V8 4 stroke and jackplate

You’re chasing a ghost until you’ve developed more time in the engine and more seat time, propellers to play with, engine height and more. The torque in the V8 is totally different and there is much more to this than a bolt up and roll on going forwards.

Hydraulic plates became popular with the 2 stroke Mercury with boat gaining equipment and weight, as they have less torque. Power Poles, especially Talons, dual graphs, larger trolling motors and carrying more tackle impact hole shot. The ability to lift the engine improve propeller venting and reduces hole shot times. Then in some cases it allows use of the propeller which minimizes top end performance.

It allows quick maximization of performance, ability to adjust the ride on rough water and can give the user a positive experience. That is If the user understands how to use it properly.

Caution, as hydraulic plates also can make a driver worse as most everyone we know runs their plates too high, with a hot foot this creates a challenge and can be a serious handling issue when the user backs off instantly in rough water, approaching wakes and etc. They increase bow steer as they instantly drop the nose when approaching, instinctively removing the foot from the accelerator as in a car, this allows the bow to drop.

When the bow drops under fast deceleration, the skeg is the Rudder and it is now removed more from contact at the higher engine heights. The rudder is the skeg and dropping the bow first can pull the Gearcase up around 3 to 6 inches, when you most need it for control.

It is imperative that a user always trim down first when approaching a wake or vessel, thus increasing the skegs water contact and gaining critical control. Trim and lower the plate, then reduce throttle speeds.

Almost every user of a hydraulic plate raises them to excess heights and as a result they have increased steering torque caused by surfacing propeller blade. Varying hulls and overall weights, vary the degree of impact that engine height has on control at all levels when the engine is over raised.

A SIMPLE way to know if your engine is TOO HIGH is the steering feedback pulling excessively to the right. If that is the case when your running top end, then your engine is likely too high. This is the indicator on most all hulls that your slipping and not efficient also. Various propellers also change the slippage and thus the engine heights must be reset to match your propellers connection and efficiency.

A hydraulic jack plate can make setup and performance much better, though it also can make an untrained driver a recipe for disaster. They also increase service cost down line as things will break from pumps to wiring and senders. Further, a HEIGHT GAUGE is critical for gaining an understanding of control. We ONLY sell plates with gauges on our products. In opposition most do not sell them with gauges and everyone should have a gauge or a setting control limiting system (ProTap) for increased understanding of settings. It is more critical by far than a trim gauge.

We sell a significant percentage of our products with hydraulic plates today and we have for almost 20 years. The ratio has definitely increased and with all of the four stroke motors and torque today many no longer have the need for them. It’s a personal preference and we are well over 50% on Premium series lineup, probably more like 75-80% on big boats over 225 HP.

If you fish mostly one area, many have no need for one.

BCB