Need help adjusting Jack plate

I have a 2001 Skeeter with a 150 SHO and I have to trim the motor nearly all the way down or the boat porpoises really bad. Also the hole shot is not what it should be. I was told the motor was too high so I tried to lower it. 2 bolts on each side and a large bolt in the middle. I loosened bolt bolts on each side and started turning the center bolt counter clockwise. Motor won't budge. Do I need to trim the motor vertical ? Is it just stuck ? About how much should I lower it ? I was thinking lowering it 1/2 " and then try it and see. I'm not worried about top end speed I just want a better hole shot and stop the porpoiseing.

Be sure to make a mark with a marker on the jack plate so you can get an exact measurement. Start with a mark where is is sitting now, so you can come back to it. Go down 1/4 of an inch at a time. I really doubt this is going to help much even going down 1/2 inch. When you loosen the bolts and screw out the center bolt a few turns, grab the motor by the scag and bounce it up and down. She will fall the 1/4 inch.

Skeeters always porpoise at slow speeds when on plane unless the motor is all the way down. The load distribution is much more important than anything. With that small of a boat that is hard to accomplish. Try unloading the boat completely and see what it will do on getting out of the hole. Then start adding riders one at a time. Position those people at different places in the boat to see how it jumps out of the hole with each added person. Then you will have some idea where you need to store the heavy stuff.
- First by yourself
- with one rider beside you
- Third rider sitting on the deck with feet on the floor
- Fourth rider then on the back deck.
All is a test..

Great advice, thanks. It was still porpoiseing at 40 mph. I had to get up to near 50 before it stopped. It's a ZX190 so it's not that small. I may take it up to Rockwall Marine and talk to them about it. I was smart enough to mark it before I tried to move it. I also looked on youtube but didn't get much help. Just about everyone said the proper setting was 3-1/2 from the pad to the prop center. Haven't checked that yet. Thanks for taking the time to help.

On my ZX 225 it will porpoise at 40 mph. also. I might be able to get one small bump on the trim and that is it. It likes 50 mph. to have it trimmed up and running. Less than that requires me to start bringing the trim down.

This describes my 201 PE pretty closely, I can raise my motor a bit prior to 40 mph but I don't start to trim out till the 40 mph mark has been reached. Once I have gotten to 50 mph and beyond I can go full trim. A lot of the trim characteristics of any boat have to do with the amount of weight and how its distributed and I'm no exception as I normally carry a heavy load as I'm currently set up.

Set it level so you can get proper measurement below pad. Check measurement before you try to reset the jack plate. Loosen bolts just enough to let the jack plate slide freely. Set the clicker at top to lower 2 clicks or a 1/2" and then tap the top of the plate with a rubber mallet. Mine is pretty tight so this is what I have to do to lower it.

Great advice all, I thought I had serious issues. Very embarrassing to me when the boat porpoises and other boaters are staring. I had a Ranger before this one and it never porpoised. I'm going to at least lower it a little and see what happens. This is the first 4 stroke I've owned and did notice it doesn't seem to have the torque of a 2 stroke. Thanks to all for your help and advice. You all have experience with this issue so I appreciate you sharing it.

OK, thanks to all the advice I was able to lower the jack plate 1/2" and Friday I'm going to check it out and see if it helps. Will post the results Saturday.

Didn't help, going to Rockwall Marine.

I believe 3 1/2 is too much. You want the nose cone to be 2 3/4 below pad. And like everyone has said, make a mark on the jack plate. You'll probably have to spend a few runs to the ramp to make adjustments to dial it in. Suggest you adjust in 1/4 inch increments.

Skeeters, especially the 190 are extremely trim sensitive. You most likely never go above 1/4 on the trim gage, until your going 50+ mph.

Thanks jf. I lower a little more today and will check again Monday. Wonder why the ZX190 is different from other Skeeters. Do you own a 190 ?

Unless I'm misunderstanding something, you would set the motor height on the jack plate for optimum performance with the jackplate in the lowest position. You may want to raise the motor higher in some situations, but why would you ever want to lower it below where it runs best, plus why have to guess every time you return the jack plate to it's normal position if you got it right?

Previous owner, a young kid, had the motor set high for optimum speed but took forever to get on plane and porpoised bad below 40mph. Not interested in speed just want to get up on pad quicker and eliminate some of the porpoiseing. The mechanic at Rockwall Marine said the motor was too high so I started lowering it a little at a time.

Ended up lowering a total of 1" from where it was and it's finally OK, gets on pad pretty quick and porpoiseing is at a minimum. Thanks everybody.