Does Anyone Remember...............

[specboatops]

This was probably 2 years or so ago, there is/was a regular on this board who use to own I think it was an AE-21 or something very close. He had posted a pic of it. What would stand out in your mind is he had 3 yes 3 jack plates bolted together on this rig and from what I can remember it ran quit well. I am trying to figure out who this was so I may ask him a couple of questions.
If any of you remember please give me a shout. My main question is what are the downfalls of bolting plate together ?? if your rig/transom are solid enough does this hurt/effect anything negatively. I currently have 2 bolted together and wanted to ask the question without being blown out of the water for asking.

Chris

[skidoo29]

I can't remember his name but I remember seeing it also

as for pros and cons.
3 setback plates I could understand although I would think that the stress on the bolts holding the plates together might not be good depending on how much set back there actually is
as for 3 jackplates, I would think it would almost be like running without solid mounts if you factor in any play in each of the 3 jackplates, never mind trying to lock the plates in position must be a pain, I would assume that they are manual plates and then again you would have to factor in any play in the locking mechanism.
to me it would become a safety concern if the plates moved even a little bit

just my thoughts though!

warren

[2fast4u2]

I don't see a need to have more then two setback units. Jackplates with 12 inch setback is common. Why you would need more then 24" set back on such a small boat is beyond me, but it may be possible. It that case I would have one custom fabbed. With the price of two good jack plates I think you could get a nice piece made up. IMHO, having three jackplates bolted together is just asking for something to happen...there is more to go wrong there.....

my 2 cents

Ryno
out

[tdogcarter]

From what I remember the only reason for the 3 jack plates on that particular boat was because they were setting up the hull and were planning on just getting a static plate to mount to the hydraulic plate. They were trying to figure out the exact setback amount to use after the hydraulic plate. This is what I remember from reading about it. Dialing in the boat.

Normally if you are not needing more than 12" of setback you would use 1 plate. Over 12" usually require 2 plates. 3 plates just seems like too many variables and when your running the higher numbers you don't want anything else to add to the danger or safety of other passengers.

[Tom D.]

Mike(at100plus) had a HST (I think) with 3 plates on it. I don't remeber why though. Maybe he'll chime in here.

Tom

[voo-doo_child]

Believe it was Mike (at100plus).

i'll dig up a picture.

[specboatops]

Mike(at100plus) had a HST (I think) with 3 plates on it. I don't remeber why though. Maybe he'll chime in here.

Tom

No way was I planning on three, my first jack plate is a manual @ 6" and the second was added after some engine modifications, it as well is a manual 6" plate, this was added on the builders suggestion ( engine builder ) my boat is heavy and he thought this may help the attitude of the boat. Thats where the jury is still out. The boat aired out very nicely before, now it rides very flat and it appears to not fly the bow very well, we droped the motor down a little and it seemed to help but not much time to dial things in as winter was approaching and it was time to put the boat up for winter. Now I'm torchered every time I look at my boat wondering what the right answer is and what to try for this boating season. The bottom line is it's NO race boat, but it is very nice and in extremely clean, I like keeping the I.O. guy's at bay and still hold my own with the would be river/lake hot dog. I can't begin to tell you all how much time I spend on here reading and trying to educate myself as much as I can. Eventually I hit a wall and need to ask what to do or for some good recommendations, as with many folks I'm on a tight budget juggling 2 boats
and thats why right now I have 2 plates bolted together rather than 1 10- 12" plate. SOOOOOO any thoughts or ideas are GREATLY appreciated.

Chris

[skidoo29]

what kind of boat do you have?

warren

[Hydrasports205]

Chris - what boat are you running? Can't remember...is it a champ? My sport runs great with 12", but I've got a hydraulic plate so that helps too. It's probably a much lighter boat than yours at about 1200lbs, but it runs flat w/o much +trim at all.

[specboatops]

Its a Gambler Stallion/SuperSport....I've heard it called both . Its basically a bass boat with a different cap, I want to guess my weight at around 1200lbs. as well, but thats only a guess. Super clean rig!!

[tdogcarter]

Chris,

The best thing to do is use two plates to get the correct amount of set back you feel your boat needs, then replace it with one plate of the proper size. At least if this would be under 12"

If over 12" then you normally have to get more than one plate. Best suggestion is dial the boat in with different set back amounts. Your engine builder can provide you with a few pieces of aluminum that will allow you to have basiacally an adjustable amount after the first 6" manual all the way back to your 12" you currently have. Going from 6" to 12" is a big step, maybe easier going from 6" to 8" with a simple 2" spacer plate, then from 6" to 10" with some aluminum pieces. Then to where you are now, so you can feel the difference.

Dialing in the boat is the main thing, and different props will run differently and the engine height will need to change.

Took awhile but my engine builder got the AE-21 running really good with about 13" of setback.

[Hydrasports205]

What's your gambler running right now? I've seen one of those b4 - pretty sweet boat.

[specboatops]

Trey, thanks I keep going back and forth on what I believe to be correct. I know how well the boat ran/aired out before and had seen it first hand as my father drove it past me so I could take a better look of the ride attitude of the boat, now unfortunately it plows threw the water ( though it is better than it was after initial set back ) and just doesn't feel right. We did drop the motor for fear we went to high, and this seemed to help but there's a LONG way to go, again just thinking out loud on what the right answer is. I am not running a surfacing prop at this time ( like I said its a heavy boat running a 26 Trophy)................

[Hydrasports205]

Chris, This may or may not help, but my rig runs a lot better with a tempest than a trophy. My rig doesn't need a lot of bow lift though....

[neveredge]

My friend has one of those with a Merc 260 on it. It has seen 87mph.

He has a stock CLE gearcase and he blows out so maybe it is even faster.


These boats need to run bow high in order to obtain best top speed. This is how they are designed. To much setback kills this on this boat. 3 blade round ear props like choppers , mazcos, and srx's are good choices for this boat. You need to get the bow up. There is a very pronounced JUMP when the boat starts to fly. If you are running it flat it will not lift correctly.




Best setup on these would be a 2 plates that equel 10" of setback with the second plate being hydrolic. The reason for 2 plates is that some single 10" plates actually put your gearcase deeper in the water flow than without the plate. You need to go up about half an inch for every inch you go back. 2 plates allows you to do this. Your transom is strong enough to handle it if it isn't damaged in anyway.


By the way, 1200 lbs. for this type of boat is not all that heavy. The 22 foot Gambler bass boats have a very similar hull and they weigh 1500+ lbs. and run 90 mph with a merc 300X.

A 300X would push your 20SS well over 100 mph.


These are great looking ski boats, post some pics!