20'MA Bracket or Raise Transom

[TJS]

I have a 1978 MA 20'. I just dropped it off for a total restore and was going to just raise the transom to a 25". I am now on the fence towards closing in the transom with a bracket I have read a lot of threads on this site about this but just don't want to spend the money and have it ride badly. I am thinking either a etec 115 or a Zuke 115 or 140. I do want the bracket. Any insight on this would be very helpful. I have a couple of weeks to decide. Thanks for the help.

[Bushwacker]

Assuming you've read my sticky post on the subject of bracket Pros & Cons, there isn't much I can add other than to say the decision sort of depends on where you're located and how you use the boat. Some folks that do a lot of fishing don't like brackets because they can interfere with handling fish close to the boat. For other folks that use the boat on inland lakes for watersports like Capt. Terry, the safety benefits of a solid transom aren't significant. However if you do a lot of diving and offshore cruising and fishing as I do, the safety factor is a big deal, and I've found that the big swim platform, extra room and full width back seat/improved bilge access and storage gained by eliminating the splashwell are all great features for my use! A few weeks ago down in the keys during mini-season, I had 4 folks, their dive gear, 4 scuba tanks, a hooka rig and about 170' of hose on board, and we were relatively comfortable under full shade for a whole day on the water despite a fair amount of wind and a 1-2' chop. Most cruising between lobster spots was done comfortably at 14-15 mph, which was easy since the boat planes at 12-13 mph. Don't know many 20' boats that would comfortably handle that sort of load under those conditions!

I think you're on the right track regarding power, although I was glad I had the V-6 on that last trip, but if you don't carry that much load, a 150 (actually 165 if it's an E-TEC) is much more power than the 20' really needs. I you decide to go with a bracket, get one with lot's of flotation, like the Hermco. The Armstrong may be cheaper, but it doesn't have nearly as much flotation, and a few years down the road, you'll be glad to not have to worry about corrosion issues! And you can run a 20" motor with a 30" setback! (I had to add a small jackplate to get the AV plate high enough (6" above keel!) on my 25" motor!

If you go with a bracket, there's one thing you can do with a CC model that I couldn't do with the Seafari, and that's move console, gas tank and batteries to get more weight forward. Of course the Seafari is not as stern heavy as a CC to start with, and I can often put enough gear in the cabin to keep it well balanced. You will definitely need trim tabs, any you may want to consider a 4B prop and a fin on the AV plate to keep your min planing speed down around 12-13 mph.

[Bigshrimpin]

Originally Posted by TJS

I have a 1978 MA 20'. I just dropped it off for a total restore and was going to just raise the transom to a 25". I am now on the fence towards closing in the transom with a bracket I have read a lot of threads on this site about this but just don't want to spend the money and have it ride badly. I am thinking either a etec 115 or a Zuke 115 or 140. I do want the bracket. Any insight on this would be very helpful. I have a couple of weeks to decide. Thanks for the help.

If you raise the transom on a 20MA to 25" . . . the bottom bolts will go through the slashwell floor. You can work around it by using a lower mounting hole for the bottom bolts or modifying the splashwell.