[Scott]

Hey guys

As you may well know I’m also contemplating a bracket for a 23 CC. And yes there are many pros and cons to doing it. Fellow-ship brings up a good point of the motor/motors getting in the way fishing and I have heard both sides about backing the boat down with a bracket. I think the biggest reason I’m considering it is to gain back a lot of deck that gets taken away with the splashwell. That then leads to the benefit of a solid transom to keep the ocean out. As far as the ability to use the notch to bail the boat out ….at least in my case it would not work with the big splashwell….as it will not allow water in to the boat its not going to let it out either (this is assuming you take green water over the bow ). The bracket I have focused on is the Potter bracket that Hermco distributes. I have even had a Captain that I used to work for go and look at the bracket to get an assessment of it. He came back with very favorable report….and basically said that if he was to purchase an aftermarket bracket he would go with this one hands down…

If I go with this bracket I will most likely go with a twin-engine bracket for future consideration of motors. I can still mount the single and when the day comes I can convert it to a twin mount if I so desire. All I have to do is some minor glasswork to seal up the holes from the single mount. Twin bracket also affords me a lot of floatation for one of those heavy four strokes if I wanted to go that way. In general I like the fact that the floatation chamber is just that…it’s a chamber. I could throw this bracket in the water and it would float. Try that with an aluminum one and it’s to the bottom as they rely on the seal made against the transom and 5200 to create a waterproof floatation chamber. Potters bracket also has a huge load distribution area across the entire transom therefore its not concentrating all the weight in a 1foot square area where the engine is bolted to the transom. Additionally the platform would benefit me for diving (for much easier access in and out of the boat).

If you look at the float chamber for some of the other brackets out there they angle up from the attachment point on the transom to the motor mount, whereas Potters follows the same plane as the boats bottom back to the mounting point of the engine extending the running surface of the hull (on plane that may be clear of contact with the water??????). In general and as for ride that I don’t know and would like to hear about that….a lot of boats come from the factory with brackets on them…look at Regulator. I have seen several 23 restored with brackets and while the bracket may not be the prettiest thing on the boat , the room and the feel from the inside is unbelievable ……and personally I think the closed transom gives the boat a lot of character….