prop help please for 181 Champion

[Matthewstn]

23 Tempest with hub kit is your ticket.

Picked up a used 23 tempest plus off eBay, went 59.2mph at around 5600 rpm, 3.5” below pad. I am going to play with the engine height to get that dialed in, and then send the prop to mark croxton to get refinished and tweaked. Need to find another couple hundred RPM and a few MPH somewhere. The prop has a couple nicks and scratches on it, so hopefully getting it blueprinted will put me over 60mph.

[MMosher]

Between that and cooler water temps it will.

[grout-scout]

You might send it to Mark first, because you could be wasting time setting it up now. How’s the water pressure & steering torque at WOT? If it’s all good, you might raise the jackplate 1/4” and see if it gets more rpms & speed.

[jarhead175]

You mentioned "alone" make sure you have a tournament load (2adults, full of fuel, livewells full, gear) when adjusting your setup. If you setup light it will fall on it's nose when you add any weight. Setup heavy and it will run better when you run any lighter.

[Matthewstn]

You might send it to Mark first, because you could be wasting time setting it up now. How’s the water pressure & steering torque at WOT? If it’s all good, you might raise the jackplate 1/4” and see if it gets more rpms & speed.

Don’t have a water pressure gauge on the boat or a sensor for my Etec... going to be a project this winter. I am hesitant to go much higher without knowing the water pressure. Steering torque is not noticeable, I have hydraulic steering and it steering wheel position at WOT is the same as it was when the motor was 3/4” lower

[pmgoffjr]

Just to make sure.
That speed and RPMS are full throttle full trim?
Where is the water breaking? Any out the side or straight back?
How high is the roostertail?
How stiff is the steering?
Is the boat light and loose or stuck to the water?
Details help.

[Matthewstn]

Just to make sure.
That speed and RPMS are full throttle full trim?
Where is the water breaking? Any out the side or straight back?
How high is the roostertail?
How stiff is the steering?
Is the boat light and loose or stuck to the water?
Details help.

Yes full throttle, full trim.
Maybe a small amount of water breaking it to the side, but from the back of the boat. No water is coming out from the sides of the boat if that makes sense. I will take some pictures next time I run the boat to show you what it looks like.
Roostertail is no higher than the cowl. Not very thick either, it is low and misty. Roostertail was shorter with the 25p razor iii than the 23p tempest plus. Almost no rooster tail with the razor iii.
The boat is noticeably lighter and looser at full speed and trim. I do feel like if I had a couple more degrees of trim, the bow would continue to lift and maybe yield extra speed however.

thank you very much for your time and help. I haven’t encountered anyone this helpful on the internet before. Much appreciated!

[LCfishing18]

hi all, i bought a 98 181 last year has a 150 efi merc turning a 23p tempest. I've read that this prop is the ideal set up for this boat my prop to pad is roughly 3.5" and i am only getting 56-58 at 5200 rpm wont turn greater then 5200 rpm, threw on a 21 tempest and got 5600 rpm but no speed increase only got 55-56.these speeds and rpm readings are at full throttle and a tournament load. everything I've read is this merc should be turning the 23p around 56-5800 rpm. i haven't had the motor checked by a mechanic but i haven't had any issues with this and the motor runs great. just trying to figure out why I'm only getting 5200 rpm with the 23p, id like to hit the 60mph range people say this boat and motor are capable of. any help is greatly appreciated, thank you.

[Lea]

You have attached to a very old thread. If you don’t get responses soon, start a new thread so folks will notice !