Margay Speed Issues Desperate Need Of Help!!

[PMantle]

Until you try a 21 in a high lift prop, I think you are spinning your wheels.

[Dr Spooner]

Motor 100% healthy?
Achieving 100% throttle?
Prop condition?

[1781ccT]

I have a Margay with a 2 stroke 115ProXS, so it’s not a 1:1 comparison.

The part that sticks out to me is the rooster tail. It suggests the motor is over trimmed to me.

With my boat, 42-44mph is about the max I’ll see if there’s not enough lift for the weight in the boat. But once the front hull lifts out of the water, the boat accelerates rapidly another 10mph or so. My top speed is around 55mph with the 115ProXS. So I do actually believe that if a prop can get you a little bit more speed, it’ll lift that hull up and the speed will climb quite a bit. But the continued reference to rooster tail says it’s over trimmed. Keep that motor tucked all the way down and just keep bumping it up in very short (1sec or less) amounts.

[cal z20]

Take a ride with the dealer and see it for yourself. If what they say is accurate then you should be able to see exactly what they are doing that you are not.

[AndrewM-Fishing]

randolphbaran,
Stop doing anything and everything. Stop lowering and raising. Stop searching around for another prop. Stop going back to the dealer. We need to address this one step at a time. As you say it's just plowing water with zero lift. This is because you have 27% prop slip based on the numbers you provided in the first post. There is a couple things that can cause this. Bent prop shaft, mangled prop, lower unit damage, hull damage, dirty water (aerated water) feeding the prop can all have a negative affect on how well the prop bites thus negatively affecting how much lift the prop is capable of creating. This NEEDS to be addressed before anything else.

Now, I'm going to give you a specific set of instructions and if I'm correct you'll be shaking your head.
1. Set the prop to pad at 3.75
2. Remove the transducer from the transom and just tie it up to the motor rigging hose.
3. Put the transducer screws back in the original holes with a bit of silicone so you don't get any water intrusion.
4. Go for a rip.
5. Don't watch the trim gauge, just look back at the motor.

I'm willing to bet the transducer is aerating the water before it gets to the prop and this is causing the issue. I was chasing bow lift/prop slip for months last season. So much wasted time and money for something so simple.

[llsdjv]

I have the standard 6 inch jack plate. Trust me the 23 scorpion will fix your issue. With the tempest, fury and trophy all I did was plow water and would only hit about 40mph. The scorpion will provide the needed lift and you should hit around 60mph.

[llsdjv]

I have the standard jack plate flush.

[llsdjv]

I went through all the pains you did and contacted bass cat and went through everything you have with the exact same results. Only the scorpion and sl4 have worked for me. Someone mentioned a razor but I haven't tried that.

[llsdjv]

Pm sent and you can call me.

[randolphbaran]

PMantle - I was told that the 21 might be too little and I might end up hitting the rev limiter. Im going to have to ask around if the 23 Solas Scorpion I ordered does not work out.

Dr Spooner - Motor is brand new and so is the prop no damage by me maybe a manufacture issue and the shops and dealer I brought it too tell me it is at WOT.

1781ccT - I purchased the 23 Solas Scorpion today I am going to give that a try, I will be sure to try trimming less when I go to test it out.

cal z20 - If the 23 Solas Scorpion doesn't work out then I'll be bringing it back to the dealer in May and have them show me, I do not believe they achieved any kind of speed with the way it is set up now.


AndrewM-Fishing - Yeah I have a ton of slip, The motor is brand new 2022 there is not any damage, at least not by me maybe a manufacture issue. I am going to be purchasing a 6 foot level to check out the hull to see if there is any cupping or anything defective. As for the transducer the dealer moved the transducer up from being mounted low to the hull to now underneath the motor mounted to the jack plate. They said that was one of my problems. Where it is located now it is high up away from the prop.

llsdjv - I purchased the 23 Solas Scorpion today. They said it will be here in 3-4 days so when it comes in I am going to give it a try. hopefully it all goes well!

[1BADAIR]

How long have the lithium’s been in the boat? I have heard of the lack of weight really upsetting some touchy hulls

[randolphbaran]

1BADAIR - The lithiums have been in the boat since day 1. I have heard the same thing but I am running with a full tank of gas and I have 4 batteries back there and I have tried adding wight to the back compartment to see if that was the issue. I might borrow some AGM batteries and run it to see tho.

