An outboard motor's sole purpose is to propel a boat in the water. Unlike inboard engines, outboard motors are installed outside a watercraft or transom. Notably, various factors can affect the performance of an outboard motor, and a jack plate is one. It is a metallic platform on which you mount an outboard motor before installing it on a boat's hull. Today, most boat owners with an outboard motor prefer to mount them on a jack plate rather than directly to the hull. This article highlights three ways an outboard motor benefits from jack plates.

Prevents Bumps in Shallow Water

If you love shallow water fishing, you understand that hidden obstructions in the water, such as logs and rocks, can do a number on an outboard motor's propeller. Although the blades are made of steel, sustained knocks will affect a vessel's efficiency. The only practical way to avoid shallow water obstructions is to raise the motor. A jack plate allows you to increase the clearance between an outboard motor and a shallow water floor. Thus, you can continue fishing without worrying about your propellers hitting rocks and logs below the water. Besides, raising an outboard motor in shallow water helps reduce turbulence and makes fishing much more enjoyable.

Effortless Cruising

Jack plate-mounted outboard motors offer boaters adequate control of a boat's speed without cranking up the engine. When most of a boat's hull is underwater, its speed is affected because of excess resistance offered by the large surface area underwater. Therefore, an outboard engine must work extra hard to achieve the necessary speeds. Jack plates can improve outboard motor speed performance by simply redistributing weight. You can do it by pushing an outboard motor further back or adjusting the jack plate's length. Consequently, it makes the stern heavier, causing most of the bow to rise out of the water and offer little resistance to the water. As a result, you experience increased speeds even if you do not manually adjust the speed.

Easy Hauling of the Boat from the Water

If you have a standard fixed outboard motor, you can only pull your boat a certain distance from the water because you need to protect the prop. It means you must back up a boat trailer as far as possible to get close to your vessel. A jack plate helps protect an outboard motor by allowing you to raise the engine high, keeping it off the ocean floor and the ramp. Thus, it enables you to easily pull a boat out of the water without worrying about damaging the prop. In this regard, consider mounting an outboard motor on a jack plate if you constantly struggle to haul your boat out of the water.