Bassin' USA - Bass Fishing Forum Archives

I have a few questions for the group:
Will the installation of a skeg guard reduce top end speed?
Does a jack plate put additional stress on the transom?
Is chine walk avoidable?
My understanding is as follows:
Skeg guards should not reduce top end as long as they are installed properly. A jack plate must create stress due to weight distribution. Chine walk can be corrected by removing free-play in the steering cables However: If a boat is close to it's engineering maximum speed IE: performance limits. You must live with it.
I think the answers to these questions could help a lot of people.
Thanks
Bassin Butch

Bassin Butch,
Good questions.
I feel that jack plates especially the extended ones add stress to the transom, but necessarilly due to the weight. It's the torque that's the culprit. With the plate lowered and extended for a great hole shot, there's a lot of power being exerted at the bottom of the motor which tends to push back on the top of the transom. Double stainless steel braces will help.
Chine walk can be a problem with any over-powered boat, but in most cases simply re-distributing some of the weight inside the boat will help, maybe move some equipment forward or to one side or the other. Changing props is another option, also raising or lowering the outboards position on the transom. Boaters may lose some spend with these suggestions, but they will be a lot safer and happier with the boats performance.
Skeg guards will most likely reduce speed by two to three miles an hour, which in most cases is a minimal sacrifice. Skeg plates may also cause the boat to hansle differently in fast-sharp turns due to the drag. Hope this helps someone. Johnnie

One thing I might suggested, which I've used, is a hydrofoil. This fin devices will lift a boat out of the hole fast, and with my Hi-Five prop have never seen any handling problems, nor loss of speed. There were a couple of times I thought I has spun a prop, but it was actually the lift, and not having things trimmed properly for all of this added stuff.

Best of fishing,
Dan