I have a 1996 J14 Carolina skiff which I bought 2 years ago. 2001 Yamaha 25hp four stroke pull start. I am starting to use it more and more for shallow water fishing. While the hull itself can get into very skinny water, the engine lower unit/prop sits pretty far below the transom. I would say it is a good 12-14 inches of engine below the lowest part of the boat.
I can manually “tilt” it up one notch, and that helps somewhat but 1) it’s pretty hard to grab it with the poling platform above it 2) just had back surgery last year and it’s a really awkward position to twist and grab it to tilt it 3) it rides pretty bad when tilted and won’t plane.
Does that sound like it’s the right shaft length for the boat?
If it is, does any manufacturer make sort of a manual/crank jack plate to raise it when I need to so it doesn’t affect the angle of the prop? No batteries or electronics on the boat at the moment- pull start. I have a jackplate on my pathfinder and love it.
I’ve been seeing that they make a 15 inch shaft 25hp Yamaha. Any idea when they started making those? Would it be worth trading mine out for one? I’ve also seen the aluminum jack plates for about 130-200 bucks. They attach to the transom, and then you use your engine clamps to attach to the plate instead of the boat… that allows it to be mounted about 5 inches higher. Anyone have opinions on those? Some are fixed and others you can adjust up/down with repositioning the bolts.
The anti-ventilation plate should be about even with hull bottom, or slightly above it on most flat bottom boats. The engine should have several different mounting holes, if it’s not already in the lowest ones.
YOU CANT JUST RAISE THE ENGINE 5 INCHES BECAUSE THE MOTOR DRAGS WHEN YOU ARE IN SHALLOW WATER.
THE MOTOR SHAFT LENGTH MUST MATCH THE TRANSOM HEIGHT ON THE BOAT
IF YOU HAVE A 15"transom, you need a 15" motor
if you have a 20" transom you need a 20" motor
if you have a 15" transom and a 20 inch motor, you can get a jack plate and raise it 5 inches
^^^Well stated.
I ran a 20" motor on a 15" transom boat for a while. I bought a 12"x12" piece of aluminum 1" thick. Bolted it to the transom with 5" sticking above the top of the transom. Cheap jack-plate.
anyone know off hand what the transom height is on a 14 ft j14 Carolina skiff? pretty common boat.
unsure how to measure the existing engine to determine shaft length. from what points are you measuring? same with the transom- what points am I measuring?
I had A 15" 25 Merc. and bought a Carolina Skiff with a 20 " transom I cut it down 4" With a skill saw and glassed over it and it has worked like a charm for over 20 years! I also have a 25" 115 YAM. on my 17’ WHALER and built a jack plate out of 4 pcs. of 3 1/2 " alu. angle to raise it 5" With a little bit of work you can do about anything!