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  1. #1
    Member
    Join Date
    Aug 2018
    Location
    NY
    Posts
    4

    Prop to pad on 1980? Jack plate height?

    I’ve had my 1980 for alittle over a year. Last year it seemed to run fine and get pretty good speeds, atleast around what I was expecting, mid 50s. After I took it out of winter storage and ran it for the first time this year it seems much slower. I live on a river with a lot of current, and when I’m running up River I can get maybe 47-49 if I’m lucky, and going down river only getting maybe 53 if I’m lucky. I played with the manual jack plate a bit and lowered it some because it seemed like I needed to be able to trim up more, and that seemed to help alittle, but I want to start fresh at a certain prop to pad height and adjust it correctly so I can get the most out of the boat and motor. It’s a Mercury 150 four stroke and a 6” manual slide master jack plate. I see other people getting close to 60 mph out of their boat, same setup, so something isn’t set up quite right on mine. I also added power poles this year, but noticed the loss of speed before I added them. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

  2. #2
    I’m getting about the same numbers with a pro xs. I posted about it awhile back and someone said 2” on the jackplate which is where mine was. Frustrating...

  3. Member BigEasy's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Location
    Trafalgar, IN
    Posts
    1,805
    #3
    Call the factory and talk with Ryan Patterson. When I did the plant tour he told me they had tested most if not all the boat/motor combos and have notes on motor height measurement.

  4. Member buzz70b's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2016
    Location
    Whitehouse, Texas
    Posts
    73
    #4
    I noticed this same when taking it out the 1st this year as well. I played around with the jack plate height from to 2 - 2 1/2. When I picked up my boat last August it was at 2 1/4 high. The best settings was at 2 or 2 1/4. There was not much difference at all between the two but at 2 1/2 I lost 2 mph. Currently I'm back at the orginal height 2 1/4. But I still wasn't back at the same speeds last year until the water temperature got in the 60s and i new tank of fresh tank of gas and somehow my #'s are back to 55 -57.5 full tank, tournament load, and one person. Not sure it was the tank of gas I put in December before winterizing. I spoke to Merc and they said these engines are so complex all may have a play in it.

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