Anyone around North Palm with a Hermco on a 23'

[take a potter]

I am going to be in the North Palm Beach area for the first half of May, and would like to get some measurements off a dual Hermco bracket.

If anyone has one that I could study for a few minutes I would appreciate it.

It is time to replace my transom and I am planning on building a bracket as the first step, sometime in the next year. I plan on building the dual bracket even though I will only hang a single 2 stroke on it.

Thank you,

Michael

[kmoose]

Closest I'll be is Sebastian up until the 9th of May

[castnetcracker]

let me know what else you need to know and I can take some dimensions in the next few days.

[flyingfrizzle]

Had a member ask me about the dims of the brackets I build or built so here is a ruff sketch of approximate Dim's of the one I built for a 20 SeaCraft hull. It is slightly different from the hermco. This one mounts lower, and has the swim platform lower as well. Keeps the lower outboard bolts below the swim platform but just barely. 25" shaft motor will end up 4.5" above the bottom depending on what holes you use. 22" of set back and will clear a mercury 2.5 outboard fully tilted by 1/2" clearance.

[take a potter]

Man you all are great! Thank you so much.

KMoose, Sebastian is probably further than I want to go, just from a time away from family during vacation stand point.

Now I just need to figure out how to make it work with a 25" shaft on a 23' cc.

[flyingfrizzle]

Originally Posted by take a potter

Man you all are great! Thank you so much.


Now I just need to figure out how to make it work with a 25" shaft on a 23' cc.

That is the most technical part of doing one. Making the height right for the shaft length and keeping the floatation chamber and swim platform low to the water. I know you want to mount the bracket low as possible but when doing so the lower outboard mounting bolts will land about where the swim platform is. If not careful outboard mounting heights and overall bracket height you may end up with all four bolts above the platform or when you mount the motor high as the bottom bolts allow your engine is still to low in the water...

[take a potter]

Originally Posted by flyingfrizzle

That is the most technical part of doing one. Making the height right for the shaft length and keeping the floatation chamber and swim platform low to the water. I know you want to mount the bracket low as possible but when doing so the lower outboard mounting bolts will land about where the swim platform is. If not careful outboard mounting heights and overall bracket height you may end up with all four bolts above the platform or when you mount the motor high as the bottom bolts allow your engine is still to low in the water...

Fortunately, or some may say unfortunately, I am more about function than form. So I wonder if it would be unacceptable to have the platform stepped. The sides outside where the engine would be could be at the lower level, making getting on the swim platform feasible, and the middle could be stepped up allowing the lower bolts to miss the platform.

[Old'sCool]

Originally Posted by take a potter

Fortunately, or some may say unfortunately, I am more about function than form. So I wonder if it would be unacceptable to have the platform stepped. The sides outside where the engine would be could be at the lower level, making getting on the swim platform feasible, and the middle could be stepped up allowing the lower bolts to miss the platform.

Sounds like the equivelent of leaving the ladder down when running.

[flyingfrizzle]

Originally Posted by take a potter

Fortunately, or some may say unfortunately, I am more about function than form. So I wonder if it would be unacceptable to have the platform stepped. The sides outside where the engine would be could be at the lower level, making getting on the swim platform feasible, and the middle could be stepped up allowing the lower bolts to miss the platform.

I have seen stepped platforms before, basically brackets with 2 separate ears one either side but they were lower than the middle section due to a high outboard and wanting lower platforms close to the water. Putting a 25" motor on a 23 will work but the power head will be close to the water. The set back of the bracket and having the engine raised to compensate for that will make it feasible but most brackets on 23 seacrafts are designed for 30"legs. You may be better off getting a 5" lower unit spacer and shaft extension from bay marine or if it is a mercury there are other options. Im not saying it would have to be stepped but the over all height of your bracket will have to be shorter. If you do one for a 25 I would look at making the mounting ear for the upper bolts low as possible then you would not have any issues with the lower ones at all. Also the hermco bracket platforms are not super low to the water to start with at recommended mounting height. So if you mount the flotation chamber low as possible (drain hole for the hull may need to be relocated lower) and keep the outboard 4.5-5" above the hull bottom you may can make it work with a flat non-stepped swim platform. You will just have to crunch the numbers. When I built my first one I did not have any numbers or other brackets to go by, I just simply got some strings, line levels, plumb bobs and a tape measure and mocked it up. Just make sure you know how the hull sits in the water and block it up the same when mocking up. Mine was never in the water so my first I did had the flotation platform at a slight slope of an half inch to the outboard when at rest in the water. Once I moved more weight forward it leveled up better but there are lots of factors to figure for. The 23 should be easier to figure for than a 20 as it wont sit low in the back. The larger hull can handle the weight better.


If you look at the overall height of the two pictured below, you will see the one is 23" high (23 twin 25" leg hermco single 30" leg) and the 16" height on mine (20' 25" leg motor) that goes to show you that a design can be modified to work with many different variations. The two size hulls sit differently so that will change over all height but you can see the shorter leg 25" motor on the 20 still works out with a shorter bracket. The 25" leg on a 23 would look similar to mine but probably taller some as the 23' hull will sit deeper in the water...


What ive noticed about the hermco brackets: they are supper nice. Great fit and finish. Hate to see them not made any longer. But what ive noticed most people get good performance when they are mounted at his recommended mounting height on the hull. Some choose to mount them lower so that the flotation chamber gives them more floatation at rest. That is great but then you cant get the outboard up high enough for optimum performance or drag of the av plate. The limiting factor of raising the outboard is the lower engine mounting bolts. So if the overall height was higher of the bracket was higher than 23" it may have the best of both but then your swimplatform is too high. Its a give and take. But with a 25" leg you I think you will be ok and may even get the floatation chamber lower with the right engine height and still keep the platform in a reasonable level. BUT the outboard power head will still be low to the water. So always a give and take....

[take a potter]

Originally Posted by take a potter

Fortunately, or some may say unfortunately, I am more about function than form. So I wonder if it would be unacceptable to have the platform stepped. The sides outside where the engine would be could be at the lower level, making getting on the swim platform feasible, and the middle could be stepped up allowing the lower bolts to miss the platform.

Ok so thinking thru this a little more I would want the center stepped down like a well. Therefore allowing the lower bolts to be below the platform.

And I think Old'scool was trying to tell me it was a stupid idea.

That said I think I just convinced myself that the Bay Manufacturing extension is going to be mandatory, been hoping not to have to modify the engine. Doing all this and then swamping the engine would not be good at all.