CONTINUOUSWAVE

I've considered [adding a HERMCO bracket to a 1984 Boston Whaler OUTRAGE 25] for a while and placed the order today. It will be probably two months before the bracket arrives. I went with Hermco to maximize the flotation tank volume. The gentleman I spoke with at Armstrong referred to the Hermco as almost a hull extension given its substantial tank.

I have twin 2006 Optimax 150s on my[1984 OUTRAGE 25] boat, currently mounted on high-rise jack plates to get the 25-inch shafts up to the right height given the standard transom. As part of this project, I will also have the transom raised at least 5" and maybe slightly more. I want to leave the back cutout for easy access into and out of the boat and I like its ability to shed an errant wave rapidly. I'm not going to close-in the back.

I'm not really seeking performance gains from the bracket. My biggest driver is easy access into and out of the boat. We extensively wakeboard and such, and I miss the ease of just flopping in to the boat like our old Striper 15. With the bracket with its full width swim platform, that should allow easy and quick access from the water. Also, when we use the boat at the coast, we are in and out of the boat frequently on sandbars and such, and again the swim platform will help with that.

If I get more buoyancy at rest would also be good, but as long as it doesn't sit deeper I'll be pleased. I am very curious to compare the static trim before and after. I think it will reduce waves over the transom when drift fishing in the ocean even if it does not sit any higher at rest.

I'll also be curious to compare the running angle before and after. Clearly [the addition of the bracket] will shift the center of gravity aft given the 30-inch offset versus my current 10-inch offset. Hermco estimated 500 to 600-lbs of lift from the tank, so we'll see how it balances out at rest. I have 12x12 trim tabs plus REVOLUTION4 propellers that will allow me to lift the rear as high as you could want when running, but I'll be curious to see just how it changes running without adjustments.

Likely it will be three months until the work is done and I'm running again. I'll take pictures before and after. I'll also have for sale a couple of excellent condition jack plates that are perfect for running motors with 5-inch-longer shafts than intended (e.g., a 30-inch single or 25-inch twins on a standard Outrage transom).

Your plans to install a HERMCO bracket sound very interesting. I am not familiar with the HERMCO company or their brackets, and, in fact, I don't recall hearing of them before your article mentioned them. I found their website at

http://www.hermco.com/

Their brackets look very interesting. I think there will be considerable interest in your project, and I look forward to seeing pictures of the changes as you make them.

Don Herman of Hermco let me know that construction on the bracket started this week. I had to send him a template to get the swim platform on the bracket to fit well against the transom of the boat - as with most Outrage and Revenge models of that era the flat motor mounting area sits about 0.75" proud of the rest of the transom. The flotation box area fits onto the flat motor mounting area which makes that convenient. Don can adjust the bracket to fit many transom shapes if you provide him a template.

I'm not sure how much I'll need to raise the stock transom. As I measured, the top of the bracket will be about 0.75" above the transom, which I think would put the bolts too close to the edge of the transom--to be determined.

I am also working on figuring out the control routing. Currently I have battery cables and motor cables running down the tunnel on each of the port and starboard sides. The control cables are both in the starboard side. The port side tunnel near the console has a bend that resulted in some binding on the port control cable and so I switched that to the starboard tunnel. The hydraulic hoses are also on the starboard side, and the fuel hoses while not really in the tunnel for long are in the quarter boxes on the starboard side.

I want to get the port side of the swim platform totally clear. I may use simple routing out the rear of the starboard quarter box, or I may also consider having the routing pass through the transom directly into the buoyancy box on the bracket. I need to research that further. I really want to have one side of the swim platform with no obstructions.

I should have the bracket in a few weeks. I'm having a respected fiberglass shop on the coast do the transom work as well as hang the bracket, which likely won't be until February as my daughter wants to wakeboard on her 12th birthday at the end of January - it will be cold but I think fun.

Pictures will follow as this proceeds.

Russell--I look forward to seeing the progress in this thread. You always do a great job of detailing all of your projects.

Jim--Hermco has been making brackets for years and specializes in the market for restoration of classic [boats] rather than the OEM market like Armstrong and others. They have a big following in the Classic Seacraft, Mako and other communities.

This is one of the more interesting projects that is relevant to the Whaler Community.
21 hull extension and Bracket

This is a picture of the completed bracket prior to being shipped from Hermco. It should be here later this week. You can see the offset in the swim platform to account for the proud motor mounting area on the Outrage transom.

Russell -

Looks great!

I'd consider fully enclosing the transom if you can still tilt the motors clear. If not, you should raise it at least 5 inches.

