Quote:
Originally Posted by cadeco
. . . but i don't know how it can give better flotation since most "flotation" brackets follow the same basic design.
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better flotation = larger volume flotation tank! The difference is in the details - look at mine closely and you'll see that bracket extends straight back from the transom instead of sloping up as most others do, so it's displaces more water back at the motor mount surface. The sloped bottom on other brackets was evidently done to avoid contact with the water when going on or off plane, but I think this is a mistake. The ideal bracket would simply extend the bottom of the hull further aft to get more planing surface, and Don's bracket is the next best thing, since bottom of it is only about 3" above the keel and deadrise matches that of the center panel, so it can act much like a hull extension/trim tab as you're coming up on plane. The Hermco flotation tank also appears to be wider than that of other brackets, and Don has talked about making it even wider, out to the second step, to accommodate the heavier 4-stroke motors. He said Potter sized the tank to allow room to install a folding ladder underneath the swim platform, but his experience is that few people install ladders, so an even wider tank would be a logical option, given the popularity of the heavy motors.
Nothing really wrong with aluminum brackets other than the corrosion potential, which can probably be minimized with powder coating, and they should be a bit lighter than a glass bracket. Regardless of what bracket you go with, I'd recommend rigging it like Don does for a cleaner looking installation. (Run motor rigging through the transom into the flotation tank and then up through the swim platform instead of just running it across top of swim platform.) The swim platform is much more usable when not cluttered up with rigging!