# Cavitation plates



## Smackdaddy53

TranSport in Palacios makes a great plate that doesn’t look like a science experiment. A couple of guys on here have them on their Mosquito and I have one on my Maverick. They can gel coat it to match your motor if you want as well.


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## Zika

Added a Bob's Machine Shop True Tracker Stabilization Plate (whale tail for short) to the Mercury 60 on my Mosquito. Did help with hole shot some and I stay on plane slightly better at lower speeds. I can also zip across some scary-skinny water. I'm running a four-blade Mercury stainless prop with mine. Definitely worth the cost to me.


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## topnative2

compression plate?


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## Teeser

@Blackdog317 is probably your best resource on this:

https://www.microskiff.com/threads/crossroads-propeller-order.44444/page-3#post-371163


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## Matts

Teeser said:


> @Blackdog317 is probably your best resource on this:
> 
> https://www.microskiff.com/threads/crossroads-propeller-order.44444/page-3#post-371163


Thanks. I’ve also chatted with Blackdog.
Are there any folks out there who have a Shaw wing?


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## hunterbrown

I've never used it but check out http://www.cougarmarineusa.com/Cougar_Capture_Cavitation_Plates.html
I've been looking for a while and that's my favorite plate, not bad price wise either.


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## K3anderson

Matts said:


> Thanks. I’ve also chatted with Blackdog.
> Are there any folks out there who have a Shaw wing?


Yes. Work great on my HB. No more slide.


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## K3anderson

Thats a crossroads prop as well.


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## zthomas

I put a Perma Trim on my 17T. It's a "whale tail" like the Bob's plate, extending aft past the end of the motor's anti-vent plate but not forward the way Shaw Wings and such do.

I don't use a jackplate and don't have ventilation problems, so the motivation was mainly quicker, flatter holeshots.

The plate made a big difference with that. It also helps holding plane at low speeds and cuts down the sliding a fair amount. I saw zero loss of top end. Then again, top end for me is like 32 mph with a tailwind.

If there's any downside, it's that the plate is a little bit too good at holding a low speed plane. Trimmed all the way in at 10 mph or so, you can actually keep the stern so artificially high that you lose water pressure. Overheated it doing that the first time out with the plate, but it's easy enough to avoid.


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## Matts

hunterbrown said:


> I've never used it but check out http://www.cougarmarineusa.com/Cougar_Capture_Cavitation_Plates.html
> I've been looking for a while and that's my favorite plate, not bad price wise either.


That looks just like my old Boatright compression plate!
Thanks,
Matt


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## Matts

K3anderson said:


> Yes. Work great on my HB. No more slide.


Did you have to cut the Shaw Wing to make it work? Talked to Jack today about getting my 14p, 3 blade cupped prop to replace the high speed power tech that came with the skiff:-(


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## Smackdaddy53

Matts said:


> Did you have to cut the Shaw Wing to make it work? Talked to Jack today about getting my 14p, 3 blade cupped prop to replace the high speed power tech that came with the skiff:-(


Jack will recommend a Tran compression plate to compliment his prop selection.


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## Matts

Smackdaddy53 said:


> Jack will recommend a Tran compression plate to compliment his prop selection.


Yep, he did. However, I think he said he uses a Clancy cav plate on his Spear skiff.


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## Matts

Matts said:


> Yep, he did. However, I think he said he uses a Clancy cav plate on his Spear skiff.


He's a super knowledgeable and friendly guy.


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## coconutgroves

Jack recommended a prop based on my boat and the Shaw Wing. @Matts - you can call Stiffy and talk to Kevin directly. He may have experience with your boat and the Shaw. I talked with him over the phone, then in person when I picked mine up.


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## Matts

coconutgroves said:


> Jack recommended a prop based on my boat and the Shaw Wing. @Matts - you can call Stiffy and talk to Kevin directly. He may have experience with your boat and the Shaw. I talked with him over the phone, then in person when I picked mine up.


Yep, called him today too. Sadly, I drove right by FiberTex twice daily for 3 yrs prior to moving to Richmond:-(


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## K3anderson

Matts said:


> Did you have to cut the Shaw Wing to make it work? (


Nope. You tell them what engine you have and they send you one cut for that. No drilling, cutting, etc.


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## crboggs

K3anderson said:


> Nope. You tell them what engine you have and they send you one cut for that. No drilling, cutting, etc.


Easy install. Made a huge difference. Mandatory equipment IMHO.


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## coconutgroves

My Shaw Wing was easy to install myself.

The only thing you have to cut is the anode/tracking adjustment area. On my Etec I traced the circle, then used a dremel to cut around it.


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## Matts

Sold. I like as large of a cav plate as I can get without major mods. I truly appreciate all the input.


