How Timmy Stenlake Uses His Dometic Jackplate

Timothy Stenlake aka "Timmy Turtle" recently completed an end-to-end boat build project, taking him over 12 months to complete. Timmy is now finally back on the water doing what he loves, and he’s been able to see out the 2023 Australian summer living a life on the water in the tropical far North Queensland. 

Follow Timmy’s adventures on YouTube at Timmy Turtle Fish and on Instagram at @timmyturtle_official 

Your boat has been finished for around 5 months now. Congratulations! How have you been finding it?

Thanks very much. The boat has been awesome, and I've been doing everything I had planned to do with it. I built it for inshore and offshore use but have only really been exploring offshore with it so far, with many reef overnighters and big days out 100+ km offshore! It has been quite the challenge picking good weather windows as it's the first offshore boat I have owned. It's also a massive learning curve fishing for all new species as well as paying sponsors back and family members back, all while trying to keep my own content rolling and learning a totally new type of fishing. I've been really enjoying the challenge! 

Your new boat is fitted with a number of Dometic products, including our Dometic Xtreme Jackplate. Can you tell us about how you’ve found it and what you like most about it?   

I always wanted a jackplate on the boat from the very beginning of the build, after riding in a similar boat with one installed. Being able to lift the motor up while travelling in and out of shallow water to get to my favorite fishing spots and back to the boat ramp up here in North QLD has meant that I don’t have to sit and wait to get back in waiting for the tide to come up. Also giving yourself a couple of extra km/h with the same number of revs or watching the fuel economy get better with just slight adjustments makes it one of my favourite things I have installed on the boat. 

One of the most talked about features of the jackplate is its fuel economy. How beneficial have you found this for you personally?  

Personally, I have seen increases in fuel economy from .05 - .3km/l when adjusting the jackplate running to and from the reef or up the Hinchinbrook channel! An extra 300m per litre is huge when you are travelling 100km straight offshore! 
 
When do you use your jackplate the most?  
 
Mostly in good conditions. When it is flat, calm, or running up the rivers you get the most use out of the jackplate. I can have the motor jacked up 6 inches without any cavitation in calm conditions and get the full benefits of having less motor in the water. I also use the jackplate when putting my boat on the trailer to make sure I don’t hit the bottom ramp and damage my motor, as getting in and out of the ramp at dead low means I can get on the water any time I like without checking the tides first knowing I can jack my motor up and go. 
  
For someone who is considering installing their boat with a jackplate, what are some additional benefits you would tell them about?   

Fuel economy alone should be enough to consider buying a jackplate! Being able to play around with engine heights and finding optimal running heights for different conditions is huge!