Jackplate/Motor Mount issue

I have a 1986 Proline 23 with an aluminum jack plate/motor mount. Two issues. #1 is the tech at my marina said the motor needs to be lifted an inch or so... he said not only would it perform better I would save a ton on gas... Problem for number one... this jack plate is bolted to the transom with 6 bolts on each side. If I raise the plate I will have to fill the old holes and drill 12 more holes in my transom.... that I am not comfortable with. seems like it would weaken the transom. also the motor itself can not be lifted its mounted as high as it will go so i would have to lift the jack plate. THOUGHTS? #2 Issue which I will post photos of. The botom of my jack plate has about an 1 1/2" gap between the back of the transom and the bottom of the jack plate. This to me seems like a problem. I understand the gap is there to allow the water to flow out of the jack plate but to me with it being that large of a gap it seems like it would create a ton of drag. also the ding bats that mounted the jack plate did in fact mount it too low on the transom because on both ends there is about a inch that hangs below the botom of the boat... What do I do? would it be safe to say I could just grind the low hanging ends off making it flush with the bottom? Do I raise the jackplate? Please Help...

http://i1061.photobucket.com/albums/t480/ChumSlick/2012-09-18095325.png

http://i1061.photobucket.com/albums/t480/ChumSlick/2012-09-18095401.png

Re: Jackplate/Motor Mount issue

hudson20227 said:

I have a 1986 Proline 23 with an aluminum jack plate/motor mount. Two issues. #1 is the tech at my marina said the motor needs to be lifted an inch or so... he said not only would it perform better I would save a ton on gas... Problem for number one... this jack plate is bolted to the transom with 6 bolts on each side. If I raise the plate I will have to fill the old holes and drill 12 more holes in my transom.... that I am not comfortable with. seems like it would weaken the transom. also the motor itself can not be lifted its mounted as high as it will go so i would have to lift the jack plate. THOUGHTS? #2 Issue which I will post photos of. The botom of my jack plate has about an 1 1/2" gap between the back of the transom and the bottom of the jack plate. This to me seems like a problem. I understand the gap is there to allow the water to flow out of the jack plate but to me with it being that large of a gap it seems like it would create a ton of drag. also the ding bats that mounted the jack plate did in fact mount it too low on the transom because on both ends there is about a inch that hangs below the botom of the boat... What do I do? would it be safe to say I could just grind the low hanging ends off making it flush with the bottom? Do I raise the jackplate? Please Help...

http://i1061.photobucket.com/albums/t480/ChumSlick/2012-09-18095325.png

http://i1061.photobucket.com/albums/t480/ChumSlick/2012-09-18095401.png

Click to expand...

Ayuh,.... Move it Up where it oughta be, 'n issue #2 disappears, completely...

Re: Jackplate/Motor Mount issue

No concerns with filling the 12 existing holes and redrilling? How do I do That just penut butter them? I could assume that if I lift it up 1 hole I could just fill that but the holes are a good 3" apart and I dont want to lift it too high.... http://i1061.photobucket.com/albums/t480/ChumSlick/20120417_112343.jpg

If you zoom in on the picture you may be able to see what I am talking about. How can I tell how much I can lift the jack plate so the motor is not too high?

Re: Jackplate/Motor Mount issue

hudson20227 said:

No concerns with filling the 12 existing holes and redrilling? How do I do That just penut butter them? I could assume that if I lift it up 1 hole I could just fill that but the holes are a good 3" apart and I dont want to lift it too high.... http://i1061.photobucket.com/albums/t480/ChumSlick/20120417_112343.jpg

If you zoom in on the picture you may be able to see what I am talking about. How can I tell how much I can lift the jack plate so the motor is not too high?

Click to expand...

Ayuh,... Yer picture won't load,....

Is this a jack plate, or solid set-back plate,..??

If a jack plate, how much travel does it have,..??

Just How to Low is it now,..?? how high do ya Need to raise it,..??

Re: Jackplate/Motor Mount issue

Re: Jackplate/Motor Mount issue

its a solid set back plate. I can see the photo of it... not sure why it wont load for ya. the setback plate is mounted at the very botom infact the two corners are below the botom about an inch and a half.

Re: Jackplate/Motor Mount issue

Bond-o said:

Ayuh,... Yer picture won't load,....

Is this a jack plate, or solid set-back plate,..??

If a jack plate, how much travel does it have,..??

Just How to Low is it now,..?? how high do ya Need to raise it,..??

Click to expand...

See above for how low it is... as far as how high do I need to raise it I have no idea.... the tech at the marina said a couple of inches. I have concer with filling the existing holes and drilling new ones. Wont that weaken my transom?

