Q1: what worth is there or possible improvement in performance will there be in adding a jackplate to my 1986 OUTRAGE 25 with HONDA BF 250 engine and four-bladed propeller?
ASIDE: I sometimes operate the boat in shallow water. I go angling in Galveston Bay.
1986 OUTRAGE 25: Adding a Jack Plate
Re: 1986 OUTRAGE 25: Adding a Jack Plate
Q2: Are you planning on installing a jackplate that is motorized and can be adjusted from the helm via an electrical control switch?
Something like that could be useful to reduce the draft of the boat in extremely shallow water so you could move along at very low speed with the engine raised extremely high.
If you are expecting to gain a lot of boat speed at full throttle by installing a jack plate, I doubt there will be much gain. Exactly what percentage of the total operating time of the boat are you going to running at full-throttle and in desperate need of an addition 1-MPH or maybe 2-MPH of boat speed from running the engine higher? You could get the same effect by changing the engine mounting height to be higher all the time.
Q3: Using the unit of how many holes or 0.75-inch-increments above the lowest possible engine mounting height, what is the present engine mounting height.
Something like that could be useful to reduce the draft of the boat in extremely shallow water so you could move along at very low speed with the engine raised extremely high.
If you are expecting to gain a lot of boat speed at full throttle by installing a jack plate, I doubt there will be much gain. Exactly what percentage of the total operating time of the boat are you going to running at full-throttle and in desperate need of an addition 1-MPH or maybe 2-MPH of boat speed from running the engine higher? You could get the same effect by changing the engine mounting height to be higher all the time.
Q3: Using the unit of how many holes or 0.75-inch-increments above the lowest possible engine mounting height, what is the present engine mounting height.
Re: 1986 OUTRAGE 25: Adding a Jack Plate
I agree with JimH's comment. "Performance" impacts will be minor, 1-2 mph at top end. I'd venture to guess you might experience a subjective improvement in ride quality offshore due to adjustability of the motor height. But again, as Jim mentions, dialing in the optimum motor height would have much the same effect without the complication.
When I lived in Houston, a few Galveston Bay guides who I knew ran Outrage 25s or Guardian 25s. They did indeed run those with jackplates. For them, the ability to slowly navigate low water was important. They would often idle into a huge shallow flat to anchor and wade or idle through shallow shoals connecting one deeper body of water to another. Also, they claimed the minor set-back caused by the jackplate, along with the ability to trim way in, allowed them to get on plane more quickly and in shallower water. In theory that makes sense, but not sure how much difference it made in practice.
When I lived in Houston, a few Galveston Bay guides who I knew ran Outrage 25s or Guardian 25s. They did indeed run those with jackplates. For them, the ability to slowly navigate low water was important. They would often idle into a huge shallow flat to anchor and wade or idle through shallow shoals connecting one deeper body of water to another. Also, they claimed the minor set-back caused by the jackplate, along with the ability to trim way in, allowed them to get on plane more quickly and in shallower water. In theory that makes sense, but not sure how much difference it made in practice.