Outboard Brackets, Pro's & Con's

[Zack1121]

Tommy any idea on where I can get drain skippers like that I have an 89 tracker myself and want to redo all the through hull fittings as well as the splash well drains wanting to go stainless rather than use the cheap plastic ones

[Bushwacker]

Why not use brass drain tubes? They're readily available, pretty easy to flare, and much more durable than plastic.

[Bushwacker]

Originally Posted by tommyg29

Couple pictures showing how it sits. A little low in the back but not much water comes in. The shot of the stern while trolling was with me and my son standing back there.

The Sea star steering turned about 5 full turns lock to lock, but it sure seemed to need constant correction at WOT, which is about 44mph at 5400 rpm . . .

The effects of the small flotation tank on that Armstrong bracket are quite obvious. Pic below shows how mine sits at the dock with a Hermco bracket with much bigger flotation tank and 427 lb motor, with 2 big coolers and a full load of cruising gear. Of course the Seafari is a little less stern heavy than CC models to begin with. I never have water on the swim platform, even with a couple big guys standing on it. Boat is self bailing at the dock, and my '72 model doesn't have the raised deck that Potter incorporated on ~'74 and later models.

Sea Star makes helm pumps with 3 different displacements, and you clearly have the smallest displacement pump. I have the medium pump and its' about 4-4.5 turns lock to lock. Steering effort is very light; had I known that, I would have gone with largest pump! Main advantage of hydraulic steering is there is no feedback, so it stays where you set it!

[Ryan]

id think you would be getting better than 44 mph out of that rig.

[Bushwacker]

Originally Posted by Ryan

id think you would be getting better than 44 mph out of that rig.

I agree - you might check motor height . . . Anti-Ventilation plate should be above solid water when you're up on plane and fully trimmed out. But, as a practical matter, min planing speed is even more important than WOT, so check that too. A good stern lifting 4B prop and fin on the AV plate should allow you to hang on plane around 12 mph.

With about 650 lbs of ballast, 2 guys, and Bimini top raised, I'm seeing 43 mph with 165 hp at the prop. Picked up about 4 mph after I installed a jack plate and raised motor almost 6", which gave me another 100-150 rpm and allowed me to run a more efficient BRP Cyclone 4B prop.

[BoatNewEngland]

1972 Seafari 20

Looking to replace motor and bracket with new Armstrong bracket and Tohatsu 140. Current motor is 20 inch Yamaha F100. Armstrong recommends 25 inch motor. Anyone have experience with a 25 inch motor on a bracket on a 20 foot hull?

Thanks much

[gofastsandman]

Originally Posted by BoatNewEngland

1972 Seafari 20

Looking to replace motor and bracket with new Armstrong bracket and Tohatsu 140. Current motor is 20 inch Yamaha F100. Armstrong recommends 25 inch motor. Anyone have experience with a 25 inch motor on a bracket on a 20 foot hull?

Thanks much

See post 53 above.

[BoatNewEngland]

Ok
Anyone have any thoughts or info on shaft length (20 or 25 inch) with an Armstrong bracket? Want to make sure 25 inch works out well before ordering the motor.
Thanks again

[Ed]

If you must add a bracket to the 20’ you will want a 25 inch motor, as Armstrong indicated. It will keep the power head higher up…

[BoatNewEngland]

Thanks for the response! Here's a photo of our old Seafari. It is pretty much rigged as we bought it, with an A&J Marine bracket and a 2001 Yamaha F100, 20 inch. Was never really happy with the height of the bracket so looking to replace, hence the questions.