I dont have one. I have an 18'9" Javelin with a Johnson 150hp on it. Boat is in wonderful shape for its age.

someone talk me into why I would need one. I would only be able to afford a manual jack plate.

I can get about 62-63mph right now with a Raker 3 blade prop. I believe its a 24pitch.

i for one will never "talk" someone into a jack plate.

if you want better all around performance and the ability to fine tune the engine
height then there is only one way to do that. a jack plate

If you want to find your rigs potential, then you get one, if you don't care then don't bother.

I was just using that phrase as a figure of speech.

When doing prop to pad...where is typically a good place to start?

thanks for the response!

Best place to start is to ask here....
1st rule of setup, take it too far and bring it back. You need to know what too high is, and what too low is.
2nd rule: no two boats are exactly the same. Just because I have something similar, does not mean you'll have exactly the same results. There's differences in hulls, certainly differences in motors and guaranteed differences in props.

i usually set them at 3.5 inches below pad, then run and adjust by raising till you loose, then drop till it
comes back.

alot of boats, i know exactly where to set them.. but, like pat just said.. all boats are different as all
boats are NOT loaded the same, and that will effect the proper engine height.

check craigslist, I see a few, and not terribly priced

A 6 inch manual plate is all that boat needs. i have setup a bunch of them.
i have the plates in stock and can install and set the prop height for you here. and show you
how to work the plate,etc. josh can also look at your prop and make suggestions on prop needs (if any needed)
you will leave here with a really nice setup.
345.95 for the plate
175.00 to install and setup.
plus applicable sales tax
installed by the mfg and all american made products!!!

You are entering in a new place, lots of advice, problem is most is wrong.

You might find a quality plate on craigslist, but you're probably looking at someone elses headache.
There's some genuine junk plates like rite hites, detweiler, and others, but you probably don't know that, plate is a plate, right?

Cheapest money you'll ever spend is to have Steve set you up, once and you're done. Go wandering around, you'll spend 3X the money have have half the results.

Agree. Peace of mind if you buy and have Steve install.

better off getting someone that knows what they are doing. I purchased a boat had one and it was installed so bad no one could fix it without replacing it.

How can you botch an installation like that? The bolt hols are already there.

That doesn't mean the installation cant be botched. An inferior plate has the SAME bolt pattern as the BEST plate. Yes, a child can figure it out as far as putting 4 bolts in holes. But a child doesnt know to SEAL those bolts using the right sealant, never re-use bolts,use quality stainless bolts & nuts,torque on bolts,which hole/height motor mounts to plate, how to correctly set PTP, ... well you get the picture....Seriously though, there ARE good plates & some not so good plates. Having someone do the install/set up initially can save someone money/time/headaches. Not EVERYONE has a shop/hoist/tools/ability/knowledge available to them& especially someone thats never "set up" a boat before. A person doesn't have a detail shop install a welded tow hitch on a vehicle do they? I wont.
Well worth spending the money at a KNOWN shop that does that specialty work exclusively. Steve & Josh BOTH are top notch, stand behind their product AND labor. IF you're buyimg a plate You WONT go wrong with them!!

Brass or silicon bronze nuts with stainless bolts.

Gamblinman IS correct on using Brass or silicon bronze nuts. However, you can use stainless if you want. Cost difference. In ANY case " Do NOT make them up with an impact" . That'll almost weld stainless!!! Make them up by hand!!!
I put 3M -4200 sealant in transom holes,some on shoulders of bolts, push them through, turn bolt 1/4-1/2 turn & never turn bolt anymore. This helps in SEALING transom. Then i put on washer & nut & HOLD bolt while I turn the nut only to tighten & torque. Never had water intrusion problems doing this.
This is ONE of the issues from a "BOTCHED" installation. It can be done wrong. Ask someone that has to or did replace a transom thats waterlogged & rotten.