bracket on center console

R

reyb

Junior Member
Did the forum and google search but would still like to hear about the pros/cons of installing a bracket. I have a '89 V20 with a 20" transom. I'm thinking of filling in the transom and putting a bracket...thinking about it :) Bracket wise I was thinking of making one like the following attachement. What's the max weight to put on the bracket? Comments/concerns?
 

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Nice power plant. There are lots of boats with brackets on this website, check out the albums. To do it over again I would probably use a bracket with less setback. If I had planned to use a 500 lb motor, I would have only used a 24" setback. Joe7670 is installing a new Optimax on a bracket right now.The Gil bracket is tough as nails, my concern there would be the lack of floatation versus what you get when you use a box type bracket. Shifting weight to the bow of the boat is a good idea when practical as anything you hang off the rear will tend to weigh down the transom. I love the full transom but there are tradeoffs, my boat isn't a self bailer anymore. Besides the fabrication of the bracket there are other $$$ concerns, hydraulic steering comes to mind. It just is not practical to have a teleflex type steering cable. There are a lot of concerns about porposing that would require trim tabs. More $$$. Basically I think that lots of planning and budgeting is the first step.
 
I went for the full platform bracket with the idea that it would be great to get in and out of the boat when diving.
Look aroung as they can be had used for much cheaper than new.

Redistributing weight will be big recommendation if you are converting a non x seadrive model as you could end up with a too much weight towards the back.

I've read things like moving batteries up, fuel tank...
 
"...lots of planning and budgeting is the first step." no kidding :) I already have the hydraulic steering and have already moved the batteries underneath the seat in front of the console. I have the following bait tank I made that holds around 40 gallons which equates to 320lbs, so I"m concerned about how heavy a motor to put on. I'm thinking of putting some kind of weight in the bow compartment. I'm thinking I need to secure this weight some how and can't just drop in a couple bags of rocks. I mentioned in another thread about gettting a '06 150 Optimax but I'm shying away from it due to what Spares said about what it costs to repair it. Also, it weighs in at around 485lb compared to 420 that the DF140. Regarding a floatation bracket, I'm sure I can enclose the bracket when I make it but wonder how much it really helps.
 

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"Regarding a floatation bracket, I'm sure I can enclose the bracket when I make it but wonder how much it really helps."-reyb

Me either, I don't see it doing much until it gets submerged. When submerged someone said it would give 70# bouyancy??? With the 500 lb motor I see a lot more of my bracket in the water. I put a baitwell/seat in my center console, I forget the gallons but it is heavy. Full of water and 600# worth of a$$ standing at the stern I have about 4" of the bracket above the water in dead calm conditions. I need to do some sea trials before I would feel comfortable going to any big water, it is intended for duty as bay boat. Everything I can think of is forward from where it used to be. The 400# motor carried much better on the 30" setback. I only wish I had found this website when I was doing mine. I might have gone a different way. As a bay boat I would love to have a jack plate.
 
What way would you might have gone? Would you put a jack plate on the bracket? I found a set of manual adjustable jack plates on craigs list for $40, so I'm thinking of
what other options I have since the old motor is gone and the transom is empty and staring at me.
 
reyb said:
What way would you might have gone? Would you put a jack plate on the bracket? I found a set of manual adjustable jack plates on craigs list for $40, so I'm thinking of
what other options I have since the old motor is gone and the transom is empty and staring at me.
Click to expand...

For me maybe a porta bracket, it has some setback but it is basically a high dollar jack plate and bracket built into one.
If you are positive you are going with a bracket you need to configure a way to reinforce the transom to handle the additional stress. I forgot that little tidbit which is most important and lots of work.
I have put a hydraulic jack plate on the back of a bracket with great success. The boat was a 22' Pursuit cuddy. It would run very shallow. with a Bob's low water pickup jacked all the way up it still had water pressure and bite. Not gonna happen with the Wellcraft, it adds even more weight and I am fighting that now.
Kamikaze may be right, after all the money and time you may not be happy.
The 20 runs out good with 115 hp on up, the df140 would be a great motor. It never crossed my mind as all my stuff is old junk.
Kamikaze has a sweet bracketed 20 cc. Check out the album and see what he did to move weight and balance the boat.
 
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With the V CC you will have more of a weight issue than a cuddy obviously due to the structure of the cuddy forward.
The bracket will add some performance and a slight loss of manueverability in close quarters.
Try to find something approx 30 x 20 x 20 and air tight and try to push it under water, you will find out real quick how much better a sealed bracket is for this purpose.
And you will need it.
Also the shorter you get that air tight bracket the better, say 24 opposed to a 30 inch set back.
You would not normally need to reinforce the transom unless you intend to put a really heavy motor back there or your current transom is suspect.
Watch the weight of the motor, it is critical to the safety and longevity of your boat. The lighter the better. 150 two stroke weight on such a bracket is going to be max weight, trust me on this as I have seen and driven three different bracket V20's with diff engine combos.
To much weight, no self bailing, scuppers will stay on or under the waterline at rest, put a couple guys in there and, well it goes down from there. And that is on a cuddy.
 
Willy, I checked out your album. Your 20 seems to carry the weight just fine, did you install the 40 gal tank to compensate for weight?
Right or wrong I installed two knee braces that are glassed to the original stringers and run to the top of the transom. Overkill?
 
Ridge that was my baby now it belongs to kevin(whale). That boat was set up by a good mariner in south jersey before i bought it. It has a 115 Johnson on it and it was a sweet rig. Scuppers were always above the waterline and it had a top end loaded up with the enclosure up of about 38 mph. It cruised at 28-30 like a dream.
The tank was the original 50 gallon(maybe 60 I am not sure). Kevin changed it out due to some corrosion that developed in the aluminum.
I do not believe you can over do it as far as your reinforcement, you did a good thing, it just would not normally be needed unless you are like I said questioning your transoms condition. Or you are adding a big mama back there.
With the 115 Johnson, which is a light motor it would drift thru the swells I fish in at Sandy Hook Rips fine and if it was very rough it would occassionally gargle some out the exhaust on top of the shaft. I have been on two others when I sea trialed them that the engine would dunk dangerously just coming off plane to quick, they were both boats in very good condition but the motor was just to heavy for the arse, one was a 225 Evinrude two stroker and the other was a 200, I forget but I think a Merc and both of them displayed traits in handling like the engine dunking and a tendency to porpoise in a chop that I found totally unacceptable.
Pluse just sitting at the dock the scuppers were at or under the waterline constantly. That is as they say in Italian "No fu@&ing buono"
I have seen also a boat on this site where a new 150 was installed on the V on a bracket and in conversation with that owner found that the engine on his came dangerously close to a full dunking on several occassions.
Just some thoughts for you based on my observations. Good luck
 
Thanks Willy, excellent info. You are 100% correct about dunking the motor, I see the water coming up all around the motor coming off plane in dead calm lake conditions with the 500 lb motor. Confused seas with a heavy chop would not be pretty. The scuppers were omitted during my build, glad I did now, they would be useless. I really need to go to the bay to see how it does.
The midrange motor is definitely a consideration, very efficient and budget minded for someone looking at a bare transom...
 
Thanks Blue for the directions to the gallery.

Since others are mentioning a 115hp outboard on a V20, I'll start another thread asking about it :)
 
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