jack plate help

[phil7795]

Trying to decide bewteen a T H marine Z lock 8" jack plate or the Hydro Dynamics rapid jack 8". It is going on a 2000 Stratos 295 pro elite with a 2000 Evinrude ficht 200hp. Any help would be great. Oh yeah both are manual jack plates. With a 25" Renegade prop.

Thank you
Phil

[Eagle One]

I've sold and used Rapid Jacks for years. Good quality, Fast and simple to use and they hold up well. Can't beat a proven performer.

[nphilbro]

I mounted this CMC 6x6 jackplate on the back of my 20ft Glasply (very heavy boat) with my 1978 Evinrude 200hp and it was like I put studded snow tires on it. The response is instant and it will knock you right back into your seat. Even bumping from 3200-4000rpm the boat jumps at it.

I bought my jackplate on craigslist for $150 (new, never mounted) and it was like I just added $2000+ worth of performance mods. I get a drier plane at lower RPMs so the engine purrs at 3000rpms @ 32mph and I jumped from about 2 1/2 mpg to nearly 5 mpg. It also "seems" to ride much nicer in rough water but ocassionally wants to porpoise if I don't throttle and trim just right onto plane in rough water - but my boat has always had this tendency regardless of motor and it's much less now.

https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B0aOI4e0eBi1eW55RXZXYklwS0E


Before adding this plate I had tried nearly everything reasonble - doelfins (made performance awful in every aspect), raised the motor 2" above the transom (helped top end a bit - wetter plane), and every imaginable prop config (every increase in one aspect dramatically reduced another). It took an afternoon to get the setup tune in right with trips back to the dock for modifications after up and down test runs but now it's a nice blend of the best performance features I'm after: more efficient cruising, tight dry plane, more stable plane at slower speeds, prop holds in turns. What I didn't expect: whiplash inducing hole shot (awesome) and unknown top speed (before: 50mph, after: dropped back at 60mph even though I still had throttle and rpm left). Over the winter I'm going to prop up 2-4 degrees or try out a 4 blade prop to try for even better (hopefully) cruise efficiency is possible. I'm also only using a cheapo aluminum prop at the moment so I know the effect of SS will be amplified now.

I hope you can get similar results. It requires the better part of a day and a few props, a stop watch, gps speed and distance, a good tach, a torque wrench and 7/8" socket.

[TEXAS20225]

rapid jack is very hard to beat

[dnelson964]

Hydro dynamics rapid Jack is my vote.

I have used both on my boat. both will work but the Hydrodynamics has a nice ratchet set up so you know you have moved it up or down 1/4" each time without having to measure. Very durable also.