Porta Performance Primed For Another Record-Setting Year

Porta Performance, a division of Porta Products Corporation in New Smyrna Beach, Fla., completed a record-breaking year for high-performance builds in 2020, and company founder Scott Porta has no doubt 2021 is going to be another record-setter. According to Porta, performance boatbuilders from across the country are starting to realize the speed, handling and safety attributes of the Porta R-Series Hydraulic Transom Lift system in growing numbers.

The team at Velocity Powerboats has been impressed with the new Porta R-Series Hydraulic Transom Lift outboard engine brackets. Photo courtesy Velocity Powerboats

“When we introduced the R-Series, we knew we had a winner,” Porta said. “But now our customers have learned that the extra speed they had hoped for from their hulls is finally available. Adjusting engine trim and transom lift—the height of the outboard motor relative to the running surface—has always been somewhat of a fine art. With the R-Series Transom Lift, we can find the exact position (X-dimension) of the outboard motor’s lower unit and propeller combined with optimum trim angle and maximize performance of any boat.”

One of the companies that recently turned to Porta Performance to try the adjustable hydraulic transom bracket was Eliminator Boats, which installed the R-Series system on a new single-engine 255 Speedster that was reported on in January on speedonthewater.com. And according to Jake Fraleigh, president of the Mira Loma, Calif., company, the system worked out very well.

“The water on any cat is confused in the center between the sponsons, so finding the proper prop height relative to the running surface is key, Fraleigh said. “With the Porta Transom Lift system, we found the performance gains immediate and obvious to the throttleman/driver. After testing our new 255 Speedster with a Mercury Racing 400R and the Porta R-Series, we found it more manageable, responsive and quicker, not only out of the hole but all the way through the acceleration range. Now we can accelerate through a variety of water conditions with ease and our customers have total controllability. We found speed that we didn’t know existed.”

Eliminator Boats turned to Porta Performance and installed the R-Series system on a new 255 Speedster powered by a single Mercury Racing 400R engine. Photo courtesy Eliminator Boats

Scott McCormick, president of Velocity Powerboats in Sanford Fla., came up with a unique design integrating the Porta R-Series Transom Lift system into the swim platform of the company’s 290SC V-bottom. The 29-footer, which was originally designed as a standard sterndrive boat with a 425-hp inboard, has been adapted to an outboard-powered model by McCormick, who purchased the company in 2018 and has been working on updating all of the proven Velocity hulls to accommodate outboard engines.

“With 800 hp on the transom, it’s imperative to be able to adjust the operating height of the gear cases (and prop shafts) in relation to the running surface of the boat,” said McCormick, who has been testing a 290SC with twin Mercury Racing 400R engines mounted to a single Porta R-Series hydraulic transom bracket. “Velocity has long been noted to be one of the fastest hull designs, but to achieve that speed we need to be able to adjust the location of the prop and not have to trim to do that. The Porta Transom Lift system does that for us. It’s an easy 10-mph speed increase over direct mounting engines to the transom.”

Doug Wright Designs in Melbourne, Fla., has had a long history of success with the Porta transom bracket. First used on Scott Porta’s raceboat Papa’s Pilar and subsequently outfitted on the 32-foot Doug Wright that won two world championships, the Porta R-Series has proven its worth in offshore racing.

Now, according to Porta, the 32-foot recreational pleasure version of the Doug Wright raceboat is outfitted with Porta Transom Lift systems. Paul Chandler, owner of H2O Faster in Astor, Fla., is a three-time R-Series customer. After first using the bracket on a 28-foot cat with twin Mercury Racing 300R power, Chandler is rigging all of his customers’ 32-foot Doug Wright cats with twin Mercury 300R, 400R or 450R engines and the Porta R-Series Transom Lift.

“Boat control is critical at 100-plus mph—knowing and understanding where the prop and lower unit are positioned relative to the boat’s running surface is paramount,” Chandler said. “With the R-Series we can control it down to thousands of an inch. We love it.”

Last but not least, Joe Perog, another longtime customer of Porta Performance, is trying to squeeze every extra mph out of his 27’ Extreme Series PlayCraft Boats tritoon powered by a single Mercury 300R engine. Not only did he shortened the radar arch for better aerodynamics and style, Perog installed a 17-inch setback Porta Transom Lift assembly for ultimate tuning of his PlayCraft.

Powered by a single Mercury Racing 300R engines, this 27-foot PlayCraft tritoon has a Porta Performance R-Series bracket.

“With the Porta R-Series, I am able to adjust my gearcase/motor height 1/16” at a time,” Perog said. “The performance numbers we expect will definitely let us achieve the best numbers ever on that model. We love the Porta brackets, especially for big power—wouldn’t trust anything else.”

Along with the product design process, Porta really enjoys working with so many different customers on a variety of boat types and setups.

“High-performance boating is alive and doing very well in the U.S.,” Porta said. “With the number of new builds we have under construction and the engineering assistance that we give to each of our customers, the future is bright. It looks like 2021 will be another record-setting year for the outboard performance sector—we are grateful to be a part of it.”

Porta Performance Primed For Another Record-Setting Year

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