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Jack Plate-yes or ne

JBL

JBL

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Location
Clayton NC
Would a jack plate make much difference on a 2250GSR with a 250.  Currently get 47 per GPS on a rough day.  Will it help top speed and or handling?  I currently have a 14.5 x 19p sws prop.  The 17p hit the rev limiter at 43mph.   Basically, is it worth the cost for the results?
 
Bennington does not support the use of jack plates although some have done it with decent results. Member CCanDo used to post here and brought significant boat setup expertise from offshore boats. Search and you can find his on a 25'.
 
Thanks TomS, that made for some interesting reading.  I think for now I will go with what I have.  It does handle well and for pushing 50mph, that is fast enough.  Heck, on a smooth water day I may hit 50 or close to it.  Anyway, I won't be cruising at WOT for long.  Just nice to know you can.
 
Yes, mine does 50+ and I can count on one hand the times when I really felt the urge to go that fast, certainly not with a load of people aboard. 
 
I actually messaged ccando a few months back about this very topic. He did not respond so perhaps his email has changed.
 
I went back and read some of the old conversations about this.  Sounds like TB doesn't really approve of them, but in ccando's case they worked with him to allow it.  Not sure if it would affect the warranty.  My son in law used one on his Polar 23 and it make a ton of difference, but I may not be able to justify the cost for a mile or two difference on a pontoon.  I too would like to hear from anyone that has installed one.
 
JBL said:
I went back and read some of the old conversations about this.  Sounds like TB doesn't really approve of them, but in ccando's case they worked with him to allow it.  Not sure if it would affect the warranty.  My son in law used one on his Polar 23 and it make a ton of difference, but I may not be able to justify the cost for a mile or two difference on a pontoon.  I too would like to hear from anyone that has installed one.
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I had PM conversations with him about it and he indicated it was much more about the balance of the boat and handling than a gain in top end. They incorporated some setback and reinforcing gussets on the transom as well. Bryan of EZFenders had one on his Manitou and intends to do so on his Premier. He is quite knowledgable on it and may be able to offer some advice, though not specific to Bennington.
 
I've run them on my 25' wellcraft center console with decent success.  Its not really about top end (although you do gain some due to less of the gearcase in the water) and some benefits of having the prop run in cleaner water set back off the transom.  We also currently have on our 18 LUnd Center console bay boat.  That boat will run flat out in 6" of water and idle in 4" of water (low water pick ups on nose cone).  My old Wellcraft was 6000lb and would idle in 12-15" of water depending on fuel load and gear with the jackplate in the full up position.  6" setback and 6" of verticle travel for the model we have

I'm sure they are some benefits of that set back and getting the toons farther out of hte water and therefore reducing drag.  CMC 6" hyd jackplates run about $800 bucks. Bob's run closer to $1000.  We had the guage installed on boat our boats along with the transom saver plate that distibute the weight inbetween the upper and lower mounting bolts.

I never bought them for the top end  benefits.  It was always shallow water benefits that sold me on them. 

Todd
 
You all may have heard, Texas lakes have more than enough water again ! So, we will be using the Bennington again. FYI, Bennington DID NOT approve use of a jack plate with the 25" Yamaha, but, internally, we engineered the above referenced transom reinforcement, thought to be helpful revisions.

1) Trailering prop and skag to ground clearance

2) Engine height adjustment for specific loads, speeds, and water conditions

3) Reinforced transom that may improve expected end of life for the hull. Handling when turning (carving) was greatly improved because of the added rigidity caused by the transom reinforcement.
 
CcanDo said:
You all may have heard, Texas lakes have more than enough water again ! So, we will be using the Bennington again. FYI, Bennington DID NOT approve use of a jack plate with the 25" Yamaha, but, internally, we engineered the above referenced transom reinforcement, thought to be helpful revisions.

1) Trailering prop and skag to ground clearance

2) Engine height adjustment for specific loads, speeds, and water conditions

3) Reinforced transom that may improve expected end of life for the hull. Handling when turning (carving) was greatly improved because of the added rigidity caused by the transom reinforcement.
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It's great to see you back here!
 
Welcome back Ccando, your expert advice has been missed 
 
I had really good luck on one of my performance boats (28 Skater with twin 300's) experimenting with jack plates and external water pickups. I was able to go from 109 mph to 122 mph. The boat was also much more stable, especially in rough water. I have been looking into installing a jack plate on the new Bennington,, but if they are going to give me problems with my warranty I might have to pass.
 
