jack plates

[dpage70]

first time bass boat owner here so i'm not very knowledgeable on jack plates. my boat is sort of an older one an '85 procraft 17 1/2' with a 150 merc on it. very heavy old thing 1700 lbs w/o motor. it'll about 50 mph with 2 people and full of gear. are there any experts out there that give somewhat of a good guess at how many mph i'll gain from a jack plate? thanks

[HoosierDon]

I put a 6" setback jack plate on my 04 stratos. I got maybe a couple of mph but the improvement in handling and performance is just unbelievable. I would recommend it highly. But don't expect a big spurt in speed.....

[buzzking]

don nailed it, speed difference will not be more than 5 mph if any at all, but GPH, handling, everything, will be much better

[MarkW]

I would suggest talking to anybody that knows more about your particular boat and they could possibly give you a more definite answer. Jack plates usually help any boat they are put on, but the real key is to find the right size set-back and what bolt holes to mount your engine in. Jack plates range in different sizes I think from about 4-6" all the way to 14" Seems the most common ones are the 6's,10's and 12's. Some may even hurt your performance. Maybe you can go to www.bassboatcentral.com and find the "owners" section and go to your boat brand and see what other people have used and that would be your best place to start.

[mattplapp]

Don't do it. With that old of a boat you are asking for trouble. If you looking for more speed, I would upgrade to another boat. There's not a whole lot I would advise someone on with a boat that age.

Matt Plapp

[PRO V LE]

>Don't do it. With that
>old of a boat you
>are asking for trouble.
>If you looking for more
>speed, I would upgrade to
>another boat. There's not
>a whole lot I would
>advise someone on with a
>boat that age.
>
>Matt Plapp

[PRO V LE]

You guy's do'nt get it a boat that old will almost for sure have a weak transom. Have a couple of you're buddies grab the skeg on the motor while it's tilt'ed up and have them lift up and down a few times while you watch the transom.
If that did'nt scare you put the jack plate on and repeat test.
Hopefully on dry land:)

[buzzking]

that is some good advise to heed on an older boat, but there is always an exception to the rule. just have someone check your transom out. I put a 4" on a 1980 boat and ran it for 3 years before i sold it, no problems, but the transom was good when i got it. also it was on a smaller motor so i didnt have the wieght of a 150

[Rowdy]

I'm not putting down your boat but I know of 3 pro craft boats freinds have ,They broke the transom out with 150's on them?

Rowdy

[dpage70]

the transom is great actually. i had it checked out before i bought the boat and the mechanic couldnt believe it was in that good of shape. it was taken care of in a big way. thanks for the advice though.