Floor 20 cc 1978

[Fatfish]

Hey guys new to forum just purchased a 1978 20 cc and the transom has been closed in my plan is an Armstrong bracket with flotation and a 140 Suzuki . We are redoing the floor first and someone told me I needed to raise the floor so th scuppers would work . Any info would be great . Also I have a completely redone center consul I will be selling I'm opting to go with a smaller cc

[JohnC]

I have a 77 and it is my understanding that the floor is already "higher" on the boats built in late 70's. I do not know what year the change was made or how much higher the deck is in the later years but I do believe it was raised at some point. Mine is not complete so I really don't have first hand knowledge of how it drains yet. My boat is lighter than original so I expect it to float a little higher; I am not too worried about raising my deck.
140 Zuke is a good light-weight power choice at just over 400#. You still shift your center of gravity back a little with the bracket though; you may want to consider a bracket with more flotation than the Armstrong. I had one on a Hydrasports and, unless they build yours with a larger flotation chamber than mine, I can't imagine that it will buoy up the motor weight much at all. Hermco fiberglass brackets are net positive buoyancy when installed - others here speak very highly of them.
Good luck! Your deck looks very clean - hope to see more pics soon.

[Capt Terry]

Originally Posted by Fatfish

Hey guys new to forum just purchased a 1978 20 cc and the transom has been closed in my plan is an Armstrong bracket with flotation and a 140 Suzuki . We are redoing the floor first and someone told me I needed to raise the floor so th scuppers would work . Any info would be great . Also I have a completely redone center consul I will be selling I'm opting to go with a smaller cc

JohnC and Fatfish-
The deck on my 76 20 foot Seafari is higher than Bushwhackers 73 Seafari. I think it is still self draining at rest after switching from a 375lb Merc to a 418lb ETEC. Since then only done day trips. So only pull plugs when underway. But with the cuddy my cg is further fwd than a cc. As for brackets the floatation only assists at rest. The cg is affected at rest or underway. You might search for a post I did on estimating cg shift with heavy engines and brackets.

[Fatfish]

Thank you for then info I'm adding two battery's to front hatch as well for trolling motor so should help with weight shift as well

[TomParis]

I have a 1976 20' MF yours is a SF, but I keep the plugs in except when underway as well.