Jack plate in the chuck?

[TheBigGuy]

After reading the American boating forums it became apparent that using a jack plate to change the motors set back, transom height, and trim adjustment is pretty common down there. I rarely ever see a jack plate on a boat in these parts. Is that because our saltwater environment is too tough on a jack plate? Or is it just another case of differences between our countries, like our mooching reels vs their coffee grinder reels ? Does anyone on the forum have experience using a jack plate on their boat in the chuck?

 

[Mighty Sylvan]

I don't have any experience with them but they are mostly on shallow draft bay boats. Maybe some guys that wanted outboard power instead of a jet would want them on the river boats. (?) I don't think there is an offshore application.

 

[FishBC.org]

As a welder / fabricator I invite you to define "Jack plate" so I may be able to explain the advantages, and disadvantages of it's uses? Jackplate is not a term I am familiar with?

 

[Island Fish Lifter]

Jack plates are great on flat water but would be useless on the ocean. The thing would cause your prop to ventilate constantly. Seriously, dont waste your time unless you want to also use in in the lakes for speed.

 

[Island Fish Lifter]

As a welder / fabricator I invite you to define "Jack plate" so I may be able to explain the advantages, and disadvantages of it's uses? Jackplate is not a term I am familiar with?

A jack plate is used on larger outboards. It works similar to a standard trim and tilt unit but hydraulically lifts the outboard vertically on the transom to minimize drag. One would need a surface piercing prop as well with this application.

 

[FishBC.org]

After figuring out what they are, I'm actually still trying to determine what benefit, if any these would have in our coastal waters??

 

[FishBC.org]

After figuring out what they are, I'm actually still trying to determine what benefit, if any these would have in our coastal waters??

I posted this before reading the last post, but yes I agree this would only be beneficial with flat calm water for speed, and would be an utter waste of time on the coast folks.

 

[nedarb2]

they are for shallow water applications and for performance boats. you see them on fishing boats down there for guys that run 60mph and do tournaments.

 

[TheBigGuy]

Thanks for the replys guys.

I do have a surface piecing prop that came with the boat when i bought it. It doesn't work that well on the boat with the motor down as far as it is on the transom. It would perform better and improve the boats handling if it was higher up. I have 4 other props that aren't surface piercing props. That is why I was curious about anyone's experiences with jack plates. The boat is 18', so it does get used in freshwater as well as the salt. It might be nice to have the option of running different pitch props at different heights when in fresh water. Pulling skiers and fishing the chuck are totally different, so I was curious if anyone had used a jack plate to hear their feedback.

 

[cheech]

I've got one (manual) collecting dust. HD unit, let me know if you might be interested in using it.

 

[TheBigGuy]

Hi cheech.

How many inches setback does your jack plate have. I assume it is aluminum, and rated for a 115HP 4 stroke.

Where are you located?

I might be interested, thanks for the reply.

 

[cheech]

Sorry to take so long to get back to you...
It is a HD aluminum unit. 5 1/2" set back. Easily will take your 115.
Located south Nanaimo near Nicol & Needham. Power Lift is the brand name.

 

[TheBigGuy]

Thanks cheech.

I'm going to see a guy tomorrow after work. We may swap props, if we do I won't need to lift the motor anyways. It is only the Trophy prop that I have that is designed to be run at higher elevations on the transom. After thinking about it I think I realized a 5 1/2 in setback may screw up my auxiliary steering setup . Thanks for the offer, but it looks like it might be more trouble than it's worth.

 

[Gunsmith]

Not a bad idea if you want to go from jet to prop, otherwise only usefull in performance apps.

 

[TheBigGuy]

Thanks for the replies. I guess the title I chose kind of didn't get across what I wanted to know. I was really just wanting to know how a jack plate held up to exposure to a saltwater environment. I was not expecting it to be of benefit for use in the ocean. The benefit was that it would let me experiment with different style props at different heights. As most of you mentioned this is really only of benefit in freshwater. As my boat is mainly used in the chuck I was wondering if they would hold up to saltwater use. The jack plate would have allowed me to run different props at higher heights when in fresh water.

The main reason for considering a jack plate was to experiment with an expensive mercury trophy plus prop that came on the boat when I got it. The boat porpoised badly with this prop at speed. I felt that it might correct this problem if run at at the higher heights it was designed for.

Well, I decided it wasn't worth the BS to try and make that prop run well on my boat. I traded the trophy prop for a nice stainless Solas prop that I am looking forward to trying out. I have tried several other aluminum Solas props on my boat and they ran well. This prop has less pitch and I intend to use it for water sports for better holeshots.

Thanks for your input, but without the surface piercing prop I have no reason to to try out a jack plate now.