What motor size can i use ?

[cadeco]

Thanks to both of you. I guess I will go w/ a regular (made and installed for a 25"), get the 20" and use it low,. After all boat be done I will re power it w/a normal(sic) 25".

Bushwacker, I liked ( in fact I loved) see the bracket on yours. I just can't explin to my wife the act of buying a bracket (Hermco) over $1000,00 above the price of a close competitor. If prices were closer i would go w/ them , but money is a bit on the short side . Thanks for the photos and response.
That's why this site is soo goooooood!!!

[Bushwacker]

Don does charge a premium for his bracket, but if you boat in salt water, there's something to be said for never having to worry about corrosion on it! Plus the fact that it has a lot more flotation than any other bracket, which allows my boat to still be self bailing at the dock with a relatively heavy modern motor. With a different bracket, I'd have to raise the deck to get that capability, so if I factored in the cost of ripping up and replacing a perfectly solid original deck, the cost premium becomes insignificant!

Another option I recommend that anyone consider that's planning to install a bracket, or even a heavy 4-stroke motor on the transom, is to also move the console, batteries and gas tank forward to offset the CG shift that will otherwise occur! That will also help the self bailing issue and possibly eliminate the need for a 4B prop and fin to maintain a low planing speed and good ride. I didn't have that option since the Seafari has no console and I didn't want to eliminate the large stepdown in the cockpit required to move the gas tank and batteries. However the Seafari also has more weight forward than the CC to begin with, and the large cabin makes it easy to load lots of gear up front, so the Hermco bracket has proven to be a great solution to the low transom and space issues I wanted to address.

[cadeco]

I would like to have a Hermco due to being fiberglass ( and i believe looks much better), but i don't know how it can give better flotation since most "flotation" brackets follow the same basic design. At the end is all about money!!!

[72potter20]

A local reputable guy to me (has built many brackets for tht members) is doing mine, custom fit to my hull, extra large floatation for a 25" motor in aluminum for a 3rd the price. Hermco would be my first choice if money wasnt an option but they are just to pricey to justify for my particular situation.

[Bushwacker]

Originally Posted by cadeco

. . . but i don't know how it can give better flotation since most "flotation" brackets follow the same basic design.

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!

[cadeco]

Originally Posted by 72potter20

A local reputable guy to me (has built many brackets for tht members) is doing mine, custom fit to my hull, extra large floatation for a 25" motor in aluminum for a 3rd the price. Hermco would be my first choice if money wasnt an option but they are just to pricey to justify for my particular situation.

He's local to you, and since i don't know where you are i must ask: Is He local to me?

[72potter20]

If you lived in the tampa bay area you could consider him local.

[cadeco]

Originally Posted by 72potter20

If you lived in the Tampa bay area you could consider him local.

Not that far away!!! If you can send-me a phone# i will try,( W/ a good price, Tampa would be just"around the corner"!!!!
Thanks../.