim platform. The weather slowed me down a bit with the tropical storm moving threw but still managed to do a bit today. Primed with high build primer ready for glass tomorrow.

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where did you come up with that cool fillet tool ,I've got to have one. my bracket has a 26'' setback and is 28'' up from the keel

Thanks for the motor height info, the fillet tool was a gift from my dad. (he builds t-tops/tuna towers for a living and they got a fiber glass shop where he works that build hard tops for the towers) They ordered it from Mini Craft of Florida, INC Phone # (800) 282-8244 on page 43 in their catalog. It work really well, much better than a spoon or other items I have seen used. They are made for installing wax fillet but work well for clay too. They sell four different ones with 8 sizes. Each has two balls on each tool. I don't think they would cost much and be well worth the money.

Added 3 layers of matt down in the mold today. Tomorrow I will add a layer of 1708 and some 4" stripping around the lip. I also got to cut the foam to add for a core material.

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Sanded down the first 3 layers so the next layers would bond down good. Added a layer of 1708 then put down the foam core material then a second layer of 1708 over the foam. Added some narrow strips to the corners of the liping and then added 6 layers of wide stripping to the front edge that will mount to the boat to build it up. The foam I used has holes drilled threw it to let the resin bond better.

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Popped the swim platform out of the mold today. Turned out well considering it is the first one I have ever made. Few little spots to touch up but it is super strong and looks like it will work well.

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Im very intersted in the results and pics. I have the exact same bracket and may do a similar mod for my new 20sf project

Not finished yet, but will update. Baseball with the kid has been killing my time.

Here I got the swim platform glued down with epoxy resin thickened with cabosil and glass fibers (rice pellets). Placed a foam block around the top edge so there would be more surface area for the platform to sit on and glue to. After the epoxy set up I tabbed the tub to the swim platform inside and out. In the inside I wrapped the foam and tabbed to the bottom of the platform.

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That is looking awesome. I may be trying it in a few months. Transom and stringers are on my list next month.

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Spend a small amount of time on the bracket this weekend, Lot of my time got burnt on my vacation/trip to get a sf cap from another member on csc. here in We went to Charleston SC (the family) and picked it up on wend. and then stayed in Georgetown that night. Then we hit myrtle beach on the way back up to NC the next day and made a dual purpose on the trip. Stopped in Wilmington to watch the fire works on the 4th on the way home. Turned out to be a good little trip. The cap will be going on my bare 1971 20' sf hull. This will save some time in the future and keep me from having to make them from scratch.

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What year is that Cheby C20 with the mod slotted mags?

It looks like a F-250 Ford Sandy. Your eyes are the second thing to go. :)

It's a 1969 short bed step side. Doing a full off frame resto on it. New rockers floor and such. Going to be more a street rod than original. I has a factor 4 bolt main 400 sbc, I plan on going a little over mild but not to wild. Big cam and high rise intake ect. Going with a narrowed 9" ford with a little larger meat under the rear. I also just sold a running 1971 c10 long bed fleet side about a month or two ago. To much rust on that one. The 69 in the pic dont look like much but it is a solid foundation.

Few pics of my other "classics"
 

Here is a better pic of the 69 sandy:
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The 71 I just sold:
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My trailer queen 71:
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I got this car about 15 years ago at age 15 before I had my drivers license. I was a stock car barely running but it has been slowly reworked by me and my father for years now. Not finished yet but far enough along to have fun in.

I`m in redneck heaven there. How do you like that demon carb? Heard great reviews vs holley, edelleakdown etc. Nice split bumper.

Shortbed, check.
Stepside, check.
#`s match. check. Those extra long rear trailing arms hook tf up. Bruno was a 52 f1 with a 3/4 `50 olds rocket with trip strombergs that were a pain to sync. Been thinking of going back in time again for a long time now. Never leaves your blood.

Cheers,
GFS

Love the demon carb, this one is adjustable from 980 to 1380 cfm. More adjustments than you can shake a stick at. You can really fine tune it well.
Truck is all original and matching minus the motor, the 4 bolt 400 was a find in a part truck. It was suppose to have a 283 sbc in it but once I pulled it found out it was a 400. Happy day that was.
The camaro has a dart little M block with a 4.155 bore and 4.00 stroke. That makes it a 434 ci sbc. 13.8 compression, 680 lift roller cam, Brodix heads fully ported and polished. I will run high fives on a good day. The car is all metal body and is very heavy at near 2850 lbs minus me in it. Plans in the future for a front strut front clip with spindal mount rims with a fiberglass one pice front end and doors. Car still has all glass windows in it too. Lexan will save me a few hundred lbs as well. Hope to get it down to 2400 lbs or so.

