mini Jacker plate install help

[Colorado1135]

I did a 14' lund project 2 years ago and have loved it, and been slaying the walleyes this past year. I was running a 9.8 merc on it and it worked ok, but was sluggish. last fall I sold the motor a a friends nephew who needed it badly while in college. this winter I bought a long shaft merc 20 horse with electric start. downside is it's a long shaft. no problem, I have a mini-jacker I got on a trade a while back.

the problem is when I hold the plate up it doesn't seem to go high enough, and when I look at the hole positions I see the plate extends below the spashwell on my 14' lund and would only be bolted to the aluminum hull with no wood behind it. I looked at raising the transom, but quickly saw that would be a PITA.
I want to mount the jack plate and just run the 20 merc, but I can't find any do's and don'ts for mounting them.
is there a better plate to use? should I build one? do I reinforce the transom under the splashwell? where do I start? I don't want to mess anything up so I thought I'd ask you guys who have done it.

 

[huntersdad]

https://www.dillon-racing.com/jackplate/index-m.htm

Check this out maybe it will help. Alot of useful information, this is what I used to build the jackplate for my jon boat.

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[Colorado1135]

so are you saying the jacking plate I have won't work?

the bracing issue will be the same I imagine won't it?

 

[huntersdad]

The link I posted will give you some ideas. You will still want to brace the transom because the higher you raise the motor the more torque increases.i have wood encased in the top portion of my transom but not at the bottom. So my setup uses two bolts that go through the wood and two that go through the aluminum/transom and has worked well for me. I could post pictures if it would help.

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[Colorado1135]

Yes a picture would help. I was wondering about the bolting through the hull/transom where there wasn't wood and what if any extra I would have to do.

 

[huntersdad]

I will get some pictures posted when I get home. I bolted directly though the aluminum at the bottom using stainless fastners and large washers backed with clear silicone and have not had any issues. The main stress in my opinion would be at the top of the transom since the bottom is only pushed against and not pulled except in reverse.

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[huntersdad]

I may have lied to you. I thought that when I built mine that the bottom bolts went directly into the bare aluminum part of the transom but they don't so I apologize for that. Hopefully these pictures will atleast give you some sort of idea on how to adapt for your situation. Maybe someone will chime in with more experience and give you a little better insight.

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[Colorado1135]

That helps, Thank you sir!