Help, what is a jack plate?

[dbltap]

New to boating and am looking for my first bass boat. One thing I keep seeing and am not sure what it is, is the jack plate. I see some boats that list jack plate and some list manual jack plate. Is that different from the power trim unit? I was on a rental boat last year and we could lift the motor when we were in the shallows by just pushing a button. I assume that would be and electric motor driven hydraulic lift also used when trailering.

Thanks

[bamabassman]

that's an electric jackplate. regular one just don't have power attached to it.if your boat don't have power trim (meaning you have to man handle the motor to raise it up), some folks use an electric jackplate for trimming. others,like me, already have a power trim, the jackplate is attached to the motor which is attached to the boat. helps on holeshot and plaining.

did i get this right gang? lol.

[Bender]

Sort of, the jackplate adds setback for the motor, allowing it to run in less turbulent water and giving you better holeshot and top end. A power jackplate lets you raise and lower the motor straight up and down while a manual one lets you make the adjustment manually with a wrench.
Here is a manual one:

It is basically just a spacer that goes between the transom and the motor. Raising and lowering the motor is required to find the best performance. A power one is the same as the one in the picture but uses a hydraulic cylinder to raise/lower it so you can adjust it while going down the lake. It also lets you raise the motor up when in shallow water.
The power tilt/trim is what lets you pivot the motor up and down.

[bamabassman]

thank you bender, i knew i wasn't doing it accuratly. i ain't mad, just wanted to get him the BEST info out there. thanks for clearing it up for me.

[zooker]

a button that tilts the moter is the tilt trim. a standard hydrolic jack plate ya hit a lever which normally resembles a turn signal lever..which raise the moter straight up or straight down..a manual jack plate requires you to loosen 4 bolts and turn 1 more either up or down..this jack plate is seen above in benders post..90% of the bigger horse powered bass boats made since 1980 have a tilt trim.. the older models have a trim tilt-differant beast-

a jack plate raises the moter to keep it from hitting in shallow water.. jack plates were first designed for salt water flats fishing.it migrated over to bass fishing boats -allison boats-where it was discovered to seriously increase the amount of speed you could achive with your moter..

zooker

[bamabassman]

see? i just KNEW that some better educated folks would pick up where i left you going in circles. i ain't no boat expert by NO means. but these guys hit it on the nails HEAD. thanks zooker and bender. now tell him him which he needs the most please.

[boater]

Not sure how much hydrolic jack plates help unless you are the Fanatic that wants a setting for playing,one for fishing tourniments,one for a 4 blade prop, and a 3 blade.And then you would have to have each marked on the gauage or etched in your brain.I have searched for the sweet spot on my XB 2003 since I got it,tried different props. and am close running low 90's but for the average fisherman a jack plate is good to get you out of dirty tourbulant water buy it is seldom moved after finding the sweet spot unless a major factor in the equation is changed and most will not notice that much difference .A manual can be set and marked for these equations and moved accordingly.Just my.02

[zooker]

i tend to agree with ya boater up to a point. most of the guys here are not running hi po rides such as that touch beast you are...

zooker

[dbltap]

My concerns are the ability to get back into the shallows. I don't want to have to mess with wrenches just to go into a sweet looking cove. If the power trim moves the motor enough then that's all I'm looking for. I can't afford a high end rig anyway. Someday I'll have a rig that will take off my hair but by then I'll probably not have any hair left.

Thanks for the info.

[bamabassman]

do you have a power trim on yer rig? if so, that is all you need for da skinny water. raise up the motor and troll as far as you can.

[dantatro49]

A jackplate is for changing the height of the motor and with different sizes you get different set backs. The hydraulic jackplate is easier because you can change the height of the motor from your seat unlike the normal one where you have to get out a few wrenches and sockets. The hyfraulic jackplate is going to cost alot more than the basic jackplate. It doesnt really have anything to with the trim on motor.

[dbltap]

I'm currently looking for my first boat and all the ads I'm looking at list different types of jack plates. Just looking for info on what it did and my concerns with trolling clearance.
I got a good idea on the subject now.

Thanks

dbltap

[boater]

for shallows I just trim mine up and put on
through it is not what the jack plate is ussually used for

[Captmikestarrett]

A hydralic jack plate can save your life. I have had to put it all the way down and tilt the engine to keep the nose up thru some heavy seas.. My first two Gamblers had them and I could handle some bad seas. Also could run in a foot of water long as I did not oversteer and blowout.

Capt Mike