Re: trolling plate for 50hp is this ok?
I'm with Bman, it looks too far back. The prop can easily shoot water past the plate and reduce it's effectiveness. I have my Troll-a-Matic mounted almost even with the back end of the anti-cav plate, probably 6" back from the prop and it works well.
I'd remove the screw eyes from the mounting arms, slide the plate forward, bolt down the arms, then drill through the anti-cav plate to reattach the screw eyes. Though,,, I don't know if this is possible with the design of the arms. Is that plate supposed to be mounted to the bottom side of the anti-cav plate? Mine is mounted to the bottom of the anti-cav plate.
The plate I have is spring loaded like yours. I like it as I don't have to worry about raising the plate while powering up to planing speed. The locking plates can bend/break if you forget to raise them. The downside to a spring loaded plate:
1- Reverse steering is lessened, you get used to it
2- The spring loaded plate might not be as effective as a locking plate since the prop can push the plate up. Mine rides at an angle at idle speeds, but I have a 140HP I/O