Hey guys, I purchased this boat a few months back, and I have some questions. First, let me describe the performance of the boat as it sits now. With a 60° Johnson 90hp V4 and 20 Raker...
1. Holeshot is reasonable with 2 men and about 100lbs of tackle, but if I fill the livewell....it takes forever to break over. I think I can help this by moving more weight toward the front. I plan to build a deck extension/storage compartment over the winter to house more tackle toward the bow.
2. Handling....it's sort of good and bad. It's very responsive to steering input while under power. It pretty much simply goes where you tell it to, but I feel it's "glued to the water" because my prop is buried and trim has to remain tucked below 1/4 trim at all times. If I trim up at all below 4500rpm it porpoises. I can trim to 1/4 if I'm hammer down, but any higher and it porpoises.
3. Speed...lol! I mean, it's a 90. I haven't confirmed with gps, but the speedo reads 35 at best. I'd say it's pretty close. I know it'll never be fast, so to speak, but I'd like to at least keep up with Bass Trackers! Lol.
As I mentioned earlier, the prop is buried. I measured the propshaft at just shy of 7" below the pad. It has no jackplate. Its mounted in its lowest position, though. I have about 2" of height adjustment. I'm thinking I need to raise it....just not sure how high to go. It's not so simple without a plate. Don't really want to continue to play with mounting bolts/sealant. Don't want to end up with a weak transom. I'm also considering transom wedges for more negative trim. I believe I can gain some topend, quicker holeshot, and possibly combat the porpoise problem by raising the engine, and getting some tackle out of the rear compartments moved forward.
So, what do y'all think? Am I on the right track? Any advice on engine height? Thanks in advance for any helpful tips.