Jack plate help, which one?

[fakirone]

So I have decided to purchase a jack plate for my 25hp Mercury 2 stroke/ Alumacraft NCS 1442. I figure it'll help out with the prop motor for now and I'll need it when I go to a jet pump (15" transom). I thought that I had bought a small jack plate through Bass Pro, but the thing is HUGE. No way I am putting that thing on my boat.
I would prefer to have a jack plate that is one piece, that has the screw type adjuster on it, and no more than 5" set back if I can avoid it. I do not want to use a mini jacker because I am worried about having to remount it when I go to jet. Does anyone know what jack plate fits this description?

 

[Natedog57]

I don't know of one offhand, but it seems they're pretty common, I doubt there's much to worry about (in terms of quality) if it looks good and is made by a reputable company.

Just throwing this out there... it's not very difficult to make a small fixed jackplate out of 4 pieces of 1/4"x4" alum angle. I've made 3 or 4 now and they work well for the 25hp'ish sized engines.

No they're not as adjustable as a "screw type" adjuster, but those won't be adjusted on the fly either. It is easy to have additional holes to adjust height, it seems that mounting the ventilation plate level to 1.5" above the bottom of the hull works pretty well (this will change depending on the setback).

 

[fakirone]

Natedog57 » 28 Aug 2014, 19:42[/url]"]I don't know of one offhand, but it seems they're pretty common, I doubt there's much to worry about (in terms of quality) if it looks good and is made by a reputable company.

Just throwing this out there... it's not very difficult to make a small fixed jackplate out of 4 pieces of 1/4"x4" alum angle. I've made 3 or 4 now and they work well for the 25hp'ish sized engines.

No they're not as adjustable as a "screw type" adjuster, but those won't be adjusted on the fly either. It is easy to have additional holes to adjust height, it seems that mounting the ventilation plate level to 1.5" above the bottom of the hull works pretty well (this will change depending on the setback).

Yeah, I was trying to avoid having to make one, but I may just take a ton of good pictures of this huge one I have a copy it in a smaller size. I am just so crushed for time I was hoping to avoid another project.

 

[riverbud55]

If your planing on a jet,, ya don't want the 5'' offset,,, a jet needs to be feed the water off the bottom of the boat as close as possible to the foot of the jet,,, boats built for a jet many times have the bottom extend out past the transom as does my North River,,,

few weeks back built this jack plate for my G3 1548 vbw,,, boat has a 15'' transom and has put a new 25hp etec long shaft on the boat,,,,, built it out of 1/2'' plate,,, weight was 16lbs when done,,, imo not to heavy at all,, matches up in size with the frame of the engine pretty well imo,,,,, just a note I own a fab shop with a lot of fancy tools,,, but a guy with a jig saw and a hand drill could do the same with a trip to the locale welder

 

[TNtroller]

Having the ability to adjust the JP via the screw is a nice convenience, but after you get the motor height set, you probably won't adjust it anymore. I would spend the time with a tape measure and yard stick to determine the height needed and go the DIY method for the current motor. If you go jet later on, then you don't have a lot of $$ invested in a JP that you may not or cannot use. JMO.