1998 ranger 519 jackplate

[pafoster]

I have a 1998 519 With a 225 opti and want to put a hydraulic jack plate on it. I was looking for a 6-8 inch plate but I found a good deal on a 10” plate will this put too much stress on the transom? Is it too much set back that would cause cavitation issues? Thanks

[Finlander]

I can’t speak to the 1998 but my 2012 Z519 came with a 10” Atlas. That being said, I would not exceed 6” on a 98. I believe the Ranger pad and hull to be to shallow so as the hull bounces in the waves the added set back creates more lateral shifting when the hull bounces. Keep in mind the 2012 built in set back transom is nearly twice that of the 98 so mine maybe more pronounced than an earlier model. I also do. It believe the set back helps as much as the vertical adjustment.

[ericm]

That era of Ranger limited jack plate offset to 6". The 1998 519 has 12" of built-in offset in the "VS" transom so 6" is plenty. The 10" will increase stress on the transom with minimal gains in performance. Not to add more worry to this decision, but the 1997 and 1998 519VS models were known to have issues with their transoms regarding failures. Ranger admitted as much to those that had failures repaired at their plant but they never went the route of a recall. I'd think twice about going to 10".

[Bryan O]

We had a 99’ 519 with a Merc 225 EFI. It had transom problem before it ever had a jackplate. Ranger fixed it under warranty. I think there was some common issue with those old 519vs, because several I know of had to be repaired. Afterwards we added a 10” Atlas and it really woke that boat up. Holeshot improved, and top speed was outstanding - 72 easy. Before I did anything with a jackplate, I’d be very sure the transom was sound. Afterwards, I’d do it.

[ericm]

We had a 99’ 519 with a Merc 225 EFI. It had transom problem before it ever had a jackplate. Ranger fixed it under warranty. I think there was some common issue with those old 519vs, because several I know of had to be repaired. Afterwards we added a 10” Atlas and it really woke that boat up. Holeshot improved, and top speed was outstanding - 72 easy. Before I did anything with a jackplate, I’d be very sure the transom was sound. Afterwards, I’d do it.

That's what I was alluding to in my post above. One of the guys I fished FLW with back in mid 2000's (I fished as a co-angler) had his 1998 519VS transom transom rip completely off on Champlain. They ran out to their spot on the first day of the tournament and his co-angler went back to start fishing and said "hey you've got a major crack in your transom" and my buddy came back with "it's just a gel coat crack don't worry about it, just start fishing"! About five minutes later they heard a crunching sound and the transom, engine, and all peeled off into the lake and hung up on the control cables. The co shot back with "that's one hell of a gel coat crack"!

He was second owner and Ranger still stepped up and rebuilt it at no charge. They indicated there was some base defect in the transom in that model.