input on motor/bracket setup etc.
 

So, after some research I've determined that my motor is a 1977 E'rude 140. Model #: 140743s. What does the "S" mean? Also, it's a 20" and after measuring I've also determined that the bracket (it's a converted I/O) I got with the boat is set up for a 20" motor. I've read on here that a 20" is a bad idea on this boat. Obviously it's not good for your motor to take a sip of water, but will this setup be any different than any other boat with a 20" motor? The cav plate will be where it's supposed to and if you come off plane too fast in any boat, or are in a high enough following sea, your *** is gonna get swamped, am I right? One more thing, the bracket appears to be home made from stainless plate. The budget doesn't allow anything else (the boat was free, motor a trade, and trailer $150) so it's going on but I thought I'd get some input anyway so I'm posting pics. Thanks for the help guys!!!!!

I'm not sure about that home made bracket........seriously

Never had experience with a bracket, but at least from the pix, that bracket does not look strong enough to be holding a 140 hp motor.

The bends in the metel tell the story... it's well made, from a techinical point of view, but the material wasn't strong enough for whatever size motor he had on it...and probably will not be strong enough for your 140.

It's wintertime.. FORCE YOURSELF to save a little money each day/week and buy a professionally made one come springtime. This is one place you DO NOT want to be skimping on quality. :head:

that bracket is not what i would trust with a 140 way to light and it's awful rusty to be stainless. hum get a new to you bracket trash that one before someone gets hurt.

I agree, it is not strong enough!! It needs to be at least 1/4" thick steel to be any good!
The Alum bracket is all of 1/2" thick! A good used one will cost you about $400 Call around to marinas and ask if they have a take off?? Ck you local paper or swap books they are out there. And make sure you get a closed box type, you going to need the flotation

That bracket needs to be at least 25" you going to have issues with a 20

Welcome to boating, Break Out Another Thousand

I have a bunch more 1/8" stainless plate from some home-made fixed trim tabs that were on the boat (bad idea). There is enough there to triple up the back plate double the sides and add quite a bit of bracing. Does anyone think that would suffice? Another thought: I am an accomplished cabinet maker and I have a whole industrial sized roll of glass cloth and a near endless supply of epoxy, could I conceivably build up a bracket/swim platform from 3/4" ply wood doubled up, epoxied together and enclosed in cloth and resin? If you guys think this would work I'm capable of making something WAY nicer than I could ever afford and I already have all the materials to do it.

Jed, unless you can get someone to do some calcs on the forces of the bracket, I wouldn't do it......as mentioned, there are plenty of good quality used aluminum, stainless and composite brackets out there that have been designed to work and can be had for several hundred bucks......its not worth the risk....look around...you'll find something and have peace of mind....

didnt BS recently fab one out of wood and glass for his seacraft? maco, i think the build can be found somewhere back there.

Recientlyu, I needed to replace the pad that my outboard kicker mounted to.. not the bracket itself, just the wooden pad. It was designed to hold and take the force of up to a 15 hp engine. It's made of 3 sheets of 5/8' Marine Ply, laminated together, sanded, urathaned, etc. My point is, that's for a 15 hp kicker.. I can only think of the force that is generated by a 140 hp engine at WOP. So the short answer is yes, you can probably make something that will hold... for a while.

(But if it were me, I'd buy something made for the job)