Offshore Bracket Retrofit?

[Two Fister]

Hi Everyone,
A buddy of mine is looking at a used 17' Mako. He would like to have a boat with an offshore bracket. I've got a two part question for you.

1)Is it possible to retrofit a fiberglass boat with an offshore bracket?
and
2) Would it be so expensive to do the retrofit that it's not practical to consider it?

Thanks for the advice,
TF

[Keta]

#1. Yes
#2. No

[tomictime]

Not every boat lends well to offshore bracket, esp those without floatation or a running surface extension(like a tubular GIL) . I may be wrong but IF this is the old, old old 17' mako hull I remember it was prone to a bit of porpoise anyway..so a bracket may make it worse..

Just my $.02 and worth exactly what you paid for it.

Jim

[Keta]

Trim tabs will address porpoising

[Freakwater]

From a bracket for a single motor to a swimdeck for twins will run you roughly from $1,000 to $3,000 from my research.

Here are some links:
http://www.armstrongnautical.com/ (Armstrong)
http://www.bbracket.com/bracket.htm (B Bracket)
http://www.stainlessmarine.com/home.html (Stainless Marine)
http://www.gilmarine.com/index.html (Gil Marine)

Greg's Marine in Tillamook has done a few of these and has Norvelle boats custom weld the brackets. I think Ride Red ST1100 had this done at Greg's for ~$2000 with single motor installation. Maybe he will chime in.

Freak

[AnglersRental]

Keta, trim tabs might not do much. There are a couple problems. I speak from expierence because I have been there and tried that on a 21' sportcraft.

If you look at my current boat the hull is designed with the offshore bracket as part of the hull design - it really keeps the bow down without needing a buncha trim in heavy chop which eliminates a lot of the motion in the pitch axis which causes pounding. (if that makes sense) Kind of like a wheelee bar on the back of a funny car. With the offshore bracket being part of the hull behind the center of gravity of the boat it has to push the offshore bracket part of the into the water for the bow to rise which really keeps the pitch action down. If you use trim to accomplish the same thing (keeping the bow down) you are plowing big holes in the ocean most of the time and loose a lot of effencicy and burn a lot more gas.

A offshore bracket that doesnt provide displacement (flotation) to offset the location further aft of the motor will also make your boat ass heavy. I had a boat like this and it sucked. Instead of sitting balanced in the water it was stern heavy because the weight of the motor was 3 or 4 feet further behind the center of gravity than the hull was designed for, and the ass end of the boat set 4-5" deeper in the water than it otherwise should of. Made the boat porpose at speed on flat water handle like crap at slow speeds.

A well designed offshore bracket is more than just a place to bolt a motor.

Brad

[Ride Red]

I had my 19' cuddy converted from I/O to OB by Greg's Marine in Garibaldi and Dave Norvelle made the offshore bracket. Approximate cost was $2000 and that included the bracket. The bracket extends down to within 1/2" of the bottom of the hull and provides additional floatation. I have not had any problems with porpoising or slow speed handling. I installed trim tabs so I could level the boat at speed. Because it's a deep V and only 7' wide it was hard to move weight around so it would ride level. "Sometimeslucky" bought a bracket from Dave Norvelle and was very happy with it. He could give you a better idea of how much just a bracket would cost.


Steve

[Sometimeslucky]

Two Fister, Steve told you about Dave down in Newhalem. I'll put it this way. I hauled my 19 ft Glasply all the way down to him from Seattle. He made the trip worth every penny. The transom bracket is one of the nicest I have ever seen. The guys at Three Rivers Marine were very impressed. I have a 200 Mercury hanging on the back. I am just finishing up the boat and hope to have it in the water for the winter blackmouth. Dave only charged me $1000.00. I did all the inside finish work. If you need more information e-mail me. The specs: 28inches from the transom at the top and 15degree riser. This allows you to really adjust your trim. I will stand up for Dave anytime, and save others money as well. :dance: :dance:

[Sometimeslucky]

I forgot to add, I also put an extra long-shaft kicker on the back to make sure that there was ample room for propulsion. The bracket bottom is a floatation bracket, and runs in line with the bottom of the boat. Including the V. of the transom.

[BigWaterBigFish]

fishing offshore of the west side of Vancouver island, most the small independent guides run 21 to 23 fiberglass boats like the old SeaRay's, they've removed the inboards and attatched offshore bracket for twin's ... balance out the boats nicely and give them reliablity as well as performance (both speed but also fuel consumption) they need to stay in business. One of the guides is from Aloha, OR and pretty sure he had his bracketwork done here locally.