Pop Top, Motor
I had the same mast bracket on my 25. It looked sort of like a "U" that slid up with one leg under the lip of the poptop. Because of the slackened boom vang and other lines I had laying against the mast, I didn't use the bracket often. I found it easier to tie a short line from the mast to the support leg of the top to keep it from moving aft and then down. I originally had a Honda 10hp long shaft, but since I didn't run the engine at max rpms, I went with the Honda 8hp when it needed replacement. The Honda 8 and 10 were identical engines except for the camshaft and carburetor to allow the 10 to run at higher max rpm, thus 2 more HP. I don't know about your prop under water problem. With the factory bracket that I had on my '84, I generally only needed the upper of the two bracket positions to keep the prop submerged.
