Transom Elevator???? Any advice??

[coach44]

I have a flat bottom 1440. It is real good boat, but I do a lot of trout fishing out of it in the nearby river where the water level is controlled by the dam. Sometimes the water is up, but a lot of times the water is lower, not too low to motor, but low enough that occasionally my motor will hit a rock (the river bottom is all rock). I am looking at options for raising my motor just a couple of inches would make a huge difference. Does anyone have any experience making a homemade transom elevator? I have seen some advertised online for $200, and I am in no place to spend that kind of money. I would like to put something very stable on my boat, but do not want to spend a lot of money. Thanks for any help!!

 

[Chris's CVX16]

Re: Transom Elevator???? Any advice??

For what it's worth try and find a used or surplus jack plate. I got a CMC 5 1/2" set back manual jack plate on eBay a year ago for about 50% retail price. You can also find fixed height jack plates for less than the adjustable one piece design I got. Safety is your biggest concern.

 

[ondarvr]

Re: Transom Elevator???? Any advice??

You can typically raise the motor an inch or so with no modifications, just raise it until the clamping screw is near the top of the transom. You can place a small piece of wood on top of the transom to act as a spacer and hold the motor in the correct place while tightening the clamping screws.

 

[coach44]

Re: Transom Elevator???? Any advice??

I like the idea of raising the motor up where it attaches to the transom. Sometimes the things that the easiest fixes are the things that are obvious but somehow get overlooked. I think that I could probably raise mine about 2 1/2 inches. I feel that this would be enough. I will try it out and see. thanks!

 

[lckstckn2smknbrls]

Re: Transom Elevator???? Any advice??

I have a TH Marine mini jacker and a Mac's river runner.