Braket build

[Bushwacker]

My waterline at the transom is now about 5" above the chine when I'm fully loaded for a long cruise with a couple of big 70 qt coolers, 6 gallons of water in the galley seat and an extra 10 gallons of gas in jugs. Check out this post I sent to Strick a few months ago regarding bracket mounting height. http://www.classicseacraft.com/commu...height&page=10

Here's a link to a slide show of my boat's waterline before and after bracket. http://s188.photobucket.com/albums/z...t=5e5bed30.pbw Those old V-4's are pretty light and you can see that my trim tab mounting plate is almost out of the water, so that would put the waterline with the old motor about 2" above the chine at the transom.

[martin]

Thanks bushwacker, does the top of the swim platform parralell to the keel on bracket tub

[martin]

Is the swim-platform?

[Bushwacker]

Originally Posted by martin

Thanks bushwacker, does the top of the swim platform parralell to the keel on bracket tub

Yes, the swim platform appears to be parallel to the bottom of the flotation tub. The bottom of the tub on a Hermco bracket projects straight back parallel to the bottom of the boat, which creates more volume/buoyancy and also should act like a trim tab to provide some additional stern lift when climbing on plane. The extra buoyancy will also help keep the powerhead higher out of the water when the stern wave tries to climb up over the transom if you suddenly cut power and drop off plane quickly. The Armstrong brackets appear to slope up at the back, evidently to keep them from dragging in the water, but I don't see any advantage to that. Those brackets don't seem to be as well thought out as the Hermco, which was designed by Bill Potter for a SeaCraft.

[martin]

Thanks man I aprreciate the info..

[FishStretcher]

For what it is worth- if you pay close attention to where you put weight, and limit the total weight, you can do ok without a bracket.

My waterline at the transom is 4" from the chine on port, 5" above the chine on starboard. The difference is a 60 lb kicker motor on the transom. About as good as Bushwacker when I am empty and his bracketed boat is full. Not as good, but not awful. I hope I plane out a little better, but I am not sure.

I have a light motor- 366 lb four stroke Yamaha 100. The 20 gallon fuel tank is in the console, as are the batteries. I have aluminum anchors. I have no livewell. The 150 qt cooler is forward of the console and doubles as a seat.

The modest power still goes 100+ miles on 20 gallons, and a 5 gallon spare tank is good for 25 more.

Just don't have 2 guys in an aft corner in the following sea. That is the situation where a bracket could be a lifesaver.

[Bushwacker]

Here's a link to an older post on a discussion of brackets which contains a link to my Bracket Pros & Con's post
http://www.classicseacraft.com/commu...cket+Pros+Cons .

Trader, that link to my old post doesn't work . . . I think it was posted in first half of 2009 or late 2008. Is there any way to retrieve posts that old? Although it's several years old, all the info in it is still applicable. Denny

[martin]

[QUOTE=FishStretcher;208381]For what it is worth- if you pay close attention to where you put weight, and limit the total weight, you can do ok without a bracket.

My waterline at the transom is 4" from the chine on port, 5" above the chine on starboard. The difference is a 60 lb kicker motor on the transom. About as good as Bushwacker when I am empty and his bracketed boat is full. Not as good, but not awful. I hope I plane out a little better, but I am not sure.

I have a light motor- 366 lb four stroke Yamaha 100. The 20 gallon fuel tank is in the console, as are the batteries. I have aluminum anchors. I have no livewell. The 150 qt cooler is forward of the console and doubles as a seat.

The modest power still goes 100+ miles on 20 gallons, and a 5 gallon spare tank is good for 25 more.

Just don't have 2 guys in an aft corner in the following sea. That is the situation where a bracket could be a lifesaver.[/Q


Fishstrecher.. are you serious about those numbers.. That is insane.. and to think I was going to make my tank Larger . I have a 40 gallon stainless I would like to keep it in the boat from the looks of it that would get me 200NM plus on a four stroke.. all i need is 125 NM tops Man those are awesome numbers

[martin]

Okay i built my bracket mold today. My bottom pieces were a little off. I drew it all out and cut all parts. Then brought home to assemble and must have been the compound angles..It should be fine for a one off. I know why Now that Strick used 2 sides melamine.. Forgot to flip part over and cut out.. I have one side with No melamine. LOL..Ill make it work...Before I wax and go further I would like to know if these Dimensions are okay. 47 wide 23 high at the motor .. 19.5 at the front that bolt to transom I figured it should get me around 400lbs displacement.... I was going to build tub and install then load the boat with differnet weights according to where i want to put things. Live well coffin console ect..fuel tank. just curious as where the boat will lie..

[FishStretcher]

I am serious.

But looking at your boat, you have a bimini and an older 2 stroke.

I get great mileage because I have a modern 4 stroke, not an older 2 stroke, and the engine is small- 1.6 liter. Both of these facts are important. (A MODERN 2 stroke of small displacement might get great mileage, too, I don't own one)

So I burn a lot less fuel at no wake speed and intermediate speeds like 18 knots with a small engine propped for 0-33MPH. Running at no wake speed where you need to use throttle because the engine is small is much more efficient that loping at idle thru the marina. At 28 knots- the fuel economy is still better than a 150/175/200, and the max fuel burn is obviously only 1/2-2/3 of one of these engines. The go faster, so the pentalty in MPG flat out with a 150 isn't terrible, but it isn't the same.

A modern 90 hp is probably the recipe for good fuel economy- Fr. Frank used to get similar numbers. But you won't be doing 40MPH on the water- only on the trailer.

If you keep the older 2 stroke, keep the 40 gallon tank and move all the weight forward you can and spend a little money on the right prop if yours isn't spot on. THAT was the best $100 I ever invested. It took 2 tries to get there. Less pitch is more...

[QUOTE=martin;208383]

Originally Posted by FishStretcher

For what it is worth- if you pay close attention to where you put weight, and limit the total weight, you can do ok without a bracket.

My waterline at the transom is 4" from the chine on port, 5" above the chine on starboard. The difference is a 60 lb kicker motor on the transom. About as good as Bushwacker when I am empty and his bracketed boat is full. Not as good, but not awful. I hope I plane out a little better, but I am not sure.

I have a light motor- 366 lb four stroke Yamaha 100. The 20 gallon fuel tank is in the console, as are the batteries. I have aluminum anchors. I have no livewell. The 150 qt cooler is forward of the console and doubles as a seat.

The modest power still goes 100+ miles on 20 gallons, and a 5 gallon spare tank is good for 25 more.

Just don't have 2 guys in an aft corner in the following sea. That is the situation where a bracket could be a lifesaver.[/Q


Fishstrecher.. are you serious about those numbers.. That is insane.. and to think I was going to make my tank Larger . I have a 40 gallon stainless I would like to keep it in the boat from the looks of it that would get me 200NM plus on a four stroke.. all i need is 125 NM tops Man those are awesome numbers