Ranger Rt198p in need of bow lift

[Dbl lung]

I am new to BBC. I purchased a 2018 Ranger RT198P last September and have been working to get some lift as well as RPM. The spray has been ahead of the counsel mostly up until i recently had the prop recupped and the pitch reduced. The prop is/was a 23p Tempest. The RPM continues to be at 5200 on the dash tach which I am aware may not be right. I also had a hydraulic Bob's jack plate installed that did nothing to improve the performance. The motor is mounted in the middle hole on the jack plate. With the boat and motor level and the jack plate down the prop to pad measurement is 4 3/4". The welds on the bottom of the transom on the outside are nearly 1/4" which has to be creating a drag. Speed has been around 50 mph by myself and drops to around 45 when I add my 100 LB lab or another person. This boat is like a barge!

I need your help as this motor is working much harder then it needs to get what little performance it is giving.

[PSM207]

What outboard engine and can you also provide a picture of the welds?

[Dbl lung]

2018 Mercury 4 Stroke….not pro xs88517D3A-9433-42D3-8441-8C4C641D7ECC.jpeg

[PSM207]

Horsepower?

[Jbotunn]

I have a 21 RT188p with Mercury 115 Proxs CT. Trolling motor is a Minn Kota Ultrex 115. I have attached pictures of the welds on the bottom of mine. Although this was not the complete performance issue for mine. My fishing trip yesterday was the best it has performed. I am going to post the performance story of mine shortly. It has been a long process. 3EB6A88F-5CE4-448D-92BF-E85B5FF4BC37.jpeg

[Mechanic Bob]

May I suggest, before grinding the welds, try leveling them out with some filler like JB Weld. Thus making it a smooth surface and see if that helps.

[PSM207]

I suspect these pronounced welds were added to the hull to act as a trim tab and counter act a design flaw with the hull.

[Rich1]

much info needed. How is the boat loaded, what trolling motor is up front, Is all your tackle in the nose? Motor seems awful deep. What HP engine?

[RyanJ]

Too much prop pitch. Probably need a 21p. I have a new Laser II 21p if listed let me know if interested. I have a new 90 Mercury 4 stroke and get 5400 rpms with the 21p running an Alumacraft 1860.

[mdtritn21]

That weld is on everyone of them and it causes some problems. Some have ground them down flush and others have filled in front of them which seems to work the best. That boat never has been fast just too much drag with that big hull.