I'm actually planning to start that modification to my 25 this summer - raising the transom 5 inches and then mounting the "new" 200 HP Yamahas to 6" jack plates. Given the jack plates, I may raise the transom even further - like 7 inches. I haven't decided yet.

Be sure to shoot us photos of the finished project - I'm anxious to see how it turns out!

Dave, I will get pictures for sure. I'm taking it to the fiberglass shop who is going to do the transom raising and installation in the next couple of weeks. They may just rebuild the transom while it is open - TBD.

Do you already have jackplates for your project? I will soon have the two highrise ones off my boat available. These are about 2 years old, 10" setback, with an extra 5" of height compared to a standard jackplate. So, with them, you can correctly mount 25" shafts on a 20" transom without raising the transom any. They worked great with my 25" motors and standard transom - I could see the anti-cav plates on the center of each motor and the boat road much lighter with the engines high enough. I'm just changing out as I really want the swim platform access I'll get with the bracket as well as I'd like the buoyancy from the box.

Transom has been dug out. Wood was wet but transom was still sturdy and there were no cracks showing - not bad for 32 years of age. I've decided to raise it to essentially full height, which will be about 12" of additional height. Given its age instead of just adding on I decided to do a full rebuild on the transom.

Other details yet to sort out. And no, I am not doing it myself - Craig at Coastal Fiberglass (coastal Virginia) is doing the work - he has done many transom replacements and I appreciate his expertise.

russellbailey wrote:Craig at Coastal Fiberglass (coastal Virginia) is doing the work - he has done many transom replacements and I appreciate his expertise.

Do they use wood when rebuilding or some type of synthetic material?

[Coastal Fiberglass] uses 26-lbs/ft³ Coosa Bluewater which is a composite. See:

http://coosacomposites.com/site-content ... ter-panels

Here is a pic of the new transom height

The modification looks very good. Keep up the stream of work-in-progress pictures.

Yet to be faired but structurally fiberglassed.

russellbailey wrote:[Coastal Fiberglass] uses 26-lbs/ft³ Coosa Bluewater...

Here are some density figures for various wood species, also in units of lbs/ft³:

Douglass Fir = 33
Maple = 39 to 47
Oak = 37 to 56
Pine, White = 22 to 31

Source: http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/wood-density-d_40.html

As it turned out, the lower bolts for the bracket are well below the splash well fiberglass height and close to the keel. You can see them with the black sealant around them in this about-to-install photo

So, the splash well inserts got cut out, and dug through the foam down to the keel. Good news is that foam was all dry down to the last 0.5" or so at the very keel which was slightly damp.

We walk through the splash well all the time getting in the boat, and so decided to level the floor back there with glassing in some Coosa board to make one flat area behind the "dam" that separates the splash well area and the cockpit. That does make the lower bracket bolts not readily accessible, but I can check tightness from inside the bracket and if needed add an access hatch later through the Coosa board.

Glass over the Coosa - it will be sanded and gel-coated yet.

These are behind the quarter boxes in a foamed in area. Rather than sandwiching across the foam, we decided to dig out foam there and through bolt.

This area will be glassed back in.

These bolts are fairly low stress and just hold the swim platform wings in place.

Engines go on next along with some finish work.

The bracket is installed, the transom raising is done, and all mechanicals are connected. There is still some cleanup-type work to do (like fastening the quarter boxesand general cleaning), but it is functional for the summer and skilled finish work will not occur until fall.

I'll float it Saturday.

I will also have for sale some nice custom stainless pieces that the prior owner made:

--a heavy stainless transom reinforcement bracket along with fittings that attach to the dam wall that is about two-feet forward of the transom;

--two great-condition jack plates that are the right size to run a 25-inch shaft engine on a 20-inch transom.

Did a brief run at the lake today.

The static trim at the stern corner was two to three inches higher with the bracket than with the jack plates; that buoyancy box has a lot of lift.

Dynamic trim running angle is steeper; trim tabs are useful

Top speed was new record for with arch: 47-MPH

Russell--is the steel tubing around the engines to prevent damage to the engines? I've seen similar guards on commercial and government boats, but only on a couple of pleasure boats. They seem very practical for boats kept in slips.

The steel tubing is a Turboswing

We mainly pull kneeboarders and skiers on it. We used to pull wakeboarders on it too but now pull them from the higher attachment point on the arch. The manufacturer told me it was ok to pull up to a 3 person tube on it, but we rarely tube and when we've done so have just done a 2 person tube.

It works great and I highly recommend it as a solution for watersports - much better than a pylon in the boat. And as you noted it has the advantage of a bit of a guard around the motors.