Brent B Posted January 6, 2016 Report Share Posted January 6, 2016 I have a 95 18' Redfisher and was wondering if anybody is running a jack plate and what setback they find that works well. Im concerned about the extra weight in the back of the boat. Im looking at either a 4" or 6" setback. Either Bobs machine shop, CMC or T-H. I can only really afford the manual adjust model which will work fine for what I do. Any Major Problems with the Jack Plates on these boats? I have the trolling motor batteries mounted in the front hatch in front of the fuel tank BTW. Im really just looking to be able to run a little shallower and maybe pick up some performance. I dont need to be screaming through 6 inches of water. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linesider 159 Posted January 6, 2016 Report Share Posted January 6, 2016 You will pick up shallow water performance, you likely will not pick up speed because it's not really a high performance hull. I'd get a 4 inch bobs. That being said, you will want the hydraulic. I'd recommend either getting a used hydraulic for 500 or waiting longer and buying a new one around 1k. The hydraulic allows you to adjust depending on conditions and shallow water. IMHO a manual jack plate is useless on a flats boat compared to a hydraulic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brent B Posted January 6, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 6, 2016 Thanks for the info! Well with the Bobs versa jack 4" set back i can change it to hydraulic later. Im pretty sure i'm gonna stick with the bobs versa jack 4". Only slightly more than the competitors and has outstanding reviews! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linesider 159 Posted January 6, 2016 Report Share Posted January 6, 2016 Thanks for the info! Well with the Bobs versa jack 4" set back i can change it to hydraulic later. Im pretty sure i'm gonna stick with the bobs versa jack 4". Only slightly more than the competitors and has outstanding reviews! The reviews are most likely from b*** boat owners who dont need a hydraulic jack plate for shallow water, all they want to do is get the motor higher for topspeed and less chinewalking. I owned a high performance b*** boat and a manual plate would have been fine, on a flats boat it really has no use. You will want to run shallow so you will put the plate high, but what happens when you get off the flat and the water is rough? Or you need to take off shallow but the prop loses grip as you just start getting on plane. A hydraulic plate will fix all these issues. For example: my boat is fastest at 4 on the jackplate, but in rough water it is best all the way down or close to it. Do not take this in an offensive way, but your boat is not a "high performance" boat or motor, and thus i dont think you will see any mpg or mph differences worth the trouble. My hewes lt20 saw no speed difference even with a hydraulic plate, but did benefit from a hydraulic plate in shallow water where i could make constant adjustments Your boat may run best in all conditions at 1 inch on the jackplate, but to idle off the flat you may wish the motor was all the way up 6 inches. 1 inch wont do anything for shallow water running or taking off, and the speed gains will be minimal. The only thing you will experience is more rear end sag at rest and while taking off. And if you get in really rough water you will wish the motor was all the way down for better grip. If you convert the versa jack later it costs several hundred more than just buying a hydraulic in the first place. Its not my money, but if you get a manual plate i dont think you will be happy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linesider 159 Posted January 6, 2016 Report Share Posted January 6, 2016 You buy the versa jack for 395 plus tax, the upgrade kit is 585 plus tax and the extensive labor to switch it, or if you want it to be an action series the conversion kit is 739. So regardless you are over 1100 when you could have bought the hydraulic new for 929 or used on craigslist for 4-500 Thats all ill say, its not my decision but would hate to see someone spend hard earned money and be disappointed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brent B Posted January 7, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 7, 2016 I really appreciate the input. No offense taken at all. This is why i posted this issue in the first place to get opinions of owners. I do have this question though. Right now the way i have the motor mounted to the transom my cavitation plate runs just slightly to low. There is a little bit of white water running over the top of it at speed. BTW i have a permatrim on my lower unit. anyways...If i was able to set the engine back 4 inches and raise the engine so that i had the cavitation plate in the same spot or maybe a 1/2 inch higher in the water but higher compared to the bottom of the boat, would i not gain engine height and be able to run shallower? I have no performance issues really with the way it sits now. Ive only heard good things about jack plates and figured if i could gain a little height and still run the engine and the cavitation plate about the same then i figured it would be ok. I just wanted to see if there were any draw backs or if it was worth it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lap it Up Posted January 7, 2016 Report Share Posted January 7, 2016 I run a 6" CMC on my 18RF. I would definitley recommend hydraulic over manual. Like linesider said, manual plates are normally installed for WOT performance and don't have much affect at all to shallow water performance. You say your engine is too low, why not raise it a bolt hole on the transom and see how it reacts? I run my plate around 3" up most of the time. I can also get on plane and stay on plane with the plate at 6" up. I havent run my boat without a plate so i can't tell you if you will gain mph but I will say I wouldn't own a flats or bay boat without a plate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linesider 159 Posted January 7, 2016 Report Share Posted January 7, 2016 I really appreciate the input. No offense taken at all. This is why i posted this issue in the first place to get opinions of owners. I do have this question though. Right now the way i have the motor mounted to the transom my cavitation plate runs just slightly to low. There is a little bit of white water running over the top of it at speed. BTW i have a permatrim on my lower unit. anyways...If i was able to set the engine back 4 inches and raise the engine so that i had the cavitation plate in the same spot or maybe a 1/2 inch higher in the water but higher compared to the bottom of the boat, would i not gain engine height and be able to run shallower? I have no performance issues really with the way it sits now. Ive only heard good things about jack plates and figured if i could gain a little height and still run the engine and the cavitation plate about the same then i figured it would be ok. I just wanted to see if there were any draw backs or if it was worth it. If i understand correctly, you are saying that by setting the motor further back you can run the engine a bit higher than where it is now? The answer to that would be yes, but not much. You may be able to get the motor an inch higher, and personally, if im going to run aground, an inch wont be making any difference to me. The same goes for planing off. A jackplate is a wonderful thing and a great tool, but to get the best use out of it a hydraulic is really the preferred setup. When i fished Punta Gorda/ pine island sound last spring, if i didnt have a hydraulic jack plate, id either still be idling off a flat or waiting for a hurricane tide to come in Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brent B Posted January 7, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 7, 2016 gotcha. lol. Thanks for in the insight. kinda gives me some things to consider. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
96 199 Hewes Posted February 1, 2016 Report Share Posted February 1, 2016 Does anyone know a Rule of thumb on the Max & Min " Setback for a 20' light Tackle? I found a new bobs with an 8" setback for a good deal. I just don't want to put the motor to far back and it hinder me from performance or getting shallower or making the boat ride nose heavy. Thanks for any help Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linesider 159 Posted February 2, 2016 Report Share Posted February 2, 2016 Does anyone know a Rule of thumb on the Max & Min " Setback for a 20' light Tackle? I found a new bobs with an 8" setback for a good deal. I just don't want to put the motor to far back and it hinder me from performance or getting shallower or making the boat ride nose heavy. Thanks for any help Mine had 6 inches. I'd be worried about transom stress with 8 inch setback Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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