SeaStar Jackplates FAQ’s

It enables a boat to run in shallower water than a standard engine mount. It allows you to get up on plane in shallower water than a standard engine mount. When trimming an engine for best performance, a jackplate affords you better fuel economy thanks to channeling thrust in the most efficient direction.

Please allow for 30 minutes to 1 h for the installation. Always follow accompanied instruction manual.

A setback allows for the fulcrum point to change so that a motor can lift the hull quickly without straining too much while keeping the hull on plane with relative ease. Each hull is different due to hull variations, weight carried, motor weight, rigging weight etc. When adding a plate please consider that a motor will be set back farther pushing your stern lower in the water. Consider comparing your boat to similar boats with Jackplates installed to select the appropriate seatback.

There is a possible internal leak in the Jackplate hydraulic actuator. This could be potentially caused by the debris on the check valves in the system. Try raising the Jackplate up and down 15-20 times. The internal hydraulic flow sometimes can clear the debris from the valve and make the leak disappear. If the problem does not go away please call Tech Support at 604-248-3858

On standard engine mounts the outboard must be mounted low enough as not to cause cavitation when running into chop or executing turns. In calm water on a straight course, it could be mounted higher, but when it’s bolted tightly to the transom, moving it up or down obviously can’t be accomplished. That’s where a jack plate comes in. Tilting up the engine to run across shallow water puts the cavitation plate in front of the propeller, actually encouraging cavitation. Lifting the engine vertically keeps the plate above the propeller and aligned with the movement of the boat. Thrust channels directly parallel to the surface of the water – the most efficient direction. A tilted engine throws a rooster tail of water up into the air. If you throw water up, you waste energy. Plus, Newton’s Third Law of Motion says that thrust upward must equal thrust downward. If you’re in shallow water, you don’t want your boat to be pushed down, especially at the stern. An engine tilted bow-up at a high angle to go across shallow water will raise the bow and lower the stern, making the draft of your boat deeper. A boat equipped with a jack plate can avoid all those negative consequences of tilting the engine. By simply raising the engine up with the jack plate until it is just on the verge of cavitation, you can run and start up in far shallower depths than you ever imagined.

A jack plate increases fuel efficiency. When you channel prop thrust parallel to the surface of the water rather than up or down in comparison, you waste less energy. Additionally, the lower drive unit, prop and skeg all create drag in the water. With a jack plate, you can raise the engine higher in the water column, thereby decreasing drag. Certainly, you may need to lower it farther into the water in rough-water conditions or in turns. But calm conditions will allow you to run with the engine higher and burn less fuel.

YES. All SeaStar Jackplates come with a Basic Rocker switch DK4020

YES. The only exception is the 4″ setback plate JP4040 and JP4040HD. This is inherent to the rigid SeaStar Jackplate design and limited room for attachment. In addition, for the 6” (JP4060, JP4060HD) we provide spacer adaptor kits DK4500P and DK4500S (Port and Starboard) that allow for anchor bracket attachment.

JP1040SS: 33 lbs
JP1060SS: 36 lbs
JP1080SS: 36 lbs
JP1100SS: 41 lbs
JP4040: 65 lbs
JP4040HD: 65 lbs
JP4060: 65 lbs
JP4060HD: 65 lbs
JP4080: 70 lbs
JP4100: 75 lbs
JP4120: 83 lbs

The total vertical travel of hydraulic Jackplates is 5.8”

The total vertical travel of manual Jackplates is 3”

Pro/Trim is compatible with Verado front mount helm. The mounting holes are in a 12 o’clock and 6 o’clock positions. It is not compatible with Verado tilt helm.

YES. SeaStar Jackplates follow the standard transom bolting pattern and will line up with the existing transom holes.

Yes. There are 2 relays with each harness. If your Jackplate harness does not contain relays please call our Customer Service immediately at 1-877-663-8396

One of the major advantages of the SeaStar Jackplate compared to the competition is in the design of the moving guides. They are tightly toleranced Stainless Steel rods and bushings that do not deform over time. This allows for rigid engine support at all Jackplate positions and prevents any engine shake. In addition there is no stickiness when running the hydraulic ram up and down

Jackplate follows standard SeaStar Solutions warranty of 2 years. Please see the warranty package that came with your SeaStar Jackplate for more details.

This is caused by low battery voltage. When the hydraulic actuator is first turned on, the motor inrush current pulls the battery voltage down. If the voltage is sufficiently low this will cause a momentary brown-out to the linear position sensor. Please ensure that the battery voltage is higher than 10.5 V when the engine is not running.

No. This is similar to other Jackplates on the market

1. Double check switch wiring.
2. Jackplate is installed backwards. Please refer to the Installation Manual for a proper orientation.

Jackplate harness is equipped with a 30A circuit breaker. The breaker will trip around 1 minute of continuous use.  Typical operating range is 30 – 40 A for short periods under load.

Jackplate is installed backwards. Please refer to the Installation Manual for a proper orientation.

JP5040R/JP5040X:   50 lbs
JP5060R/JP5060X:   53 lbs
JP5080R/JP5080X:   55 lbs
JP5100R/JP5100X:    58 lbs
JP5100R/JP5100X:    66 lbs

YES. For JP5040R/JP5040X you will need an adaptor DK4600 per each anchor.

The total vertical travel of hydraulic Jackplates is 5.6”

Similar to other Jackplates on the market SeaStar Jackplates have a 2.5″ height difference between top set of transom mounting holes and the top set of engine mounting holes. This is to accommodate for steering cylinder during tilt. However, once placed on the 12 degree transom that relative lift from the water line changes based on the setback:

JP5040R/JP5040X:   1.65″
JP5060R/JP5060X:   1.25″
JP5080R/JP5080X:   0.84″
JP5100R/JP5100X:    0.42″
JP5100R/JP5100X:    0.00″

YES. The only exception is the 4″ setback plate JP4040 and JP4040HD. This is inherent to the rigid SeaStar Jackplate design and limited room for attachment. In addition, for the 6” (JP4060, JP4060HD) we provide spacer adaptor kit DK4600 for each anchor used.

The total vertical travel of hydraulic Jackplates is 5.6”

Similar to other Jackplates on the market SeaStar Jackplates have a 2.5″ height difference between top set of transom mounting holes and the top set of engine mounting holes. This is to accommodate for steering cylinder during tilt. However, once placed on the 12 degree transom that relative lift from the water line changes based on the setback:

JP4040/JP4040HD:   1.65″
JP4060/JP4060HD:   1.25″
JP4080:                            .84″
JP4100:                             .42″
JP4120:                                 0″

JP4040:           65 lbs
JP4040HD:     65 lbs
JP4060:           65 lbs
JP4060HD:     65 lbs
JP4080:            70 lbs
JP4100:             75 lbs
JP4120:             83 lbs

JP1040SS:   33 lbs
JP1060SS:   36 lbs
JP1080SS:   36 lbs
JP1100SS:    41 lbs

The total vertical travel of hydraulic Jackplates is 3”

NO. The Easy Adjust product line has been obsoleted. The manual jackplates on offer by SeaStar are the side locking manual plates JP1000 series.

NO. EZ-DIAL only works for Detwiler plates and does not integrate with SeaStar non-contact SmartStick linear position sensor.