A jack plate for vertically raising and lowering an outboard motor mounted on a boat. The jack plate comprises a motor lift and a jack plate mounting assembly. The jack plate mounting assembly has a transom plate and a pair of spacing brackets with jack plate rails. The motor lift has a pair of bearings that are interlocked to a lift plate. The motor lift is slidably situated within the jack plate rails. Complementary geometries of the outer side edges of the lift plate and inner edges of channels in the bearings, as well as the spacing between the jack plate rails, provide a pressure fit that secures the lift plate between the bearings once the bearings are inserted into the jack plate rails.