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## coconutgroves

I can get up in 14" of water with it. Gained about 4 to 5 " by adding it. That is measured.


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## Matts

Thanks Coconutgroves.


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## efi2712micro

Matts said:


> Thanks Coconutgroves.


Did you add it Matt? I have been debating putting one on my BT3 for a while now but not sure how much it would help with hole shots.


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## Matts

efi2712micro said:


> Did you add it Matt? I have been debating putting one on my BT3 for a while now but not sure how much it would help with hole shots.


I’m actually taking my skiff down to Fibertex for a Shaw Wing fit tomorrow at 0600. They think it will need cut to fit the Mosquito. Added a 3 blade 14 pitch heavily cupped prop at the recommendation of two other BT Mosquito owners on the forum. Raising motor way up as this thing needs some help to get it where I want it! Will post pics next week.


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## Smackdaddy53

Did you get the Foreman custom prop?


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## Matts

Yep. Again, on the advice of two other mosquito owners, 14 pitch, 3 blade heavily cupped Foreman. I’ve yet to test it as motor was mounted way to low. Soon....


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## SKIFFSTIFF

I have had a Trans on my 60 Etec for 10 years.It cut down on back spray and prop noise from running the jack plate in the top notch.Also helped with hole shot and slow plane.Running jack's 3 blade that he made for my old beavertail Ospry.
Skiffstiff


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## Smackdaddy53

Matts said:


> Yep. Again, on the advice of two other mosquito owners, 14 pitch, 3 blade heavily cupped Foreman. I’ve yet to test it as motor was mounted way to low. Soon....


You’ll love it


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## efi2712micro

Matts said:


> I’m actually taking my skiff down to Fibertex for a Shaw Wing fit tomorrow at 0600. They think it will need cut to fit the Mosquito. Added a 3 blade 14 pitch heavily cupped prop at the recommendation of two other BT Mosquito owners on the forum. Raising motor way up as this thing needs some help to get it where I want it! Will post pics next week.


And ???!? How was the trip? How does the cav plate look like? Have pictures?


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## Matts

efi2712micro said:


> And ???!? How was the trip? How does the cav plate look like? Have pictures?


Picking it up later today. Dropped it off and headed to the deer lease.


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## Matts

Well here's the finished product. Kevin measured it all with the motor trimmed in, jacked up, etc and made some slight adjustments. Then, after it was installed, made some small cut outs on the back for the power pole on one side. I haven't wet tested it all yet as I've been hunting. The motor is now raised all the way up on the jack plate, as other folks have done with their Mosquitos. The jack plate is still mounted in it's lowest position on the transom. This looks much like my jon boat's Boatright Marine cav/compression plate, which seemed to work well overall. We will see. Kevin did a nice job making this thing fit.


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## efi2712micro

Looks real nice on the engine. I feel like I need one now. . Any chance I can check it out sometimes soon?


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## Smackdaddy53

I guess he had to make it narrower to clear the sponsons when turning. It looks good, just hope the plate being narrower than the prop isn’t going to give you cavitation issues as you jack her up. Not being an ass, just what my eyes see. Eager to see how she runs. Judging by what you stated about being fully jacked and trimmed you should have plenty of water.


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## Matts

Smackdaddy53 said:


> I guess he had to make it narrower to clear the sponsons when turning. It looks good, just hope the plate being narrower than the prop isn’t going to give you cavitation issues as you jack her up. Not being an ass, just what my eyes see. Eager to see how she runs. Judging by what you stated about being fully jacked and trimmed you should have plenty of water.


The plate is “stock” width, I believe what they call a long, small. Kevin just trimmed a little 3-4” piece of the back. No worries. It takes much more to offend me. This whole thing is just one big, expensive experiment The end goal.....to run as shallow as the Weld-Craft If I fail, I’m going back to aluminum.


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## Matts

efi2712micro said:


> Looks real nice on the engine. I feel like I need one now. . Any chance I can check it out sometimes soon?


Sure thing. I think you have my number. I’m off tomorrow but back in the salt mine Tuesday-Friday. Give a shout. Great to meet area fly fishermen!
Matt


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## Smackdaddy53

Matts said:


> The plate is “stock” width, I believe what they call a long, small. Kevin just trimmed a little 3-4” piece of the back. No worries. It takes much more to offend me. This whole thing is just one big, expensive experiment The end goal.....to run as shallow as the Weld-Craft If I fail, I’m going back to aluminum.


Dude I have been there with my last boat. I had a lot of fun learning and continue to learn from it and my current boat. This forum also teaches me a lot about the properties of water and these negative spaces we call skiffs that we put in them. My setup is far from perfect but which one isn’t? I think of it like fishing, if we had it all figured out it probably would not be as fun.


