Hydraulic jack plate with Carolina Skiff

[Boat Drinks]

I'm looking for an alternate set-up rather than buying a jet and am considering a jack plate. How much lift could I really expect and still be able to turn the boat fairly sharp? To further explain I would be using the rig part of the time circle netting mullet in shallow water. The problem with jets is once you're aground you're there until the tide comes up to float you off and they are not very economical. I have two choices on motors. One is a 25 Honda four stroke and the other is a 30 Johnson 2 stroke. The boat is a 17 foot Carolina Skiff. I know it doesn't sound like much power but I don't need it for what I'm looking to do. I have to be able to turn fairly sharp without much cavitation as once you start setting the net you have to get around the fish quickly. Any opinions on the performance of the four stroke versus the 2 would be great as well. Also the Johnson is a tiller model year 2005. Is there a conversion kit for it to make it remote? The console would be all the way forward so the only weight in the stern would be the motor and in the case of the honda a battery. Thanks in advance.

 

[Dhadley]

Re: Hydraulic jack plate with Carolina Skiff

You'll need a battery no matter which motor you use if the plate is going to be hydraulic. Anyway, one of the boats we fish tournaments out of is a 24 CS with a 150 Ficht on a Bob's 10" hydraulic. It'll run in less that 10" but you have to be careful about it overheating. I wouldn't run it that high very long. Overheating a 2 stroke is bad enough but be very careful about overheating a 4 stroke.

 

[marquette]

Re: Hydraulic jack plate with Carolina Skiff

i have a 16 ft aluminum V hull with a honda 30hp that i put a CMC trim and tilt on. it sets the motor back 3 or 4 inches. and that changed the steering a lot at high speed. not so much at slow speed. i think the jack plates move the motor back about the same distance. if you are careful maybe you could try the block of wood under the motor mount and raise the motor an inch and play with it in calm water to see if it cavitates or affects the steering. the honda would be a beast to lift by yourself in the water to experiment with any other size without going back to the launch ramp to make a change.
2 stroke vs 4 stroke? that question will go on until we can't use internal combustion any more. for me, i'm willing to put up with honda's sucky acceleratrion in exchange for the quietness and slow idle speeds. other people have other preferences.

 

[Boat Drinks]

Re: Hydraulic jack plate with Carolina Skiff

Good catch on the battery either way. That also brings up charging issues as well. On the 24 CS do you have problems turning sharp with it raised up or have you tried? Thanks

 

[Dhadley]

Re: Hydraulic jack plate with Carolina Skiff

Lol! Oh no, we've turned sharp! Sharp enough that if I wasn't hanging on to the tower legs I'm sure I would have been at least thrown to the side, if not over. My buddy (owner) was driving in shallow water looking for a "special" spot to fish. We went around the wrong island and seagulls were standing. He spun her around pretty darn quick. And he was on both the jackplate and trim up buttons.

I would say that the only problem is keeping a good prop on it. Because it's flat bottom it doesn't ride all that well in rough water and therefore he tends to stay in very shallow water for comfort. That tends to wear a prop out pretty quickly. As you know a worn prop has a dramatic affect on venting in turns.