Re: Jackplate/Motor Mount issue

Uhhmmm that's not what I call a Jack Plate. Tha's what I call a Pod. This is what I call a Jack Plate.

You could use this on the back of your pod and this would allow you to "Jack" the motor up and adjust it's height to where you need it. Here's some plans on how to make your own...http://www.dillon-racing.com/jackplate/plans/jack-plate-page-01.htm

Re: Jackplate/Motor Mount issue

You are correct its not an actual jack plate but I wasnt sure what it actually was calld so... I think the issue I am having is being over looked. Go back up to the top of the thread. The setback plate/pod is whats mounted too low. If you look at the above photos there is a 1 1/2" gap between the pod and the transom which to me would scoop water while running and create drag. Also the two botom corners of the pod hang about 1 1/2" below the bottom of the boat that would create a little drag. The tech at the marina did say the motor needs to be lifted an inch or to and said it would save me a lot on gas. but lifting the pod is the answer or just bolting her up tight and grinding the two bottom corners off to eliminate the drag and leaving everything where it is. I did have one reply that said to just do it correctly and lift the pod. in which I agree. My only concern is the pod is mounted to the transom with 6 bolts on each side. Seems to me filling those holes and drilling 12 more holes would weaken the transom. If yall think its ok to do that the how do I feel the holes? "P-nut butter"? if I lift it up just one bolt hole and fill in the bottom bolt hole that will be about a 3" lift not a 1 or 2 " lift. and didnt know if that would be too much.

Re: Jackplate/Motor Mount issue

Ok, I'm a bit "SLOW" but I finaly unnerstan your sitcheeaychun!!!!! Sooo... these bolt holes... have a 3" spacing and lifting the "Pod" by on hole would be double the lift that you need. Drilling between them is worrisome due to weakening the transom. GOT IT!!! The main force is on the Top and bottom bolts. A Backer Bar made from angle iron could be installed inside the transom to assist in carrying the load and a large 1/4" aluminum plate could do the same for the outside. IMHO filling the holes with PB and using the Bar and Plate would get the job done.
But Hey, I'm just an...

Re: Jackplate/Motor Mount issue

Why not go with a power jackplate to move the motor up or down as needed????

Re: Jackplate/Motor Mount issue

I'm not familiar with your specific boat, but this pix:


appears to show a slight crown in the transom. Even if it's only slightly curved, a square pod will likely never fit snug to the transom no matter how high you lift the pod. BTW: It looks like the white pod was mounted flush up to the blue stripe on the boat. Even steven, form over function. The visual look of mounting the plate up an inch or so, was just off enough to have someone decide to mount the white pod just on the white gelcoat :facepalm:

Even w/ a jack plate & a set-back pod, the place to start adjustments up & down on the transom, to find ideal elevation, is still to try & keep the anti-cavitation (anti-ventilation) plate roughly even w/ the keel:


Correct?

Then raise or lower as needed to find the 'right' spot.... Is that <<< still correct for a pod mounted OB?

If it is, and the transom is SUPPOSED to have that slight curve, I'd suggest you remove the low hanging corners, chamfer smooth any sharp, cut edges & leave the pod where it is. No extra holes thru the transom. If you are confident you can remove the corners & not damage the underlying fiberglass, I'd try to remove the corners while the pod is still bolted to the boat. I would probably try to confirm that transom is supposed to have that curve, and that the pod is correctly installed & you don't currently have any problems w/ it's mounting &/or the transom.

If the pod is securely & correctly fastened, you can clip off those low corners, and there still needs to be some adjustment to the height of the anti-cavitation plate, you may be able to add the power jack plate or have 1 made like suggested above. Drilling new holes thru the motor mount on the pod is an option but if you raise it too much or not enough you'll be in the same place: having too many holes drilled thru the mount to adequately support the motor. The holes would just be in the pod not in the transom...

But again, I am not familiar w/ your boat, the pod, it's mounting or your motor & it's mounting. Just observations based on the info in the posts above For the above purposes I use Anti-cav & anti-vent interchangeable. Correct, perhaps not... Hope some of this ^^^ helps....

Re: Jackplate/Motor Mount issue

Don't worry about it being strong enough after drilling more holes (you will only need one), it will be fine.

Pull it off and move it up one hole, if it looks good there give it a try, worst case you need to move it up one more hole. If any part of it still hangs down under the hull just cut that part off.

If they did this bad of a job mounting it I would expect you will find other issues as you take it off to raise it, which means you should check everything they did whether you move it or not.