What Outboard Bracket to use on 23 Sceptre
 

I am doing a restoration on a 1978 23 Sceptre. I have closed the transom. I am going with a single outboard but I want a bracket with the dive platform sides. What brand and model of brackets have any of you had the best luck with?

Hermco by popular demand !!!

About every Sceptre on this site only uses a Hermco floatation bracket !

My son included.. Checkout Kmoose as well...

No sense in adding weight with a SS or aluminum bracket..

Just my 2¢ worth.

Attachment 16638

HermCo, Armstrong , Stainless Marine to name a few, really no model number as they are made to order for your transom measurements...differences come in platform width and setback, also full floatation assuming that's what you want

Lots of CNC built aluminum brackets out there but they don’t play well with all the stainless bolts and hardware over time. Build quality is also a consideration on these as there are many new shops making them that have not been vetted over time. Hermco for me was the only choice I would consider.

Went to Miami yesterday for the boat show and the Armstrong single engine, which their guy said "is perfect for a SeaCraft and it's the one we sell for that boat" was $2700 (with a cool slide out dive ladder for another $1100), the guy who builds Stoner Boats makes a fiberglass bracket that is a duplicate of a Hermco double tub with a single engine mounted was $3200. Along with Moose and Bones my humble advice, the same advice I'm giving my brother on his '72 23' rebuild, spend the extra money get the Hermco and don't look back!!

Go with Hermco. It's the one designed for the SeaCraft hull.

If you can still get one . . . get a hermco fiberglass bracket.
With the Hermco bracket you won't need to worry about cracked welds or blistering powder coat/paint on the stainless and armstrong brackets.

Hermco hands down with custom built-in SS ladder. The bracket is parallel with the hulls bottom. This will reduce "squatting" unlike Armstrong and the others. Ladder being built in you don't worry about storage and it can be easly accessed from the water for safety reasons.

Hermco Splashwell Mold
 

Not sure if Don still lurks here so any members keep in touch with him? I cannot find someone to build a splashwell for under $500, so it’s just sitting. It’s probably one of the nicest molds I’ve ever seen. Thought he may like to have it back if he is still in operation. Any thoughts?

Vezo, Part II

Sorry to OP, hit Reply rather than New Thread.
I think a photo is worth a thousand words. Nice work, Captain Chuck!

Vezo

I had an Armstrong on my old 23SF. That bracket was tapered and gave no additional flotation. Don’s bracket would have been better. Briguy has had to recoat his aluminum bracket with Linex.

I have a twin Whaler Drive bracket off a 25 outrage that I think could be retrofitted to a 23 seacraft, but it needs a serious tune up. If you can get a hermco . . . DO IT!!

https://images.craigslist.org/00l0l_...VX_600x450.jpg

I have a twin floatation bracket.
Armstrong and too wide for the race boat.

Have to section 4 1/2 inches per side and all that entails.
I did buy it right.

Perfect for a 23.

Bracket
 

These are proven and are worth a look.

http://www.dusky.com/parts/outboard-brackets

I spoke to Don (hermco) today and he is finally done..... So sad. Of course when I'm ready to pay him to make me a bracket he's done. I guess I will start searching

Give Josh Stoner a call from Stoner Boatworks. Check out his Instagram feed, it's a very nice looking fiberglass bracket he makes for his boat and it's around the price of the Hermco. I talked to him Wednesday, after meeting him in person Saturday in Miami and told him he might have an opportunity to market his bracket and provide an option over aluminum. It's a bracket made with Coosa Bluewater 26 which looks very, very well made. Let him know it's the goofy SeaCraft guy sending you his way!!! Good luck.

Im having Josh Stoner make my bracket

Good for you, he's about 150 miles up the road from your place in KW. I should have also included his web site. http://www.stonerboatworks.com

What’s the status of his molds?

Thanks Don. Appreciate it. I will post all the pics of the conversion

Don (hermco) told me he’s selling the molds and business, sure would be nice to find someone as good as him to continue the legacy. He’s a guru with that glass in my opinion!

I was ready to buy a bracket this month and am disappointed to here that hermco is closed. If the performance from the Josh Stoner brackets is as good as the Hermco, I would be interested in going that route.

I just posted pics in the repairs/mods page

Have you spoken to him?

Yes, I saw on his site early February he was not taking orders and i called and he said he was closing shop. His site was back to normal again later that month and Don said he didn't have a buyer for his business and was going to continue building for the forseeable future. I spoke with him in March when i was ready to order and he said he was closing for good. I guess this could change but that's the latest i had heard from Don so I'm looking at other options.