Porta bracket vs Armstrong

[Blueline93]

Any big pros or cons from going from a porta bracket to something like an Armstrong bracket. Currently redoing an AquaSport 246 that has a porta bracket but I like the idea of the Armstrong bracket more. But can’t really find much information on this model boat with an Armstrong on it. Only reason I posted this in the 222 forum was just there’s not much activity in the 246 page.

[dbiscayne]

Porta Brackets seem well built, but with a big boat and the job the bracket has to do I'd be a little paranoid about the long term integrity of it. Just keep thinking about all the stresses transferred through the bracket to the boat. Probably fine though.
With a regular bracket you get the benefit of adding some floatation to offset hanging the engine weight back away from the boat, more critical w smaller boats but would help a bigger boat like yours too. I'd get something wide enough to walk on too, can't do that w a porta bracket.

[Blueline93]

That was my thought I don’t anticipate it’ll effect draft to much as well. Also that was the main reason I wanted the Armstrong just simply for enough room to walk on especially with the family. The boats gonna be setup like a Tampa bay style tower boat. So I think I’m gonna go that route

[Ulysses485]

The 246 by design is altogether a different boat than the traditional 222. The 246 is a deep v @ 19 degrees deadrise with a factory hull draft of 12’’. The 222 is 12-degree deadrise with factory hull draft @ 9’’. The porta brackets allow the shallow draft of the 222s to shine through waterways along the west coast of Florida where it’s not uncommon to see 1-2ft depths just outside the channels. The porta bracket will get you scooting through shallower water (because you can trim directly vertical and not just out of the water like motor trim gives you). More importantly it will get you on plane and out of it easier as well (within reason). Because of the deeper draft of the 246 (especially when a heavy V6 4-Stroke is used to repower, I believe there is a good use for a flotation bracket. However, if you fish a lot in the shallows you will benefit more from the porta bracket. At the end of the day it depends on how you use the boat. The hull is going to get out of the hole best with the motor tucked in. A typical 200-300hp outboard has about 14-17’’ hanging below the keel from the cavitation plate to the bottom of the skeg. Typically, you can raise the motor 1’’ up from typical mounting position for every 12’’ setback so with a porta bracket you will be able to get on plane in about as much water as the hull needs to float. With an Armstrong bracket, you do benefit from better flotation but need to be much more selective on the places you are traveling and where you plan to stop because it will require more water to get up on plane. These are just my findings and opinion so take it for what its worth. Here is a video that explains the porta bracket best…   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxuJ31VDLPA 

[Blueline93]

I fish in about 2ft of water at the least. As far as running super shallow and not being able to get on plane quick my bay boat now takes like 2-3ft of water to get on plane so that’s not a real big deal. My plan is to make it a hybrid bay boat I figure with the deep v I can run pretty good offshore on a decent day and still be able to snook fish. My thoughts are if I wanna be in ankle deep water I’ll buy a poling skiff for that. Sounds like the Armstrong would do me better especially with the family, lobstering and diving. The extra floatation sounds like a good benefit as well, maybe able to keep that draft pretty close to 12inches with that

[Blueline93]

Wanna clarify that If I do the Armstrong it’ll be with a jack plate as well

[Ulysses485]

I think an Armstrong with jack plate should serve you well for your application. Please feel free to share photos and progress of your build. We sure enjoy them and it always makes for good additions to the website when rare builds are posted.

[AES1990]

If you decide to sell the porta bracket let me know.  I am in the process of re-doing a 74 22-2.