Quote:
. . .I am leaning towards the lines on top of the bracket since it wont be coming straight thru the transom to the inside of the boat- that will all be an enclosed area in the back. Then we'll run it thru the flooring to the center console.
Weight?? I've heard people say
1. you need to add weight to the front of the boat (someone said 700 lbs)
2. older seacrafts sit heavier in the water- so you might not need to add much weight to the bow.
Interested to know people's thoughts on that...
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Even if you clutter up the platform by running all the lines across it instead of under it, they'll still have to dip down to get under the deck, so why not run them down under the platform so you'll have a straight run into the bilge? Only disadvantage to Don's rigging system is the cables have to be a little longer, but that's not an issue if you use quality cables.
To a guy that has spent 45 years in the aerospace world where even a couple of ounces of excess weight was a big deal, adding 700
LBS of weight to the bow just because somebody screwed up and got the CG wrong, seems like a terrible idea! First mistake folks make on these boats is putting a 500 lb motor on a boat that was designed for an I-6 Merc of less than 300 lbs! Next mistake is moving the heavy motor 30" aft on a bracket with insufficient flotation. Adding ballast to the bow to compensate for the first 2 mistakes only compounds the problem and creates an even heavier boat that won't have the superior ride and performance that is expected of a SeaCraft!
SeaCrafts don't sit heavier in the water unless they're full of waterlogged foam and decks. In fact if you compare the weight of the original Moesly 4-stringer design on the '72 and earlier 20's to most modern wider beam 20' boats, you'll find that they're pretty light, considering the thickness and strength of the layup. Balsa core in the decks and cap made a big difference compared to the plywood used in the post-Moesly/Potter boats. The VDH hull is also very efficient and doesn't require as much power as conventional hulls. A lot of 20's were sold new with 85-115 hp motors and rode very well with that lightweight power.
On the baitwell, why put it on the transom and make the boat even more stern heavy? I'd be inclined to go with a leaning post with a baitwell underneath it to get the weight forward a bit.