Having water in the bracket has been a real problem for the early design and some Manuf..

The extra weight has a negative effect on the boat safty and handling.

The plug gets my vote...

id. p.

 

Do not let the bracket fill with water - the added weight makes the boat act like a slug and can be quite dangerous in bigger seas when you need extra manuverability! I have run my boat both ways and the OB bracket ALWAYS gets a plug! I even sealed the hatch acsess so it wouldnt take on water! :twocents::twocents:

 

Some have even installed a Automatic bildge Pump inside the Off shore Bracket cavity, cause Water, can find it's way inside.

 

I wonder if the bracket could be filled with spray insulation foam??
Would provide flotation, keep water from entering and still be light.
I am an idiot so disregard my thoughts if it wouldn't work.

 

Maybe my ignorance is evident, but that was the first thing that came to my mind. Why would it need to be hollow? Couldn't it be filled with positive flotation material?

 

Better than foam, why not have it welded shut?

 

Because aluminum sweats and creates condisation will make its own water. That is why you need to have a plug to drain condesation.

Remeber the old aluminum widow frames and where always wet with condesation.

 

This is really turning out to be an interesting discussion.
:lurk:

 

If it were completely sealed there would be a fixed amount of moisture in the cavity. The drain would be for the leaks.

The whole point of an offshore bracket is to add floatation to offest motor weight. Whom ever told you to fill it with water is a ding dong! :twocents:

 

I agree, never fill it with water, that is not safe!

 

I guess I didn't mean to say that it makes its own water. What I mean is that it will condense. Correct me if I'm wrong here, I'm just curious like everyone else since I have an offshore bracket. But if you have a aluminum gas tank doesn't it "sweat" and create condisation?

Woody, I think you are right when you say onces of water. But does it feed on itself?

 

It will if it is not completly sealed. Since there is always a chance to have a breach through a crack I would want a bilge pump.

 

The amount of water will not change as long as the chamber remains sealed. The water will just go from liquid to vapor states and back with changing temperatures.

 

If it doesn't remain sealed...

Any crack or material breech that lets in air and the chamber will collect water over time.

- Chamber cools - water condenses.
- Chamber warms, air expands and exits but water stays inside.
- Chamber cools again - vacuum created and fresh air comes in and water condenses.
- repeat a lot - chamber full of water.

Drain and bilge pump. If the chamber cracks while on the water, you'll want to get it out.

 

I've personally seen what a bracket does when it's filled with water. If we were on the water any longer than we were the bracket and motors would be sitting in the bottom of the drink. The bracket probably had atleast 100 gallons of water in it and with the weight of the motors it was tearing itself away from the transom....scary! Bilge and a plug!!!

 

ANY space on a boat is subject to cracks and taking on water no matter what material is used. Constant safety checks and a bilge pump and drain sound very prudent.
It is still good floatation without being sealed at the top, just like your boat.
If water gets in while underway...the pump can take care of it. Just pull the plug to store.

 

Not to trash a brand here but what brand boat is this?

My NR the bracket is connected to the rest of the boat and bilge on my 20 Seahawk. It has a drain plug and it's for the whole boat. My bilge pump is back there.

It is said to provide 700# of floatation according to the NR Salesman. I can't think of filling it that sounds crazy to me intentionally giving up floatation by addint water to the boat. A bracket full of water would be hell on getting a boat to plane also

 

Not to trash a brand here but what brand boat is this?

My NR the bracket is connected to the rest of the boat and bilge on my 20 Seahawk. It has a drain plug and it's for the whole boat. My bilge pump is back there.

It is said to provide 700# of floatation according to the NR Salesman. I can't think of filling it that sounds crazy to me intentionally giving up floatation by addint water to the boat. A bracket full of water would be hell on getting a boat to plane also

I believe the North River Boats Changed their OS brackets and they no longer have a problem. Check you access cover also to see if is completly sealed. Backing into swell would put water on the OS bracket and seep into the OS Bracket, bad scenerio.

