Need advice on using hydraulic jackplate

[dricha21]

I just purchased 03 stratus 201 with a 10 inch hyd jackplate. I have never used one and have never been in a boat that had one. What is the best procedure for using it? i assume you start with it the whole way down but then what? Trim it first, raise it some then trim it? I have no idea. My going balls to the walls days are long gone. I may get it going on an occasion when conditions are perfect just for a quick thrill but for the most part I will be driving at mid range speeds for best economy. It is a 20 footer with a yamaha 225 and 4 blade prop dont know the pitch just yet. Anyway i need some pointers. Thanks

[billius]

I had a hydraulic plate on the 2009 BCB CougarFTD I used to have. I seldom ever moved the plate. I did raise it some if I was going to have to take off in shallow water. I found the sweet spot for my boat and most of the time, just kept the plate in that position.

[jc2bg]

Agree with Billius. The two occasions when I most adjusted the hydraulic plate when I had one on a Z520 was to run the plate all the way down when I wanted to keep the nose of the boat as low as possible in rough waves on Erie and to run the plate as high as possible when either taking off in very skinny water or idling through stump fields. It’s very helpful to be able to raise the motor straight up with little to no trim when idling through shallow water with hidden obstacles, because running the trim up also raises the nose of the boat and lowers the stern, potentially getting you closer to those obstacles. To take off from shallow water, raise the plate fairly high [trial and error; was 13-14 on my Atlas gauge], punch it, and then lower the plate to the normal running position after it’s on plane. Unless you need to lower the jack plate to get in the garage, set the motor height to where it runs best somewhere in the middle of the jack plate travel, and just leave it there except in the cases mentioned above. You can​ use the plate to tweak for highest possible speed, but the gains are not earth-shaking, and if you don’t care, why bother.

[Dan21XRS]

When playing with height watch your water pressure gauge... Dan

[haus9393]

You will find an area where the boat runs best. Movement depends on the person using it. Some never touch it ever. Me for example I move mine a lot. With different loads and full tank vs empty tank of gas depends on if I run my bobs plate at 3” or 3.5” for speed I can gain around 1mph. Big water I drop it to 1”-2” and it gives me more bite. Full livewells I’ll raise it to help with hole shot and immediately drop it to 3” after to avoid a blow out. On days where I’m just cruising around in normal calmer conditions I barely will move it. Just leave it around 3” because that’s where my boat performs best and it’s good to go. If you don’t run wide open very much then you won’t get the full utilization of a hydraulic plate because that’s where I find it has the most benefit to the boat. Ofcourse you have the typical shallow water application which is what people have branded the hydraulic plate to. But I find big water applications and top end speed/ performance the number 1 reason to own a hydraulic plate.

[jhanson1114]

I move mine a lot also. Shallow or new launches I will move mine all the way up, so I don't have to trim so much and have more prop in the water. I do the same if I am going into shallow water. I adjust it for best performance depending on the load. I drop it when the water gets rough as well. Of course I raise it to take off in shallow water as well, but that is probably what I use it for the least.

[skennedy]

Since owning a hydraulic jack plate and that’s been 20 years plus now I have not damaged a prop . I fish ALOT . Learn to use it when your shallow . I always raise mine to the max when loading my boat back on the trailer . Figure out where your boats best topped end is at and you will always be a 1/4” plus or minus from there depending on the load for the day . Not all props run at the same heights so Hyd jack plates make short order when dialing in a different prop . They have so many advantages . Keep an eye on eng temp and water pressure when running high . Do not run it to high when running full throttle. Find what your center of prop shaft is in relation to the bottom of the pad BEFORE you start trying to run wide open . To high and you will be seeing where u just came from . Figure out where 3 to 3.5 “ is Prop shaft to center of Hull is before you start that is always a good place to start .
l

[willwork4fish]

First figure out where it runs best, hopefully you have a gauge. For instance I have a P2 with a Bobs, one mark under 3 is my sweet spot (with right in between 1/4 and 1/2 trim on the gauge) the vast majority of the time. I found that by starting with it all the way down, getting on plane, ballparking the trim and then raising it a mark or two at a time...do that until speed maxes out or you lose water pressure and then I bump it back down one mark...from there I played with the trim. The majority of the time when I'm running I leave it there unless it's rough out.

Rough water, I put it all the way down. Real shallow water takeoff I bring it up pretty high and then drop it as soon as I'm on plane (I don't have good pressure that high). Shallow water idling I bring it up pretty high so I don't have to trim as much.

[BMCD]

I would also jack it up when idling thru stump fields.

[Bkt1]

Jack it up in shallows, stumps, idling, ramps. Ill never own another boat with out it.

[alli ss]

when you actually want to use it for what it was intended get a stroker owner to show you how its done. you use trim to level your boat one way and the jackplate to bring it back the other way all while underway to get the most efficiency. most boats its not needed and will just be one more thing to rob you of efficiency and cause stress. 99% of boats do not need it except the guys who like to run them up for shallow water type stuff.

[316jughead]

Since owning a hydraulic jack plate and that’s been 20 years plus now I have not damaged a prop . I fish ALOT . Learn to use it when your shallow . I always raise mine to the max when loading my boat back on the trailer . Figure out where your boats best topped end is at and you will always be a 1/4” plus or minus from there depending on the load for the day . Not all props run at the same heights so Hyd jack plates make short order when dialing in a different prop . They have so many advantages . Keep an eye on eng temp and water pressure when running high . Do not run it to high when running full throttle. Find what your center of prop shaft is in relation to the bottom of the pad BEFORE you start trying to run wide open . To high and you will be seeing where u just came from . Figure out where 3 to 3.5 “ is Prop shaft to center of Hull is before you start that is always a good place to start .
l

I've run a hydraulic jack plate on all my boats since 1983. This is close to how I use mine. Depending on boat speed and trim angle just a bump, or two, up or down will dial it in for best performance.

[johnw91]

This may be a stupid question, but here it goes. When I trim my jackplate all the way down (bobs hydraulic) I get a lot better ride. Is this making it so more of the boat is in the water, or less? When you look over the side of the boat with the jackplate trimmed up, you see more water spray, but when it is down you see very little. Currently I take off at 2.5 for a better holeshot and then immediately drop it to zero. Is this normal for most people? I just had it installed about a month ago.

[alli ss]

Youre losing lift when you jack it up. Could be too high to start with or too much setback

[316jughead]

Depends on the trim angle, but most of the time lower results in more bow lift, less boat in the water. The hydraulic jack plate isn't something you move up and down a lot, when running on plane. Get your speed and trim angle set, just a bump or two up or down will tweak the boat set up, you will feel it when the boat is set just right. You don't want to throw a high rooster tail, only around two feet, this means that the prop is not over slipping and is holding water. For us guy's with cable steering, with a after market torque tab on the skeg, I can adjust the jack plate to take all of the torque off of the steering wheel, that's a good thing at wide open.