2550RSR said:
I had really good luck on one of my performance boats (28 Skater with twin 300's) experimenting with jack plates and external water pickups. I was able to go from 109 mph to 122 mph. The boat was also much more stable, especially in rough water. I have been looking into installing a jack plate on the new Bennington,, but if they are going to give me problems with my warranty I might have to pass.
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We have a pristine 28 Skater w/300 X engines and mechanical jack plates....Peter Hledin originally discouraged jack plates, but he finally conceded and installs them on new factory production.

Bennington engineering is probably right by withholding approval. Jack plates are available with several set back options. A 12" set back obviously creates more overhung load than a 6" set back. Several vendors offer jack plates, theoretically the metallurgist, engineer, machinist, installer, even the user could create issues for Bennington.

Like any product, the last entity to make design revisions becomes the ultimate vendor. Bennington has little control of the entity installing a jack plate assembly, but by popular demand, they may create a solution....They are in the business of serving satisfied customers.

We did stress analysis and designed a transom reinforcement that has worked to expectations, knowing that we were incurring the risk of warrantee and liability.
 
CcanDo said:
We have a pristine 28 Skater w/300 X engines and mechanical jack plates....Peter Hledin originally discouraged jack plates, but he finally conceded and installs them on new factory production.

Bennington engineering is probably right by withholding approval. Jack plates are available with several set back options. A 12" set back obviously creates more overhung load than a 6" set back. Several vendors offer jack plates, theoretically the metallurgist, engineer, machinist, installer, even the user could create issues for Bennington.

Like any product, the last entity to make design revisions becomes the ultimate vendor. Bennington has little control of the entity installing a jack plate assembly, but by popular demand, they may create a solution....They are in the business of serving satisfied customers.

We did stress analysis and designed a transom reinforcement that has worked to expectations, knowing that we were incurring the risk of warrantee and liability.

Small world. I met Peter in SoCal back in 05 at a friends delaership that sold Skaters. He was a great guy, and not what I expected from the leading company in laying up race boats. I miss my 28, and wish I had never sold it. My first Bennington actually led to it's sale because we were only taking it out a couple times a year. The pontoon was originally bought as a second boat, but we ended up using it a lot more that expected.

BTW, I was running 4 1/2 inches of setback on the Skater. I would think a small setback on my new bennington, along with being able to set the motor height would be great. At this point I will probably raise the motor and keep it on the transom and see how it performs.

Here is my old boat...
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Small world. I met Peter in SoCal back in 05 at a friends delaership that sold Skaters. He was a great guy, and not what I expected from the leading company in laying up race boats. I miss my 28, and wish I had never sold it. My first Bennington actually led to it's sale because we were only taking it out a couple times a year. The pontoon was originally bought as a second boat, but we ended up using it a lot more that expected.

BTW, I was running 4 1/2 inches of setback on the Skater. I would think a small setback on my new bennington, along with being able to set the motor height would be great. At this point I will probably raise the motor and keep it on the transom and see how it performs.

Here is my old boat...

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DSC00567 (Medium).JPG
 
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A friend of mine has a 24' Tahoe triple 25" tubes fully straked similar to the sps bennies with a fishing floor plan, he has a 200Merc saltwater series 2-stroke on it 4 blade stainless prop of unknown to me specs or make with a jackplate and he can run 42 with that setup but he bought it that way and has never played with it from where it was set from the dealer he bought it from as a demo unit.
 
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2550RSR said:
Small world. I met Peter in SoCal back in 05 at a friends delaership that sold Skaters. He was a great guy, and not what I expected from the leading company in laying up race boats. I miss my 28, and wish I had never sold it. My first Bennington actually led to it's sale because we were only taking it out a couple times a year. The pontoon was originally bought as a second boat, but we ended up using it a lot more that expected.

BTW, I was running 4 1/2 inches of setback on the Skater. I would think a small setback on my new bennington, along with being able to set the motor height would be great. At this point I will probably raise the motor and keep it on the transom and see how it performs.

Here is my old boat...
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Thanks for posting pictures of your Skater, I like it !    As I recall, are you a Phoenix Auto dealer ?
 
Good day everyone!  I reviving this post.  I have a newer boat with the extended aft deck.  I was doing some boating last weekend and ended up in some very shallow water that had a fully rock bottom.  Needless to say, when I saw the depth I cut the engine and raised the foot and slowly pulled the boat into deeper water.


The place with the rocky bottom was beautiful and I really want to go back there again and do a little exploring.  I've tossed around the idea of a trolling motor, but with the cost of the one I want and the custom mounting for the trolling motor - due to the way I want it on my boat- it totally blows my budget.  I was reading up on some jack plates and they don't seem too expensive.  If I were able to raise my foot where the prop is at the same level as the center toon, I would think I could safely do some shallow water exploring.  Is that the right way to go? 


As always, suggestions/ideas are always welcome!
 
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