Help with prop!! 97 evinrude 115

[Ozzy R]

Hey guys I joined the forum because I always hear good things about the guys on here and very helpful when people ask questions.... Ok let me start off with what I got... The boats a 2001 flats & Bay 16ft originally with a 70 Yamaha and I went and put on a 97 evinrude 115 20in shaft after the yami died... Currently running a 4blade rogue 13x19 prop I love the hole shot it's got to plane on the flats but now I'm look for some good top end to have fun .... I got a 4in setback flats jack I'm reving 6300 at about 50mph playing with the trim and I know I can trim more and play with the jackplate some more but don't want to blow engine.... Yet .... What you recommend for a good 3 blade prop ( hard to find used big pitch 13spline omc props)

[1FASTLASER]

Find yourself a good original Raker. It has good lifting charecteristics and good top end capabilities

[FishonAlli]

3 blade 19" raker will give u what ur looking for, hole shot with good lift.

[Ozzy R]

That's the problem I'm having, don't really know what pitch to go with if I'm over revving with a 19 pitch 4blade I think in going to over rev even more with a 19 pitch 3blade.... And it's such a mission to find used 13spline props

[1FASTLASER]

Where is your prop shaft at and is this a vhull with a pad?

[Lockjaw]

Try a 20in raker.

[steve@scp]

if your running a 19p 4 blade to 6300
I'd think a 22p v4 raker will put you back to around 5700.

you will most likely need to run a 22 raker then send it off for fine tuning.

[Ozzy R]

I came across a new raker 13.5 x 22 real cheap.... I put it on, WOT jack plate all the way down and no trimming 6300 rpm 46mph.... My tach is right on .... Anybody know where in south florida I can take the prop to? Maybe get some work done to it? I don't really know anybody to ask for help... This is mainly my fishing boat to hit up the flats but I kinda got the bug to go fast...

[Ozzy R]

So you can have an idea what boat looks like and where shaft sits with jackplate lowered and motor trimmed down

[1FASTLASER]

I shoulda done told ya Welcome to ScreamandFly. There is more info here than a dictionary. Anyways you are real close on your setup. The pics you posted are one thing alot of people forget to do which really helps everyone point you in the right direction.
Do you have a water pressure gauge? That is a VERY VALUABLE instrument to have on a boat especially when trying to optimize your setup. No water pressure if you jack it to high and BOOM! Being a flats boat your going to have to reach a happy medium like I did on my boat. Rakers especially the original ones are great props to run. There are several propn beaters here on the site that can get you some more outta your prop. One more piece of info that we could use is your hull weight. Do you know that? Also go ahead and measure your propshaft to bottom of vhull distance. Its very easy to do..With the boat on the trailer level the hull .....use a level at the very bottom of the hull and level with the trailer jack. Then level the engine by placing the level on the cavatation plate. Then measure the distance from the center of the propshaft (the point of the case facing the boat) to the bottom of the boat at that rear of the pad. A good starting point is 3-3 1/2" below pad. Then you can work from there. But once again lemme say this you got to have a H20 gauge when you start jacking the engine up you have to watch your water pressure,RPMS and speed (GPS) speed preferred and much better. When you either start loosing water pressure or rpms come up and no speed increase your as high as you can go with that particular setup.Without low water pickups you will only be able to jack it to maybe 3" or a little shorter like maybe 2 3/4" below pad without low water pickups. Any of the prop gurus on here can work your prop to maximize your topend speed but you will loose some holeshot. You have to figure out if you want great holeshot or extreme topend....Thats the happy medium I was referring to. I fish alot of skinny water so I have 2 Rakers that I use. When fishing the skinny water I drop down to my smaller raker to jump me outta the hole. But if I wanna play and run the topend numbers I put on my bigger raker and have a blast. Hope I have explained this good enough for you.

[rkmirage]

Welcome to S&F, I would go with a 22 Raker. Get to know some of guys in your area and attend one of the meets, first of all, you will meet some really great people and you may get an oportunity to try out some different props. Good luck!

[1FASTLASER]

Like Steve said and rjsmirage..... 22 original Raker add some tip cupping and PVS holes and set her up. Add the water pressure gauge and start jacking. Would really help to know weight of boat.

[Allyda]

There's a guy in Tampa who will work your prop for you. Just do a Google search for boat propeller repair and you'll find him and a few others. I like your boat. It's just what I'm looking for for a saltwater rig.

Back to your setup. 1Fastlaser makes a good point. A good starting point is about 3 & 1/2 " below pad and for your motor's sake I'll repeat his warning: Make sure you have a water pressure gauge, and that your water pressure stays at or above 15 psi. A low water pickup nose cone would make a nice addition to your rig. Bob's has one with the pickups right on top of the front of the bullet just for flats rigs. I'm getting one for my rig here in a couple of weeks. You can check it out at Bobsmachineshop.com.

I also agree it would help us help you if you knew your hull weight. Keep us posted how things go!