Thanks Denny. I am not planning anything big & heavy on the back, I'm considering a 25" shaft 90 ETEC (330 lbs.) or 115 Merc 2.1 Liter (370 lbs.). Since a motor is a year or more away I am not really choosing at this time. I would also like to see some more reviews for the Merc after it’s been out in the market a while longer. I will also be putting a floatation bracket like yours on it. I think the load distribution of a bracket with platform will help carry the weight across the width of the transom rather than pulling down in the center only. I was planning to beef up the tabbing up the sides of the transom since that area does not affect my fish box plans and the swim platform would distribute some of the load to the edges. I may be making too much fuss about keeping the deck level all the way to the transom anyway. I will know more when I start building stuff and fitting it together.
Regarding motor weight, I had a chance to take a ride in a very nicely restored Potter 20 over the weekend. Great ride but also very stern heavy. The owner (not sure if he is a CSC member) put an aluminum bracket and a new 250 Optimax on the back (505 lbs.). The chine at the transom rides around 7” below the waterline at rest. The boat planes at around 20 MPH with the tabs all the way up and starts to fly straight and level at around 27-28 MPH with 20 gallons of gas and three fat guys on board (no tabs). I tried to level it with the trim tabs while running around 45 and it was a little scary how fast the whole world tilted sideways. I had to slow down to around 35 to safely adjust the tabs. This thing is a real rocket! Definitely not what I am looking for in a 20' Seacraft but it sure is fun to push the throttle forward and watch the world behind you get smaller and smaller. I think that tweeking the prop and motor height would make this a 55-60 MPH boat - just not with me on it!
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