1981 Aquasport 246 XF Transom height Increase

[captaincahill8]

Alright First post here about my new project and was looking for some help from the group. I have 1981 Aquasport 246 XF but it needs a new transom. When I bought the bought it came with a blown out Johnson 225 and I knew it needed a new transom but the rest of the boat is so clean and I basically picked the boat up for the price of gas to haul it back home.

Now my question is, the transom height is 25" so it needs a 25" shaft motor. Since it needs the new transom I am looking at raising the transom height 5" for a little bit of a dryer deck as well as I have the opportunity to grab a Yamaha HPDI 250hp with barely 400 hours on it.

What is everyones thoughts on this?

 

[RickK]

Have you considered an Armstrong bracket across the back with maybe a 30" setback? The 246 XF is a perfect boat for this. Then you could build a full transom with maybe a door (tuna/dive) in the transom to make it easy to access out or in.  Then you could also choose any shaft length you want for the motor and adjust the bracket height for it.

[captaincahill8]

Rick I have thought about that! A Bracket is a good look and could really help with things but it may not be in the budget for this project.

[RickK]

Keep an eye out on CL for a used one. Maybe even buy a wrecked boat with one on it?

[mshugg]

There’s no reason that you couldn’t build the transom up for a 30” single outboard, and you’d certainly gain a bit more security with the higher transom.  It would basically be the same as if you were building it up for 25” twins.  Of course as Rick says, a bracket adds a bit more security, and a 246 XF should see some performance gains too.