long shaft or short?

should your cavitation plate be level with your hull? if its not is a jack plate the solution? and what would be the negatives if it is not level with hull? thanks...

shawnfish said:

should your cavitation plate be level with your hull? if its not is a jack plate the solution? and what would be the negatives if it is not level with hull? thanks...

Click to expand...

Level with the bottom, plus or minus an inch or two.

Depends how much and what direction you need to go. If you have mismatched long/short shaft, that will need a jack plate or transom modification. If it is a long shaft on a short shaft transom, you could try it and see what speed impact you have. A short shaft on a long shaft transom will probably loose water flow on plane and possibly overheat engine.

If you are within that 1-2 inch range, not allot of impact, but there are dependancies on type of hull, loading, etc. In general above the bottom will give slightly less drag and higher top speed. Lower, possible better take-off, and less chance of cavitating in tight turns.

o.k. my plate sits a inch and a half below the hull, my transom height(from where the clamps are) is 16 inches. is my motor long or short shaft? and does this sound o.k.?

shawnfish said:

o.k. my plate sits a inch and a half below the hull, my transom height(from where the clamps are) is 16 inches. is my motor long or short shaft? and does this sound o.k.?

Click to expand...

Plus or minus an inch or two:

15" = short
20" = long
25" = xlong


An inch or so below is normal, and believe that is where most/all my outboards fall on my hulls, without additional adjustment. You can typically raise an engine 3/4-1" by just putting a block under the motor. Just make sure you still have a strong transom mounting, bolt thru or clamps.

FuzzyGrub said:

shawnfish said:

o.k. my plate sits a inch and a half below the hull, my transom height(from where the clamps are) is 16 inches. is my motor long or short shaft? and does this sound o.k.?

Click to expand...

Plus or minus an inch or two:

15" = short
20" = long
25" = xlong


An inch or so below is normal, and believe that is where most/all my outboards fall on my hulls, without additional adjustment. You can typically raise an engine 3/4-1" by just putting a block under the motor. Just make sure you still have a strong transom mounting, bolt thru or clamps.

Click to expand...

This is good to know, Thanks :beer: