[Gfunk]

Thanks for the words of encouragement. I thought the same thing, probably just me being paranoid. It really was pretty solid before the jack plate. The bolt holes appear to be solid , no putty or anything. Given its age, this has been my number one worry though. Glad to have educated opinions weigh in on it.
Going to run it in the spring then monkey with the adjustment. Still have a 21" prop on, so I know I'm looking at a new one, I was just waiting till the plate was on to buy it. I was getting about 4800 rpms and about 38 mph before the plate, so pretty sure this will help break the 40 mph barrier pretty easy.