I concur with what the others have said about the adverse affect of a bracket on an 18 due to the aft CG shift. Your 130 on the transom is a fairly light motor that is a great match for that boat. I predict that you will raise your min planing speed from the low to mid-teens to the low 20's and your ride in rough water will suffer. You will have to switch to a stern-lifting 4B prop and probably a Doelfin or equivalent to compensate for the heavy stern, so the question is, are you willing to go to all that trouble to gain a little more space by closing in the splashwell? I made a long post on the pros & cons of a bracket for a 20 several years ago that you can search for. All the comments also apply to the 18, except the con's will be more pronounced.
That said, the bracket in the picture does appear to have a decent amount of floation for it's size, much better than you see with the narrow Stainless Marine and Gil brackets. Do you know what the setback is on it? I'd guess it's 30", at least 6-12" more than you need. Forum member Keys Cruz put an Armstrong bracket with a 150 E-Tec on it several years ago. It's a rocket ship and his kid enjoyed the hell out of it, but he only cared about speed, and I've never heard what the change did to the boat with regards to ride and low speed planning, etc. The last I heard he was considering switching to a 4B prop. He's not on here much, but you might try sending him a PM to ask him about it. With a ~420 lb motor, his CG is a fair bit further aft than yours would be. I can also send you a phone number for him if you'll PM me. Denny
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