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## Matts

Yep, reading about skiffs is like fly fishing.... the more I learn, the less I know. Skiffs are a hobby all unto themselves. I’ve been shopping skiffs for well over 2 yrs and even though I have one, still have to look.


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## efi2712micro

Amen ....


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## cwilliams

Matt, 

Have you been able to run your skiff with the new cavitation plate? I like the idea of the shaw-wing since I'm in the area and we don't have to drill holes in the motor. We just picked up our BT mosquito and are beginning the process of swapping props and adding a cavitation plate. I'm new to the forum but have been following this forum for a while. This thread has been really helpful!

- Chris


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## Matts

Chris,
I have not been able to run it yet. Just finished prop installation today as I was waiting on a prop lock. I raised the motor all the way up on the jack plate but the jack plate is still all the way down on the transom mount. I may test it once first but I think the motor needs to be higher. I’d like to get it out on the water this weekend but looks like another deep freeze is en route. Feel free to contact me if you have any other questions.


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## Smackdaddy53

Make sure you check the bolts in the Shaw Wing after each trip. If they back out the plate will loosen and start to bounce and ruin the lower unit if you don’t catch it in time. That’s the main reason I like the Tran plate. It has through bolts to the plate and if they loosen it’s not going to rub a hole in the lower unit.


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## devrep

I have a black shaw wing for a 50hp Tohatsu if anyone's interested. I don't feel that it did anything for my set up so I took it off.


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## Matts

Smackdaddy53 said:


> Make sure you check the bolts in the Shaw Wing after each trip. If they back out the plate will loosen and start to bounce and ruin the lower unit if you don’t catch it in time. That’s the main reason I like the Tran plate. It has through bolts to the plate and if they loosen it’s not going to rub a hole in the lower unit.


Now you tell me Thanks for the sage advice!


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## devrep

My shaw wing came with hardware and included nylock nuts. I saw no problems with it loosening up. You're also supposed to bed it in silicone.


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## Smackdaddy53

devrep said:


> My shaw wing came with hardware and included nylock nuts. I saw no problems with it loosening up. You're also supposed to bed it in silicone.


Just sharing some intel from buddies that had issues but theg were on bigger bay boats with 150-250hp motors. Lots more pressure on the plate with more speed and heavier rigs. One of them neglected the loose plate and it rubbed a hole into the gearcase.


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## Smackdaddy53

Matts said:


> Now you tell me Thanks for the sage advice!


I recommended a Tran, had one on the last two boats I owned and several guide buddies run them. The Shaw should be fine, just keep an eye on the bolts.


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## cwilliams

Matts said:


> Chris,
> I have not been able to run it yet. Just finished prop installation today as I was waiting on a prop lock. I raised the motor all the way up on the jack plate but the jack plate is still all the way down on the transom mount. I may test it once first but I think the motor needs to be higher. I’d like to get it out on the water this weekend but looks like another deep freeze is en route. Feel free to contact me if you have any other questions.


Thanks for the help! If we go with the shaw wing I’ll keep an eye on the nuts too. I’ll be picking up a prop from Jack later this week. Once we get the ventilation/cavitation fixed, I’ll start tweaking motor mount position and add the cavitation plate.


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## Matts

Smackdaddy53 said:


> I recommended a Tran, had one on the last two boats I owned and several guide buddies run them. The Shaw should be fine, just keep an eye on the bolts.


True dat. I'm just independent so went with the larger Shaw Wing. I had Kevin's guys install it as I was too busy to mess with special cuts and fitting. I see a bit of silicone so hopefully they have it all good. On another note, in light of the expertise we have following this thread, does anyone see any problems with my Foreman prop having 2-3mm of clearance between it and the anode? The anode on my boat is turned one way slightly for some reason (as opposed to being straight).


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## Smackdaddy53

Matts said:


> True dat. I'm just independent so went with the larger Shaw Wing. I had Kevin's guys install it as I was too busy to mess with special cuts and fitting. I see a bit of silicone so hopefully they have it all good. On another note, in light of the expertise we have following this thread, does anyone see any problems with my Foreman prop having 2-3mm of clearance between it and the anode? The anode on my boat is turned one way slightly for some reason (as opposed to being straight).


No, my prop was actually hitting the anode when I put the new prop on so I trimmed the anode with a grinder and made the leading edge of the anode shorter. 150+ hours and no issues. You want more clearance than you have just so pieces of shell and other debris don’t get in between while under power.


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## Matts

Smackdaddy53 said:


> No, my prop was actually hitting the anode when I put the new prop on so I trimmed the anode with a grinder and made the leading edge of the anode shorter. 150+ hours and no issues. You want more clearance than you have just so pieces of shell and other debris don’t get in between while under power.


I had the thought of shell getting hung in the very small gap. I need to test this thing. Looked at my motor with it jacked all the way down and trimmed all the way up and I only have about 1.5" before cowling hits poling platform so I'm not sure I can raise the motor another 1-2" without big problems….


