motor height on transom

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JaxJonBoat

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Does the motor need to be bottomed out on the transom or is it ok to lift it up some for extra clearance and performance. My motor cav plate sits about 2" or so below the bottom of the boat maybe more, but it looks like i have room to lift it up at least that much if it is safe to do so. My motor is through bolted now and will be again if i lift it and use the clamps as back ups.
 
yeah your right, i am going to need some sort of jack plate, after looking more closely i didnt have as much room as i thought i had, the hand screws are only about and inch and a half down form the top of the transom and the cav plate is probably closer to 3 inches below the bottom :-( this is probably hindering my performance. i have seen the fixed non moving jack plates they sell in bass pro and the like, boy they are proud of those things, i didnt really want my motor set back another few inches, but oh well not much choice in the matter, might tinker around with a design similar to the link you sent me.
 
Here are some pictures of my simple jack plate. Took a couple minutes to install. Found the material at a local dock builder/welder. Cost 30$ , Stainless hardware was more expensive than the material.
 

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That looks great!!! very simple!!

Forgive my ignorance, but what are the two big pontoons for on the back of your boat??
 
Flotation pods. They help keep the stern up when additional weight is added, I.E. bigger motor, passenger weight, etc. That particular boat was a 1032 so with two people and a motor it rode pretty low to the water line. These pods helped raise the back up and prevented it from getting swamped.
 
sixgun86 said:
Flotation pods. They help keep the stern up when additional weight is added, I.E. bigger motor, passenger weight, etc. That particular boat was a 1032 so with two people and a motor it rode pretty low to the water line. These pods helped raise the back up and prevented it from getting swamped.


Is that something That came with the boat or are they add ons?
 
sixgun86 said:
Here are some pictures of my simple jack plate. Took a couple minutes to install. Found the material at a local dock builder/welder. Cost 30$ , Stainless hardware was more expensive than the material.


is that 2" or 3" L , stainless or aluminum? what size motor did you run and did you have any flex? Thanks i may end up doing something like this but not quite so high.
 
JaxJonBoat said:
is that 2" or 3" L , stainless or aluminum? what size motor did you run and did you have any flex? Thanks i may end up doing something like this but not quite so high.

I don't have it around any longer to measure but I believe it was 1.5" x 3" L aluminum. Pickuped up a 3ft stick. Had them cut it in two for me. Had a 5hp two stroke yamaha. Absolutely no flex. Best part was that bend kept the motor from sliding off if it came lose. It can only be as strong as your transom. If you had a plate that spanned the weight and torque over a larger section of the transom it would be even more durable. Add a couple mounting holes and adjustments wouldn't be difficult. Trim can make the biggest difference in performance. In this case I was mounting a 20" shaft on a 15" transom.

nimmor said:
Is that something That came with the boat or are they add ons?

They were add on's. Think it cost me $45 a pod by my local welder. Trick is to find someone that does fair-good work for reasonable price. Some guys out there think their welds are gold.
 

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lovedr79 said:
$45 a pod? Are they welded or bolted to transom? I bees some for my boat but never fathomed it being that cheap.

They were welded which can be tricky as the skin on some of these boats are pretty thin as you can see some blow outs needed to be repaired. The fella that does my fab/welding has some pretty competitive pricing. It wasn't easy finding him. Used him a couple times now and he knows I'm cheaper than charlie. Keep coming back!
 

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sixgun86, you might want to consider using a bit longer bolt to attach the jack plate to the transom. You should have 1 1/2 threads minimum protruding past the end of the nut to ensure proper engagement. The self-locking feature of the nuts shown in your first picture aren't fully engaged and you could be in for a mishap.
 
Mojo^ said:
sixgun86, you might want to consider using a bit longer bolt to attach the jack plate to the transom. You should have 1 1/2 threads minimum protruding past the end of the nut to ensure proper engagement. The self-locking feature of the nuts shown in your first picture aren't fully engaged and you could be in for a mishap.


Good eye Mojo. In that pic I was just sizing everything up with them just taught, but think there was only 1/2 after tightened. Been awhile and that boat has a new home.
 
I'm getting ready to rebuild my transom and not 100% certain what level on the shaft is supposed to line up with the bottom of the boat.

CavitationPlate.jpg


Using this picture as a reference, would it be level A or B or somewhere in between?

If I were lucky enough to get on plane I'd guess level A to keep the water pump inlet under water, but if someone was to ask me to point to the cavitation plate... I would guess B.

Could someone please clarify?

Thanks
 
B should be level with the bottom of the boat for best performance, could go slightly higher but run the risk of the prop blowing out and starving the engine of water. Jack plate with its set back can allow for higher setting but each boat is different.
 

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