How high is too high?

[stiletto200]

yes yet another enigine height questio :(
was wandering if there is a rule of thumb for raising the engine on the transom?
am running a 200 '89 blackmax on a 16 ft mono. i have raised it til the upper water pick up holes are in line with the botm of the hull,but i still hafta trim the thing up a fair bit to get it really moving currently just hitting around 68 mph.too slow i rekn
i blokt off the top 3 holes in the water pickup on lower unit (standard one) and relieved the rest a tad.
there is no set back should i put a spacer in an lift another hole?
i do have a water psi guage so i can keep an eye on it.

[baja200merk]

the reason u need to trim is cause you dont have enough bow lift... in order to get more bow lift you should add set back and or run a bowlifting prop chopper etc.

[MTOLLEY]

the only rule of thumb i ever learned was to raise the motor until it cant carry the bow or you lose water psi.then move it down a 1/8" to 1/4". do you have some type of cone on the lu? im assuming not since you are judgeing engine by the coolant holes on the side of the case. i would keep the water psi above 12psi if it were mine. good luck! mike t

[stiletto200]

cheers mike
no cone only slightly moded water intakes
there are really no provision to raise in certain increments except the holes on the transom bracket
currently using an ali 4 blade prop (great mid range) should i try lifting one hole an put a 3 blade on?
am wondering if 1hole might be to far (bout 3/4")?

[Streamin101]

You should be able to raise the motor to the highest hole with out worring about water pressure problems. As the water comes off the back of the transom it flows upward, therefore you can raise the motor so the water pickup is level or slightly higher then the keel of the boat. If you want to go higher you will need setback. The drawback is running the motor at these heights it will tend to ventilate when turning on plane, but if your looking for max top end this is the way to go. Then you can get rid of that #*%!ing four blade and run a 3 blade chopper.:D

[baja200merk]

. If you want to go higher you will need setback. Then you can get rid of that #*%!ing four blade and run a 3 blade chopper.:D

throw the 4 blade in the lake run a chopper of similar pitch. a jackplate will be extremely helpful in finding the sweet spot in your setup. i love my hydraulic put 4 people in the boat, bump it down to an inch above and ur golden :D

[stiletto200]

thanx heaps streamin thats the sorta answers i is lookin for,
unfortunatly i dont hav the funds for a jack plate but it defin8ly would be the go

[Maple Leaf]

Look in the for sale thread, or post in parts wanted, There are some cheap manual Jack plates out there:rolleyes: Just got to look at the right time:eek: