what is the purpose of a jack plate? what does it do for a boat and motor? i´ve been told one should have a jack plate on almost every boat with an outboard even on a small boat with an outboard as small as 10 hp. and i´ve been told one does not really need a jack plate on any boat. help me understand the purpose and workings of this fool thing.

I´m no expert on the specifics of this technology - but the basic idea, as I understand it is essentially twofold, 1 to add stability to the mounting point for the motor and 2 to provide flexibility - the flexibility can be many things depending on what exactly the plate does - some have hydraulic lifts for heavy motors, some just allow you to raise the mount of a long shaft motor - which might be necessary for ample clearance or shallow water operations.

here is a site with several different models for sale that might identify some fo the different reasons:

http://www.midtnmarine.com/jack.htm

Does _every_ boat need one - well, no, probably not - some transoms are built for a motor (some even for a specific class of motor) and will do just fine without - however in general it´s one of those things that won´t hurt because of the extra stability it provides (mainly talking about fibreglass hulls here).


as I said - I´m no expert - hopefully someone else will jump in with some thoughts too.