Manual jack plate adjustment

[Bassnailer]

I picked up a used jack plate several years ago which was on a Gambler bass boat. The jack plate is 5 1/2 inches and I've added an additional 2 1/2 inches for a total of 8 inches of setback. The plate has Gambler embossed on the sides, however, it appears to be very similar to the CMC jack plate in form and function, possibly made by CMC for Gambler (perhaps someone might be able to confirm this). It has two large bolts on each side which hold the two plate haves together, and a threaded rod that runs up through the center for adjustment. The threaded rod has doubled nuts on the bottom, which you turn to raise and lower the motor. This has always been a pain to adjust on the water, dangling precariously off the transom with a wrench to make adjustments. The threaded rod comes up quite high, so I bought a couple stainless steel nuts to double nut the top of the rod also. I can now use the wrench on the top for adjustments, without having to dangle off the back of the boat. I can't imagine it would make much difference turning from the top as opposed to the bottom, but thought I would post in case I'm missing something here. Also, since I bought the plate used, I never got any instructions with it. I'm assuming the large bolts pictured on the sides of the plate need to be torqued down, but I'm not sure. I've always ran it torqued down, but was curious if this is strictly necessary. It would be a lot easier to make incremental adjustments to get my set up just right, if I could just leave the side bolts slightly loose between runs, and just lock it down once I get it where I want it. Is there any problem with this? Thanks for any input or opinions on the matter.

[terry5357]

I don’t think leaving those bolts loose would be a good idea. Just my thoughts

[Al from Canada]

Once you've adjusted the jackplate then you'd need to tighten up the side bolts. If you need to adjust again, you're loosen the side bolts, make your adjustment, then tighten them back up.

[Bass Junkie]

Once you've adjusted the jackplate then you'd need to tighten up the side bolts. If you need to adjust again, you're loosen the side bolts, make your adjustment, then tighten them back up.

This ^^

[Bassnailer]

I went to CMC's website, and found a manual for their jack plate which included detailed drawings. The measurements matched mine exactly, so I'm pretty certain now it is a CMC.



In addition, the Manual jack plate and hydraulic jack plate also appear identical, with the exception of the one piece hydraulic actuator, which can be purchased separately for a bit under $400.



So, I'll get it dialed in with the way it is now, locking down the side bolts in between runs, but I am seriously considering buying the actuator and converting this thing to the power lift jack plate.