bracket ? for a 18

[snook1221]

i found this bracket on craigs list for 400 bucks and i was wondering if it is a good deal and if it would fit on my 18. the bracket was made for a 20 seacraft so i was wondering if it would fit on my 1989 18 seacraft , i have a yamaga 130 for power. i would appreicate all inputs thanks .

[McGillicuddy]

Gee, it doesn't look like you need anything else for your boat, but maybe you could fit another pretty rider without the splashwell in the way. That bracket won't offer much floation and 350 lbs 2' aft is going to change your CG on an 18 quite a bit. You might need to add a sunning deck and a couple more biscuits on the pointy end to counter the the CG shift

[workinpr0gress]

Forgetting the hull for a second, it looks like the chamber is pretty big and probably weighs much less than most other bracket options that have more buoyancy. A lot of people bring up the weight of the engine weight and setback but rarely bring up the weight of the types bracket or how deep to set them up.

That said, I know a guy who has an inline 4 4s 150 yamaha on the transom of his 18' Tracker and it is off to much on the CG imho and ran much much better with the 130 60deg. V4 ocean runner before that motor but he also never did anything to try and compensate/offset some of that weight. He should of put a little less motor on it. I have a feeling that a bracket with that much offset on that hull with your motor would have the similar effect. Then again if you did close the transom in you could always put weight in the fish box, lol, or better yet, Mcgillicuddy's onto something with adding some more female ballast up front.

[Bushwacker]

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

[Snookerd]

Snook-
I like your desire to improve your boat and your determination over the last 2yrs or so to research and decide on a bracket. You certainly have the sickness like the rest of us! I looked up the old thread where we discussed this 2 years ago here -

http://www.classicseacraft.com/commu...ad.php?t=22541

I would say they same thing-

"A couple of thoughts after having 3 18SFs (1987,1988, and 1989)..........


-Saltydog - The planing characteristics are a bigger concern in dangerous conditions than taking a wave over the stern in your light 1989 with your 115. If you still have the teak splashwell door, that will cover you for waves. In another post a few months ago, you asked about 18's that had the console moved. The Potter 18's have the console set farther back. The 80's 18s had the console moved forward to offset the heavier 18's (80-87).

- I was with Bushwacker at our 2009 Key Largo event when Keyscruz pulled up in his bracketed 18. It looked good as far as the balance at rest.

- I am against moving the intended CG and I have had a bracketed 23 SeaCraft

- Over these 9 years as a member of CSC from the beginning, what has been said is exactly what Denny and 76Red have said about the pluses and minuses

- Plus, with all those member's input, it can be summed up as this: The bigger the bracket tub the better(IE.Hermco Bracket), the shorter the set-back of the bracket, the less the CG is shifted. All 23's and bigger handle a bracket quite well, the 20 Seafari and Sceptre handle a bracket better than a SF or MA because of the weight up front. 18SFs will have the most severe CG changes that need to be offset with batteries, fuel tank, ect. because they are smaller boats. I would take a ride on keyscruz 18 or another one and then decide. You may like the ride! I would never by choice have a different set up on an 18SF than a 358lb motor that gets me to 40 mph and planes at 12 mph, especially for offshore.
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[snook1221]

Thanks guys for the input I really Appreciate it. I think I'm going to start looking for a 20 seacraft hull and redo it and put a bracket on it.i really like that 20 that conch redid I think that's the perfect boat for what I do . I love live Baitin and sailfishin and sometimes swordfishin and the 20 with a bracket and my motor seems like a pretty good set up and won't kill me on fuel. My buddy has a 31 contender and I fish out of that boat all the time . I jaunt want a good 20 with a bracket cause I can still tow it too the keys every year and it won't kill me on fuel. I really want a 23 contender but I think I can get a old 20 pretty cheap and I can do the floor in it and most the work myself and I woul keep my console and motor and throw it on the 20 I think that will be a sweet Lil set up and I won't be spending 25-30k on a. Boat an have payments. Thanks for the input guy.

[workinpr0gress]

18's and 20's aren't apples and oranges so you're gonna still have to be mindful of many things with a bracket. If you get it right it's quite impressive for a small 20'.