16' Jon Boat rebuild- motor sits too far out of the water

[lance129]

I recently got a 16' jon boat with a trailer, then purchased a 1995 20 hp Johnson to put on it. the boat is just an empty shell right now but im putting a large deck in the back and front as well as a livewell, radio, etc... but i wated to make sure the boat doesnt leak first. i took her out for her maiden voyage this morning and the boat was dry, and the motor ran great, BUT the motor doesnt sit deep enough in the water so when i start to take off to get on a plane the motor just cavitates and revs up... i guess im just looking for some ideas how i could get the motor to sit lower in the water. one idea i had was to cut out a section of the transom? but i dont want to weaken it too much... do they make like the opposite of a jack plate to make it sit lower? just looking for a cheap but good way to do this without having to get rid of the motor.

thanks!

 

[Cadwelder]

Re: 16' Jon Boat rebuild- motor sits too far out of the water

I've seen transoms cut out to allow for a short shaft outboard, but I'm not a fan of doing that at all. The correct answer is the proper lenth shaft on the outboard.

A jack plate does allow for up and down adjustment but I've never seen one on a jon boat and wouldn't recommend that either.

The problem I've seen with just rigging up somthing to lower the ourboard (with a plate or somthing) is it gets too low to clear the top of the transom and you run into other clearance problems.

Not what you wanted to hear, I'm sure, but I'd recommend hitting the papers and finding the proper outboard, you can always sell the one you have, and hopefully come out okay.

CW

 

[lance129]

Re: 16' Jon Boat rebuild- motor sits too far out of the water

Thanks for the advice! But i actually ended up cutting a section out of the transom the other night and it came out pretty darn good if i must say so myself! I was very hesitant to do it knowing i had one shot at it but with the help of my "handy-man" neighbor we knocked it out no problem and its still very sturdy and well supported. We ended up taking about 5" out of it.