hydraulic Jack Plate
 

Looking at going with Bob's 4" setback jackplate on a SC20.

the transom has been raised already to accomodate a 25" DF140.

Anyone done this? How much does it affect squating, and how much can the motor be raised with out becoming too high? I'd like to run in some skinnier water, but not sure how much room I have to play with.

thanks

Re: hydraulic Jack Plate
 

Welcome to CSC.

Have you run a hydraulic jack plate on other boats? I don't have one on my 20, but I love the one on my flats skiff. If your question is specific to the SC 20, I can't help other than to say I think it would improve the versatility of the boat. If you're asking about hydraulic jack plates in general, I can share my experience. Just don't want to go into a lot of detail about stuff you may already know.

Dave

Re: hydraulic Jack Plate
 

I had one on my 1978 20 MA with a 175 Suzuki I bought last winter. I just took it off because the transom was practically underwater. The scuppers were 3" below the waterline. Must have weighed 50 pounds. Hoping that ditching the weight and moving the engine closer to the boat helps to shift the weight forward. Won't know till the engine is back on the boat and the boat back in the water.

Re: hydraulic Jack Plate
 

Callipygian,
Just out of curiosity, is that with a 20" or 25" transom?

Re: hydraulic Jack Plate
 

It's a 25" transom ;)

Re: hydraulic Jack Plate
 

Welcome to CSC nmcclure...
I hate to break your bubble, but the 20 Seacraft was
not designed to run in skinny water. It was designed to run in nastiest ocean you can find! :eek:
HARD and FAST!!!!
If you want to run in the shallows get a flats boat.

The transom on my 20 was raised to 25 inches
and run in all kinds of seas with no problem
with a 200HP Merc hanging on the back.

Every man should own at least two boats. In my case there is no excuse, just consumed with having to many frickin' boats.. [img]/forum/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]
Just my 2 cents worth.

See ya, Ken

Re: hydraulic Jack Plate
 

It's a good thing I don't have lots of money or I'd have 1 of each SC made. I got da fever!!! [img]/forum/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]

Re: hydraulic Jack Plate
 

Shallow water aside, think about how you could fine tune the running height for different conditions. I want one.

Re: hydraulic Jack Plate
 

I have a Porta-bracket on my 20SF and I have very mixed feelings about it. I wanted to remove it when I got the boat last year but decided to try it for a while. A year later and it's still there. I'm not sure what good or bad it is because I have not run the boat without it. I do know I can idle in water 18 inches deep with the bracket all the way up - from that standpoint it is very good! But it does make the boat stern heavy and when the bracket is down, the water level is way up on the engine. Also when stopping, I get a lot of water washing way up on the engine - not real happy with that. I guess a bracket would not be as bad - that Porta Bracket puts my engine 18 inches off the transom.