Adding an Engine Bracket to a Osprey 196

[felicity]

I have a 1983 196 Osprey I purchased new and is now powered with a 125 Mercury.  I'm considering replacing the transom and adding an engine bracket.  Interested in recommendations pro and con from anyone who might have already added a bracket and what bracket they used.

[mshugg]

Blue Agave has an Armstrong bracket and a Merc 150 onhis 196.  He reports excellent results.  I’m sure he’ll jump in with more info.

[felicity]

Thanks for the reply, any information is really helpful.

[wingtime]

Enclose the transom and put a full flotation bracket on it with a 150hp. As mentioned Blue Agave has this set up on his 19-6. Great set up.

[Blue Agave]

I have an Armstrong bracket on my 19'6".  No regrets at all, be sure to rebuild the transom and add some gussets. Move weight forward.

[felicity]

Thanks for the reply.  I am planning to rebuild the transom as you suggest.  Which bracket did you add?  I talked with Armstrong and they discouraged me from using theirs.  I also am considering a jack plate.   You mentioned moving weight forward, did you do it by moving the fuel tank up?  I'm also going to replace my 40 gallon tank.  I am planning on keeping my 125hp Merc.  I put that on a couple of years ago and has really low hours. 

[Marcel4t]

Why did Armstrong discourage you?

[felicity]

They said the boat would porpoise and did not recommend use on a 20 foot boat.

[Blue Agave]

They said the boat would porpoise and did not recommend use on a 20 foot boat.

This is what they told me as well. That's why it's important to move weight forward if you are going with a 30" setback. I moved my fuel cell forward and have the batteries in the console. Trim tabs and a stern lifting prop will help.

I have an Armstrong bracket, 30" setback, 30" wide floatation chamber, & full dive platform.

[felicity]

Thanks for the information. I put in a new console in 2002 where I store the batteries along with a leaning post so I did take a considerable amount of weight out.  When I pull them off to get to the fuel tank I'll be able to see how much I can move the tank forward.  Do you experience any porpoising like Armstrong says?  How far forward did you move the fuel cell and did you keep the 40 gallon capacity? 

[Marcel4t]

I have been planning on putting a bracket on, either an Armstrong or custom built one, so this information that it may cause porpoising is concerning.  My boat is a 22.2.  Wonder what it would be about a bracket that would cause that to happen? 

[felicity]

When I spoke with Armstrong about their bracket and the application I wanted on my 19'6" Osprey they said they didn't recommend it on boats 20' and under.  I assume it is the transom extension added with the bracket causing the porpoising but no sure.  My advice is talk to them about your application.  As you can see from the responses I've received it has been added with success after some modification.  I'm still researching before moving forward.  Good luck.

[mshugg]

I have been planning on putting a bracket on, either an Armstrong or custom built one, so this information that it may cause porpoising is concerning.  My boat is a 22.2.  Wonder what it would be about a bracket that would cause that to happen?

A bracket does 2 things:

1  It places the motor on a 30” lever.  This will magnify trim and weight issues. 

2  It shifts the weight of the motor further aft.  Armstrong provides a flotation chamber, but this only offsets the weight shift at sub planing speeds.  Once your on top, the bracket is out of the water and not providing floatation.  The weight problem is worse, when you consider that our boats were designed when a V6 2 Stroke 150 weighed about 375 lbs.  Four strokes weigh more with the lightest 25” 150 weighing in at 465, nearly 100 lbs heavier.

This isn’t me bashing brackets.  I’m going with an Armstrong bracket on the rebuild of my 200 CCP.  Interestingly, Armstrong did reccomend a bracket for my boat.  With that said, I’m shifting batteries forward to the console, moving tank CG 8” further forward and going with a baitwell in my leaningpost instead of just ahead of the transom.  I also made the decision to go with the Mercury 150 (465 lbs) instead of the Suzuki 200 (509 lbs, though this weight varies by source).

Blue Agave’s results were a big factor in my choice to go with the bracket.  I hope to splash in January, when my motor arrives, and I’ll be sure to post results.

[Blue Agave]

Do you experience any porpoising like Armstrong says?  How far forward did you move the fuel cell and did you keep the 40 gallon capacity?

My boat will porpoise under certain conditions. It is sensitive to motor trim, passengers on the transom, and if the water is smooth, aka glass.  A little bit of chop and the boat rides great!  I recently repowered and tried a number of different props. I ended up going back to my original prop as it was a stern lifting prop and negated porpoising along with trim tabs.

Keep in mind, my boat was a full rebuild and I did shift weight forward. My console is not original and the full tower adds weight forward.  The fuel tank is 65 gallons, and the front of the tank was moved forward approximately 18". The front of the tank is up against the bulkhead that is in line with the forward step up / hatches. 

No regrets with my decision on going with the bracket.  The boat excels at fishing, scalloping, lobstering, and hanging at the sandbar. The dive platform makes getting back in the boat very easy and is great when fishing out the back of the boat.  Good luck with your decision.

[wingtime]

I can attest that Blue Agave's 19-6 is a great set up and in my opinion is the way to go. Really makes it into a different boat. Engine weight will be an issue on a 19-6 so you want to keep it as light as possible. A 22-2 or a CCP will probably be a little less sensitive on engine weight. If I was doing a rebuild an enclosed transom with a floating bracket would be my choice hands down.