My current situation has me thinking about a jack plate for my Silver King. Our boat dock is tucked back in a 1/4 mile flat that’s mostly a foot deep. Low tide is around 0600 and high around 1200. Who wants to fish summer at noon?? Not this guy. At low I can get out with the trolling motor which takes about 30 minutes. What are my realistic expectations running a jack plate on a non-tunnel hull?? Will I be able to jack it all the way up at idle for sketchy situations like I’m facing now? Not sure I will see any benefits of a compression plate and cup’d prop with this hull. Let me know your ideas on this. Thanks!!
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Yes, a jack plate will allow you to raise the engine vertically to idle away from your dock and still maintain water flow to the engine.
A plate is also useful for optimum performance underway, including running shallower, better fuel economy and to keep from damaging the sea bottom. With a few design exceptions, a jack plate is an essential accessory for shallow water operation. Yes, they aren’t cheap and require some maintenance. The weight is not a significant factor if the skiff/boat is loaded properly. But the trade-off is well worth it, IMO.
I had one on my Silver King and used it constantly to ease on and off the flats on changing tides.
The best option will be a Hull Marine Products plate when they are in full production (hopefully by fall). The current model is rated for up to 115 hp. A Bob’s should fit your transom as well.
I would not recommend an Atlas.
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Awesome @Zika!! Especially with your experience running one on a silver king. HMP is on the top of my list. Sounds like @Smackdaddy53 is going to keep me updated on production. I’m in no hurry and don’t mind the wait for a quality piece.
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I will be working with HMP on publicity once production starts. I’ll post the press release here along with my marine media list.
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@Birdyshooter Tyler and I actually did some prototype testing with his plate on my skiff, that must have been back in 2022. Sure it’s great to make small adjustments while running, but for my needs, I found it most useful when idling in shallow water like the situation you’re describing. Looking forward to getting my hands on one once they’re being produced.
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I’m pretty confident that 99% of the time it will be a slow idle. I know of some extended flats that I could open it up on, but that’s a rare occasion here in NC.
I’d just slap a Bobs on it and roll for a jackplate on that hull.
Mud flat? Tabs down a bit, trim up, put her on plane and run it.
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That’s my usual MO. Tabs and trim, but I want to be like the cool kids. I’ll pick up a Nano once they come on market.
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Ok, not being an idiot… but what does a jack plate offer that trimming the motor up doesn’t?
I am genuinely interested in knowing the benefits.
I have a couple spots with outstanding fishing if you can navigate a shallow bar and then a gauntlet of oysters to get back to the good waters.
I come off plane, trim up, and idle in.
As long as the motor is peeing, I am happy. What difference would a jack plate make?
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It’ll help you travel with a more level approach. When you tilt up, you’re basically forcing the stern down and the bow up. If you have tabs, you can kinda offset this. But when at idle speeds, your tabs aren’t doing much. Being able to rise the motor vertically with a jack plate will allow a more proper approach.
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Not all hull designs will benefit like a true tunnel hull will. Mine being a flat back transom will not see much benefit wide open because the water column isn’t forced up above the bottom of the transom. But at idle speeds I might be able to rise the motor enough to motor through 1’ flats without bottoming out.
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Nothing to add except.. Yes.
My actuator broke on my JP, and man was I missing it yesterday, exactly for the reason you mention.
Had to pole, against wind for a couple hundred yards, then it finally got deep enough that I could use the “shallow water” tilt for the next 2 miles.
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When you’re idling with the outboard tilted way up with the thrust directed downward you lose a lot of steering control; when the wind’s blowing it becomes very difficult to steer around those oysters. With the outboard raised up on the jack plate and the thrust pushing you forward you have considerably more control. Steering corrections are a joke when you’re tilted way up. With most non-tunnel hulls you’ll still need to trim up a bit to idle really shallow, but it’s not nearly as bad as using the tilt with the outboard all the way down.
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I’ve had a Bob’s hydraulic with 4” setback for probably 25 years on my silver king, it made all the difference in the world. My only problem was the poling platform was too short, I just had an exact copy made but several inches taller.
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