Jack Plate

Chobeemauga · Dec 17, 2021

So I have been thinking about adding a jack plate. The motor is off for my transom replacement. I can a solid 58 with me and a full load of gear and fuel.
Questions:
1) Will I have enough steering cable on 93 180TF for 6 or 8 inch plate?
2) The benefits of raising and lowering the outboard for conditions aside will gain any speed or other performance?
3) I have some options to rerout my existing cables to get them better aligned for the plate. Even cutting a new hole in the deck cap to bring them out the back instead of at the splash well. Any one done this? Any pictures would be appreciated.

Starbanker · Dec 28, 2021

With a hydraulic jackplate you can lift motor rather than tilt it in shallow water and when putting it back on the trailer. You have more directional control, which is especially handy when it is windy. Moving the motor away from the stern also works like increasing the wheelbase of a car giving you a smoother ride. It also allows for a lot more motor/boat geometries for less typical water conditions. I feel that the increased weight is more than offset by performance gains. I use lithium batteries so weight-wise it was a wash. My top speed on gps was 67mph, but I haven't reached the actual top speed yet. That was the speed my experience said was good enough for now with only 15 hours with the new boat.

Allen Dronsfield · Dec 29, 2021

I have an Atlas hydraulic jackplate, I replaced the manual with it. It does provide you with options not achieved with a manual. As mentioned raising and lowering in shallow water conditions is one. I have not found it beneficial in increasing speed, it certainly puts a lot of emphasis on hole shots, my 225 ProXS hole shot on this Z20 Pro is incredible, it nearly comes out on a plane. My biggest dilemma is the chine walk, it begins at 67, this boat was test driven at 78 mph according to the dealer. I have moved weight around in the boat to better balance it. Still 67 mph on the gps is the line in the sand. After contacting KVD I still have not been able to drive through it as was stated. A twitch of the steering wheel does not seem to help much when trying to drive through the walking. I am learning to just deal with what I have and safely handle the boat. Hydraulic is a benefit for sure..

jerry shack · Dec 29, 2021

Chobeemuaga said:
So I have been thinking about adding a jack plate. The motor is off for my transom replacement. I can a solid 58 with me and a full load of gear and fuel.
Questions:
1) Will I have enough steering cable on 93 180TF for 6 or 8 inch plate?
2) The benefits of raising and lowering the outboard for conditions aside will gain any speed or other performance?
3) I have some options to rerout my existing cables to get them better aligned for the plate. Even cutting a new hole in the deck cap to bring them out the back instead of at the splash well. Any one done this? Any pictures would be appreciated.

(1) first I would invest in hyd. steering because that's where you will end up any way. A lot more boat control and safety.
(2) having a jack plate is like having power tilt and trim once you have one you can't be with out it. Way versatile for a lot of things from running in shallow water to getting up in shallow water. for top end speed just bumping the jack plate up a 1/4" at a time can mean the hitting sweet spot. Also in rough water running putting the jack plate high and the bow down a bit will make a for a easier ride.
(3) You won't have to cut any more of the deck with the 2 hyd. hoses and you should have plenty of main wiring harness for a 10" jack plate however your control cables might have to be about a foot or so longer, so if you are going to get a longer control cable might as well get a hot foot while your at it. It never ends.

Chobeemauga · Dec 30, 2021

Allen Dronsfield said:
I have an Atlas hydraulic jackplate, I replaced the manual with it. It does provide you with options not achieved with a manual. As mentioned raising and lowering in shallow water conditions is one. I have not found it beneficial in increasing speed, it certainly puts a lot of emphasis on hole shots, my 225 ProXS hole shot on this Z20 Pro is incredible, it nearly comes out on a plane. My biggest dilemma is the chine walk, it begins at 67, this boat was test driven at 78 mph according to the dealer. I have moved weight around in the boat to better balance it. Still 67 mph on the gps is the line in the sand. After contacting KVD I still have not been able to drive through it as was stated. A twitch of the steering wheel does not seem to help much when trying to drive through the walking. I am learning to just deal with what I have and safely handle the boat. Hydraulic is a benefit for sure..

What Hydraulic system would you recommend? I have been looking at the Seastar.

jerry shack · Dec 30, 2021

Chobeemuaga said:
What Hydraulic system would you recommend? I have been looking at the Seastar.

Seastar is the best, the h/p is up to 300 however they do make one called Baystar which is good for up to 150 h/p and is a little easier on the pocket book. That's if you don't plane on going more then 150h/p later. There are others like Uflex and ProMarine

Mercrodder · Dec 30, 2021

6 Seastar and Uflex both make great hydraulic steering, I prefer the Uflex. The ram has a better end gland seal, 5 seals instead of 2, we replace quite a few end glands or caps on the seastar product. The Uflex also has a better tiller attachment, the top plate on the seastar will wear the bushings out after a couple seasons and leave you with some play in the steering, the Uflex has a pretty solid attacing arm and have not had to replace one yet. My favorite setup is a mix of the two, I run a Seastar pro helm with a Uflex Silversteer ram, its super solid at speed, easy to turn and the feel is really good, but its a little overkill if the boat is not running over 65mph. As far as the jackplate I would not go over 6 inches, on an 18 foot boat. Any more and its hard to get the shorter boats to keep the bow level in rough water. I tried 8 and 10 on my savage 896 and it handled awful. 6 inches will give you some performance gains and also keep the handling good.