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## Smackdaddy53

Matts said:


> I had the thought of shell getting hung in the very small gap. I need to test this thing. Looked at my motor with it jacked all the way down and trimmed all the way up and I only have about 1.5" before cowling hits poling platform so I'm not sure I can raise the motor another 1-2" without big problems….


I had my platform fabbed after I had the motor where I wanted it and have about 1.5” between the cowling and rear platform anchor light plate when fully jacked and trimmed flat. You can always have custom starboard spacers made by anytide on here to get some platform height.


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## cwilliams

Our anode is the same way. My thinking is to balance out the the perpendicular force caused by the prop spinning in the water. This way the boat doesn’t want to always steer left or right. Same theory as twin screw props on tankers and other large vessels. Not sure if that’s the true purpose of it though haha.


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## Smackdaddy53

cwilliams said:


> Our anode is the same way. My thinking is to balance out the the perpendicular force caused by the prop spinning in the water. This way the boat doesn’t want to always steer left or right. Same theory as twin screw props on tankers and other large vessels. Not sure if that’s the true purpose of it though haha.


The higher your prop is the less effective the anode is at countering prop/torque steer.


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## cwilliams

Smackdaddy53 said:


> The higher your prop is the less effective the anode is at countering prop/torque steer.


That’s true. Now I’m curious of how it came to be designed like that too.


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## TXFrenchman

Any feedback on the Saw Wing? Mine showed up today and I am about to mount it on a Tohatsu 40 tiller with a flat transom Ankona Native 17.


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## Smackdaddy53

Benjamin Baudouin said:


> View attachment 61842
> Any feedback on the Saw Wing? Mine showed up today and I am about to mount it on a Tohatsu 40 tiller with a flat transom Ankona Native 17.


It’s big and the sides don’t turn down much. In my opinion the Tran Sport plate is much better and it’s one piece. You already got it so bolt her on and make sure you check your fasteners after every trip.


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## TXFrenchman

I appreciate the info, mine is the small/long and hopefully I’ll be able to run with the jacknplate a little higher. I’m sure I’ll have to make a few adjustments. The motor is still on the top hole.


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## Sublime

Here’s a pic of the trans plate I had on my 30 etec. It was much longer before I trimmed it down. Worked great and I had no qualms drilling holes (4) in my motor.


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## SomaliPirate

So the gist of this thread is Trans vs. Stiffy?


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## TXFrenchman

SomaliPirate said:


> So the gist of this thread is Trans vs. Stiffy?


I haven’t seen one of the Trans and certainly don’t have the knowledge of either to compare them. I went with the Shaw Wing because I have a couple of buddies with them on bay boats that swear by them, they were very helpful when I called (every time haha), and are located pretty close to where I fish should I ever need to stop by.


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## TXFrenchman

As soon as this 4200 cures we’ll see what it does! Anybody else getting errors when trying to upload pictures?


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## Smackdaddy53

Benjamin Baudouin said:


> As soon as this 4200 cures we’ll see what it does! Anybody else getting errors when trying to upload pictures?


Yep, everyone is having issues.


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## TXFrenchman

Let there be photos!! One thing that I wish I’d noticed before getting everything mounted up is the plate needs to be notched to removed the trim tab anode! Hopefully I can do some precision dremel work and seal up the raw fiberglass edge.


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## Sublime

Looks good! And just get some 5 minute epoxy from wally world to seal any edges that you have to cut.


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## TXFrenchman

A quick follow up after running some with the new plate... I can run the plate quite a bit higher than before and the skiff actually feels quite a bit more stable with the engine up high. I can also pop-up quite a bit faster and stay on plane at lower speed. The engine is currently mounted on the lowest hole and I think I’ll move it up to reduce wear on the jack plate. 

Has anybody noticed a plate making the engine seem a lot louder?? Maybe it’s because I’m running the engine higher but it was a noticeably different sound post plate install.


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## Smackdaddy53

Benjamin Baudouin said:


> A quick follow up after running some with the new plate... I can run the plate quite a bit higher than before and the skiff actually feels quite a bit more stable with the engine up high. I can also pop-up quite a bit faster and stay on plane at lower speed. The engine is currently mounted on the lowest hole and I think I’ll move it up to reduce wear on the jack plate.
> 
> Has anybody noticed a plate making the engine seem a lot louder?? Maybe it’s because I’m running the engine higher but it was a noticeably different sound post plate install.


It’s from prop cavitation and thru hub exhaust being out of the water. No worries.


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## TXFrenchman

Smackdaddy53 said:


> It’s from prop cavitation and thru hub exhaust being out of the water. No worries.


Thanks Smack! Caught me by surprise out on the water.


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