[PMantle]

PMantle - I was told that the 21 might be too little and I might end up hitting the rev limiter. Im going to have to ask around if the 23 Solas Scorpion I ordered does not work out.

I understand your hesitancy, but 23P is the max these boats run well with a 2 stroke. A repower to the 4 strokes always requires going down in pitch. Glad to see you're trying a Scorpion, but they run stiff. Hope it works out.

[Cajunhunter67]

I have been following this thread.
Once you get the Scorpion, test it with your tournament load. Always test alone. Keep everything consistent.
Once you get performance and handling dialed in, document RPM's for Hole Shot, Speed/RPM's for beginning of bow lift, and Speed/RPM at WOT.

After, call Ronnie Gilbert and ask him about getting the prop worked for maximum efficiency and performance.
Keep us updated.

Don

[PMantle]

Here's a report from Vessel View Mobile with a 23 Tempest. 2 stroke though. There was a little left, but I am chicken.

[randolphbaran]

Everyone,

I FINALLY FIGURED IT OUT!!!!

I am beyond grateful for everyone that has helped me and gave me advise especially llsdjv!!

It has been 2 weeks since I tried out the new prop that worked wonders for the boat, just have been so busy and unable to make a post to thank everyone and show my results!

As per llsdjv suggestion I purchased the 23P Solas Scorpion and gave it a try on a local lake.

For my first run I tried leaving the jackplate all the way down and had a buddy of mine in the boat and my 150 pounds of gear.
P to P was 4 1/2"
My measurement on the jackplate was 1 1/4"
All of the vent holes were open.

We got 55 MPH and 5600RPM
The boat took a little bit to "POP" (maybe a minuet) to jump up on pad but it got there!! Once it did the boat went from 43 to 55 in a matter of seconds!!! It was super exciting to see the boat finally have some performance after all of this head ache I have been going through.

On my second run I went by my self and my 150 pounds of gear.
P to P was 4 1/2"
My measurement on the jackplate was 1 1/4"
All of the vent holes were open.

I got up to 59 MPH and 5650-5700 RPM

This time there was no waiting for the boat to get on pad and "POP" it just did instantly. Knowing this I decided to try to lift the Jackplate on the next run some because it was so far down and I was only at 5650 RPM.

On the third run we tried moving my jackplate up 1/2" and had a buddy of mine in the boat and my 150 pounds of gear.
P to P was 4"
My measurement on the jackplate was 1 3/4"
All of the vent holes were open.

This run was worst of all and we only achieved 43 MPH and 5350 RPM. The bow would not lift at all no matter what I did.

On the fourth run we moved the jackplate back down to where it was to start and had a buddy of mine in the boat and my 150 pounds of gear but this time we tried closing the vent holes.
P to P was 4 1/2"
My measurement on the jackplate was 1 1/4"
All of the vent holes were closed.

This run was basically the same as the first no improvement on hole shot not speed or RPM.

The final run I tried having my gear, my buddies gear, and filled the live wells and opened the vent holes back up.
P to P was 4 1/2"
My measurement on the jackplate was 1 1/4"
All of the vent holes were open.

This time it took a bit longer in the hole shot and it took a little longer for the boat to "POP" but we eventually got it up to 54 MPH which I am pretty happy with. Once we got the boat up to speed it did chine walk quite a bit but it still felt better than it ever has.


I just ordered a spare Solas Scorpion and went down to 22P to see if changes anything and if I could get a little more RPM out of the motor because max RPM is 5800-6000.

All in all I am blown away with how the 23P Solas Scorpion changed this boat. It now has Speed, RPM, handles well and actually gets on pad and goes!! I really cant express how grateful I am for everyones help and input!

[Grizzly]

Great News !!!

[PMantle]

That pop you're talking about was a cool sensation.

[tommoorehouse]

I have both a 25p and a 23p scorpion. The pop I get with the 25p scorpion is intimidating. The first time I did it with a friend in my boat they let out a few cuss words when they felt it. That's why they call it the oh shit handle. It's really cool! It's like the whole boat just lifts up several inches and you take off. I've always assumed that's the boat getting on the pad.

I suspect the 22p will be significantly better with your 4 stroke. Now if you can figure out how to slow down the chine walk over 60 let me know!

[Cajunhunter67]

Great news on figuring out the prop to get the boat to perform.
The 22 will do great in the summer months. If you bump the limiter, get it worked.

The chine is part of running a performance rig. Once you learn to control it with steering inputs, I believe you will see 60-61 mph.

Don