 

Boy Howdy! I am going to throw a wrench into this thread. The bracket on my boat has 4 3" holes in the bottom. It fills up quickly when the boat is stopped, probably about 40 gallons. When I take off it completely empties in about 2 seconds. About 10 mph will keep it dry. I had it built this way for a fish box/live well, mostly for crab and bleeding fish. It works great and does not effect the operation of the boat. It might be a little slower out of the hole. Just put a lid on the top of the bracket and you will never clean your fish box again.

Scott

OK Let me have it-------

 

Nothing wrong with that......it isnt holding the water. But, you gave up the floatation that it would have provided and as you say....it effects the handling at low speeds.... and I imagine how fast you get out of the hole as well because it has to drain 40 gallons of water..

How does it troll?

 

I know I have the new bracket was just wondering which brands we were talking about that they don't provide floatation. My bottom goes under mine.

 

I suppose I have never really understood the engineering behind the offshore bracket to begin with. Why not just add another two useable feet to your boat and hang the engines on the transom? Does a boat with an offshore bracket handle better than a similar boat that is two feet longer without the bracket?




Orion

 

Me too, Id rather have 2' of usable space inside the Boat also, still there are lot's of offshore Brackets out there, & for some reason or another some have Water leaking into them.

 

The boat with a separate offshore compartment is an 06 Alumaweld Intruder. I'd be interested in one of the designers for aluminum boats to chime in on this one.

 

It trolls fine. As far as handling at lower speeds, I have no reference of how it would handle if it were sealed. I have no problems with the handling at low or high speeds.

I know that when it is full of tuna it handles slugish. :thisbig:
But I'm ok with that.

 

Can you post a picture? You have me very curious.

 

Here is a pic of the top and bottom. I will make the door a little bigger when I do it next time.

 

The OS bracket has never made any sense to me, either. I'd prefer 2' more boat.

Here is an interesting design feature that reduces tippiness at low speed, but provides the advantages of a deep V while running:

I like one continuous bilge space that is easily inspected and drained.

 

The offshore bracket gets your motors closer to the water which lowers the center of gravity on them and makes the boat more stable, the motors are farther away and behind the transom making it quieter and less exhaust getting into the boat, plus the added length makes your boat more stable, IMHO, my NR is an 05 and when I took it back to NR they sealed the bracket but left a plug in it to drain any water that might make it's way in. I like the idea of filling it with sometype of floatation material if it wasn't detrimental to the bracket itself:twocents:

 

Noyb72, remember the sub is already on the bottom though...

:flowered: GO Navy.

 

Ha-Za!! :cheers:

 

Jon: U will see the LIGHT soon.. )))

here is a pic.....somebody show me all that usable space??????

1.) correct engine ht without notch
2.) Ride of a longer boat, IF it's a running surface bracket
3.) integral swim platform, cooler storage, kicker bracket
4.) it should have it's own pump, not a big $ thing...
5.) FAR superior for backing down or..backtrolling
6.) splashwell with canted deck is not very usable space
7.) splashwell corners are not great usable space (I feel the same way about I/O's...also...
8.) transducer do better in cleaner water farter from prop(s)
.....the list goes on..

there are a few downsides..

al builders with no engineering dept, and or the lack of sense to build in a pump and a way to seperate the bildge from the bracket and with a few other missing secrets probably create a poor rep...

 

Not soon enough, Jim. I'm getting excited. My wife needs a camera body for the 60mm macro lens I bought her. Which means she'll keep the D200, and I get a D300 for Father's Day. I hereby volunteer my services as official trip photographer.

 

Deal ))) I took ZERO pics....I usually anoint a pic taker, nice to have a VOL

Not soon enough, Jim. I'm getting excited. My wife needs a camera body for the 60mm macro lens I bought her. Which means she'll keep the D200, and I get a D300 for Father's Day. I hereby volunteer my services as official trip photographer.

 

Absolutly LOVE the reboarding ladder...Something lots of folks forget about.