Porta Bracket
The Porta Bracket is our jackplate of choice on the Atlas Boatworks 23F. Now that we’ve been running our demo boat for several months, we thought we’d take a minute to talk about some of the benefits.
We posted our thoughts on jackplates on our “Design Philosophy” page. Check it out here.
Shallow Minded
The beauty of the Porta Bracket is that it allows the engine to travel vertically up and down without changing the angle of the thrust. So, you’re no longer tilting the engine when you get into shallow water, you are lifting it. That allows the boat to continue to travel economically through very shallow water. The model that we use has 12″ of vertical travel which is an unheard of number when compared to regular jackplates. This vertical travel contributes to the Atlas Boatworks 23F’s ability to get on a plane in less than 2 feet and idle through about a foot of water.
Power Pole Ready
Porta Brackets can be ordered “Power Pole ready” which makes mounting the Power Poles easy and saves you from drilling more holes in the hull, which we really like.
Additional Space
Porta Brackets have a bigger setback than most jackplates, 17″ in our case, that allows the entire cockpit to be free of engine and rigging. That saves almost 2′ of cockpit space compared to a traditionally rigged boat.
Concluding Thoughts
We’ve chosen the Porta Bracket as our jack plate of choice. It wasn’t an easy decision. From a boat-building economics standpoint, they are far more expensive than a regular jack plate. In the end, the benefits outweighed the cost—literally.
For starters, they are basically bulletproof. We’ve never seen or even heard of one failing. A key reason is that sensitive components like electronics and the hydraulic pump are housed inside the boat. They aren’t exposed to saltwater, unlike most competitors. Porta Brackets come “Power Pole ready,” which makes mounting Power Poles easy. This eliminates the need for drilling extra holes in the hull, which we appreciate.
Lastly, Porta Brackets have a larger setback than most jack plates—17″ in our case. This allows the cockpit to be free of engine and rigging clutter. It saves nearly 2 feet of cockpit space compared to traditional rigging. We are big fans and will keep rigging all our boats with them.