2006 294 ProXL........Jackplate or No Jackplate.

[kytransplant]

I have a 294XL with a 200 Evinrude E-tec (not HO, its a small block), both 2006. My question is...is it worth it to put a jackplate on it. I'm currently running mid 60's and getting out of the hole ok. I have a 22 pitch rakerII prop, and bought it with a 24 (which took 50 yards to get out of the hole). Takes a couple seconds with just me and a couple extra seconds with a partner and extra gear.......plus or minus a few seconds with wind and current.

All that, what will I gain if I do go to a jack-plate and is it worth the $600+???? Any info would be greatly appreciated.

[Jason Phillips]

$600 is a little steep but yes you need the jackplate.

[21XDC]

8 inch rapidjack at 2.75 in below the pad 25-26 txp. Should run 72-75 Get pvs holes drilled. A tempest will also do well in a 25P

[ronald dement]

i have an 07 294 ,6inch jack plate 200 optimax 27 trophy 75 gps, you decide

[flukeman]

I have a 6" manual jack plate on mine and it only cost a couple hundred bucks through my dealer. $600 seems steep.

Jeff

[F150owner]

If you've got the most expensive engine on the back of that boat, why not spend $$ for the jackplate. It will allow you to tweak your setup to your liking. That boat should run in the low 70's at the minimum. You gain the ability to adjust the engine height for hole shot and top end speed. I'm gonna say you need a larger prop too, possibly a 25 Tempest to get the most out your boat. (as noted above)

[kytransplant]

I honestly didn't know what it was worth in comparison to other engines. I was getting 70's when the speedometer worked, but on gps fully loaded, it's 65. I always thought the jack-plates were more expensive, but it is California and they like to screw ya out here.

Another question, manual or hydraulic? Hydraulics obviously make for easier adjustment, but once you get it set, isn't it set for good?

[Jason Phillips]

The thing some of these posts aren't taking into consideration is your motor. They aren't reading the details of what you have. You have the small block E-TEC. You will not see those mid-70's numbers like they are posting. You will see around 70 with the right prop and right setup. You will not be turning those props that were suggested. That motor just doesn't have the torque and strength of the big block H.O.

But, the jackplate is still very beneficial and you should go for it. Just don't set your expectations too high based off of these posts.

[greeneboat]

We've had several customers in the past year with 2006 294s go with the 6" manual jackplate and none have regretted it. It will improve your hole shot and top end speed. Shop around, however, $600 is too much for the job.

Andy Greene
Greene Boat & Motor

[kytransplant]

Thanks fellas, appreciate all the info!

[MD 20i]

i got a 8 inch Hydro on my 294 EVO

[JR19]

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 1niceStratos &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">The thing some of these posts aren't taking into consideration is your motor. They aren't reading the details of what you have. You have the small block E-TEC. You will not see those mid-70's numbers like they are posting. You will see around 70 with the right prop and right setup. You will not be turning those props that were suggested. That motor just doesn't have the torque and strength of the big block H.O.

But, the jackplate is still very beneficial and you should go for it. Just don't set your expectations too high based off of these posts.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Very true Jason...that is exactly what I was thinking. The small block 200 is a good motor but it does not make the horse power that the big block 200HO has. Any boat with a motor over 115 horsepower will see benefits in having a jackplate. You can fine tune your motor height and find the best setting for hole shot and top end. If you have any chine walk you can find the motor height for the best wide open throttle driving.

There are a lot of variables that factor into a well set up rig. Some things that were not mentioned in the original post are...how many RPMs did the 22 Raker and 24 Raker turn and how much water pressure did the motor have. You will need to know the max RPM that your motor can turn and the minimum amount of water pressure you need for wide open throttle. If you are looking for speed DO NOT trust the speedometer. Very few boat speedometers are accurate to within 1-2 mph. I have seen some that were off 8-9 mph. If you want an accurate speed a GPS is a must.

A manual jackplate installed buy a dealer is a lot less than $600...find another price quote

[kytransplant]

Right on! I'm getting 65mph with my gps. I'm going to call the dealer today.

However, I've heard the the rooster tail should be even with the top of the motor at full throttle, any truth or is just personal preference? I see quite a few bass boats and some spit up 10' of rooster and some don't. Just curious.

Also, one dealer says 6" and the other is saying 10", split the difference with 8"....Geez! What to do. Dealer up north wants 5 bills, Central Dealer wants $550, plus could be $250 if the cables don't reach. All for a manual jack-plate...installed. Dealer up north uses "glide-master" and not sure what brand central dealer uses.


Modified by kytransplant at 11:21 AM 1/22/2009

[Jason Phillips]

Performance comes by the motor spinning the prop which in turn pushes the water behind the boat propelling it forward. If you have a prop pushing water up into the air (high rooster tail) you are losing thrust. You want the top of the rooster tail about even with the cowling to get the most beneficial thrust you can. It's for performance reasons and not just personal preference.

You cannot put a 10" plate on your boat without voiding the warranty. 8" is the max allowed per Stratos. I've ran both on my 201 (6" and then added spacers to get 8") and didn't see a noticeable performance increase/decrease.

Go with a 6" and you should not have to worry about buying anything else. The steering will reach fine and you'll still get a performance increase over not having a plate.

[Flipping57]

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 1niceStratos &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Performance comes by the motor spinning the prop which in turn pushes the water behind the boat propelling it forward. If you have a prop pushing water up into the air (high rooster tail) you are losing thrust. You want the top of the rooster tail about even with the cowling to get the most beneficial thrust you can. It's for performance reasons and not just personal preference.</TD></TR></TABLE>

And this is with the boat running WOT.

Some of the high rooster tails you see are with the boat running at cruising speed trimed all the way up.

[flukeman]

You could buy the jack plate and install it yourself, its not hard.