Hey guys, looking for a little input on my next project.
I posted this question on BBC as well.
I recently acquired a 2011 Cougar FTD. I own two of the current model 12 foot Talons that are being carried over from my previous boat. I know that BCB recommends Power Poles, and if I didn’t already own these Talons I’d probably go that route, but I really do like Talons and since I already have them, I’ve committed to installing them.
The dilemma comes in deciding how to install them. The boat has the factory 8″ Detwiler hydraulic jack plate with no holes on the side for mounting. I own a set of both the sandwich style and the jack plate style talon brackets. If it were you, how would you do this installation? I can imagine three different options.
1. Lift the motor and jack plate off and use the sandwich brackets between the transom and the jack plate. If I do that, will I need to get some kind of spacer for the two extra bolts that BCB uses to fasten their transoms to the jack plate?
2. Lift off only the motor and use the sandwich bracket between the motor and the jack plate.
3. Attempt to drill holes in the side of the Detwiler that would accept the jack plate brackets. I’ve read numerous reports of people doing this, but I have never seen any pictures of the process or the end product. I’m not sure if there is enough room to get a drill in there to make a good straight hole. However, I would prefer this option because it makes it easy to uninstall everything if I ever decided to do so.
I should also mention, there is currently a single Power Pole bracket and a spacer installed between the motor and the jackplate, so I will be separating the motor from the jack plate to remove these items regardless of what install option I go with.
In the end this will all be worth it, but I’m afraid getting to that point is going to be a good deal of work, no matter how you slice it.
Thanks in advance for any insight or recommendations you guys have to offer!
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