Once it is i your blood there is no turning back. You can get rid of them but you will find your self back there again one day.

An old truck is in my future. There is no cure for raw adrenaline. You can`t explain why you vibrate for hours after being on stage with a tight smile on your face.

Fitting to the boat trying to get the correct height for the 25" Mercury motor:

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Friz,

Not sure of the dimensions of your bracket, but your swim platform looks much higher than mine, and the motor mount surface also looks like it's taller than mine so I suspect you could lower the bracket quite a bit from where it is in that last picture, and you'd still be able to raise the motor high enough. The problem with mine is that mount surface isn't high enough to raise the motor any further, and if it was, the lower bolts would want to be right where the swim platform is! On motor height, I have raised my motor one hole or 3/4" above where it is in last picture where it shows the AV plate about 3 1/2" above keel, so it's now at 4 1/4" above keel and the AV plate is still under water, so I think the AV plate wants to be roughly 5" above keel with this bracket with a 30" setback. Sounds like your motor is at least 50 lbs heavier than mine so it might sit a bit lower in the water. (don't forget that the quoted weights are dry weight, so need to add 7.4 lbs/gal for lube oil; don't know it it's true, but I've also heard that some of the quoted 4S motor weights are exactly what you'd read with motor hanging on a scale, i.e., they DON'T include weight of the cowling, so they could be low by another 20 lbs or so!)

Don got the bracket mounting height perfect on mine, with swim platform just an inch or two above the water with a heavy cruising load. Here some pictures and dimensions off mine to give you some ideas. The waterline is right at the top of the green paint, below 3/4" wide gelcoat stripe and 2" wide green bootstripe. When a couple of average size guys (~170 lbs) are on the platform, it's just above the water.

The V at bottom of flotation tub is 4.25" above keel. The swim platform is roughly 16.5" above bottom of tub and about 10" above the chine, as measured along the surface of the transom. For flotation tub comparisons, mine is approximately 32" wide at the tank chines and about 36.5" wide at the top of the tub. Denny

would a 20 inch shaft be better on a bracket on these ???? looking at several installations it seems a 20 " motor would make the adjustments easier and not have to redrill holes to raise the motors ???

I second that question. Just about ready to drill holes for my hermco bracket. And I'm concerned about getting the motor high enough.

First of all I would mount the bracket on the transom where Don recommends to maximize flotation and because that located the swim platform at the perfect height on my boat. I think optimum motor height depends on bracket setback. Based on my experience, if it's a 30" bracket mounted where Don mounted mine and the motor mount holes are drilled where Don originally put them, a 20" motor would probably work but mount the motor so max possible AV plate height from keel is 5" with ability to lower it if you get too much aeration. I haven't actually been able to mount or run mine at the 5" ht so you're on your own there! Mine works fine where it is; there may be some performance benefits to raising it more, but don't know that for sure or the magnitude of the benefit since I haven't tested that. With a 20" motor, your powerhead will be 5" closer to the water than mine. Not sure I'd be comfortable with that on an offshore boat, although I think the E-TEC cowling is well sealed and baffled. Pretty sure you would need to run a good 4B prop with lots of cup so it bites well when running close to the surface.

If you have a 25" motor, drill the motor mount holes in the bracket as high as possible. To mount it any higher, you'll need a jack plate or a spacer plate about 1" thick extending above bracket with the lower engine mount bolts facing aft with the heads buried flush with front of plate.

Thanks for the advise Denny! Yes mine is the 30" set back also and I marked my mounting wholes according to DON's instructions so my swim platform should be the same as yours. I haven't purchased a motor yet, but I'm at about the same point as Flyingfrizzle on the bracket install.

I'm way behind you guys.. but monitoring closely !!! i may end up with a 20" and a low water pick up on my 20 due to a pumped up merc a friend has to sell me !! but it make my fuel tank WAY too small... but i will get there 4 x's as fast !!!!!!!! LOL still leaning toward a 150 - 175 etec though..

Rusty,

If you're considering a Hermco bracket, you might talk to Don about the possibility of raising the top of the motor mount surface another inch or so, and also putting a bulge in the swim platform just forward on the motor mount surface to prevent interference with the lower motor mount bolts. I think that's what's required to mount a 25" motor with the AV plate 5" above the keel. Denny

definately going hermco if / when i do the bracket ! yalll are going to have to make up my mind !!!! leaning back that way again though.... I would kick myself for doing the transome to 25" and new power and then want the bracket.... gotta make up my mind before i cut / chop / rebuild... lol