I know this topic has come up before but it turned more into an
argument than a solution. :-)

I have a 22 ft. commercial fishing boat with a Volvo Penta stern drive
setup. The engine is tired and needs to be rebuilt or replaced, a
chore I would rather avoid. I've decided to go with a Mercury 115HP 4
stroke outboard mounted on the transom.

I'm very familiar with beefing and bracing the transom to hold a 350+
pound outboard. I would like to avoid notching the transom if at all
possible to mount the outboard. So about the only option I have is to
go with some sort of bracket. There are no conventional motor
brackets that hold this kind of weight, but I was able to locate
several Jack Plates. I only need a simple manual one to mount the
motor on. No fancy hydraulics, or platforms or extreme setbacks or
anything like that is needed. This would be for mounting the outboard
only.

The question I have is: Are these jack plates designed to be used with
notched transoms only, or can I mount an outboard on my transom using
a jack plate and avoid any cutting away of the transom?

Can anyone recommend a jack plate with sufficient capacity and minimal
setback from the transom?

Thanks,
Mike