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  1. #1
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    Jul 2019
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    Michigan
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    Bounce....bounce....bounce

    Hey fellas — I’ve been a silent observer of the board for some time and you’ve all helped me solve a number of issues with my old boat. I have a new-to-me Skeeter ZX225 with VMax 225. My first outing with it was on St Clair. It was “moderate” chop with 2 footers in afternoon. I had all kinds of issues keeping the bow down and the prop would bust free (cavitate) much more than I’d expect — and sometimes did that when trimmed all the way down i think. Porpoising was common. That evening I went to a local lake. Flat calm and boat would porpoise. It’s not a big lake so I wasn’t able to really try and get to WOT but at 25-34 it would still porpoise....and motor was trimmed all the way down. I didn’t really feel I could ever trim up at all on either lake.

    I know there’s additional detail needed. I will measure prop height below/above pad this evening. It’s a 3blade prop...I’ll get more specs.

    Its on a manual jack plate.

    One other observation — it has a Lowrance total transducer mounted on a bracket on the jack plate. That would not read at speeds over 10 mph, which may also indicate motor is too high...

    anyway, I’m going to try and debug it. With my use I don’t really care to go 75 mph. I do want to cruise at moderate speeds without porpoising and in big water I need to be able get the nose down as needed and, of course, to get the nice up when needed as well.

    I have a 4 blade 25 pitch trophy plus prop that i could install. I’m not opposed to a quality foil if that’s a good option. I just want to minimize the porpoising and eliminate the cavitation....and i need that ducer to read. I realize it may not read at 65 but it should at 45-50. It did on my previous Champ 191.

  2. Member
    Join Date
    Jul 2019
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    Michigan
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    11
    #2
    Update on this: measured and looks like center of prop shaft is 1.25 inches below pad. 3 blade prop is 14 1/2x27-M. I’m thinking I’ll drop the jack plate 1” and try the 4 blade and see what results are...

  3. Member Rkammer's Avatar
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    Jun 2016
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    Mount Dora, Florida
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    444
    #3
    Before changing props, why not just drop the jack plate down to about 3" below the pad and try it out.
    Last edited by Rkammer; 07-15-2019 at 11:58 PM.

  4. Banned
    Join Date
    Apr 2017
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    Godley Tx
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    2,007
    #4
    1" below is really high on a skeeter. With that said. That boat reall likes to porpoise

  5. Member
    Join Date
    Jul 2019
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    Michigan
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    11
    #5
    No real reason for the 4 blade aside feo
    I’ve always ran one on the Great Lakes per the advice of guys who fish the often...I honestly have no other reasoning

  6. Banned
    Join Date
    Jul 2016
    Location
    Skiatook, Oklahoma
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    #6
    Quote Originally Posted by Rkammer View Post
    Before changing props, why not just drop the jack place down to about 3" below the pad and try it out.
    ^^^^this
    1-1/4" p2p is way too high

  7. Pat Goff
    Join Date
    Jun 2004
    Location
    Seadrift TX
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    10,942
    #7
    27 is a lot of prop for a 225, and a 27M is really more like a 28.
    As recommended, lower your motor down, should cure most of the porpoising, that's really just your prop losing bite and can't hold it up.
    I sure wouldn't be afraid to try your trophy, it's not the optimum wheel, but I'll venture it runs better than that 27..
    Pat Goff

    Two degrees from center
    of nowhere.
    Smithwick TX.

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  8. Member
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    Jul 2019
    Location
    Michigan
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    #8
    Well no bueno. Lowered the motor to about 2.5" below pad...I need to measure again to confirm as I feel like I'm forgetting exactly what I measured. Put the 4-blade on. Went to the lake. During hole shot, the prop dug hard and wanted to go then spins out, RPMs go up to about 6000ish and it would sort of "surge" to get on plane. Once on plane, it did indeed become easier to get the nose down and didn't porpoise nearly as bad. I didn't try to do much at that point as I was a little spooked by the hole shot and I sure don't want to screw something up as I'm basically a shade-tree not-really-a-mechanic.

    So I'll admit a mistake of trying to throw two solutions at the thing at one time...I should have simply lowered and left the 3-blade on and reported back with results. Tomorrow I'll put the 3-blade back on and try again with the motor at the new height. Is that the route to go?

  9. Member
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    Jul 2019
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    Michigan
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    #9
    One other note, I'm not entirely sure how much adjustment I have left on the jackplate. I'll need to look again to confirm but the "slots" on the sides are just below the very top of the jackplate now. Meaning, previously, you could see the slot opening. Now you can't see the opening. I'm not sure how much more downward adjust there may be. I'm "guessing" about an inch. Not sure if that matters but just trying to give you guys as much detail as I can. As I mentioned previously, I'm not opposed to a good foil -- not a cheap "whale tail" but a nice one. I say this because I understand from a lot of research and words from folks like yourselves that Skeeters do tend to porpoise at lower speeds. With my fishing conditions (smaller lakes or big, big water that gets rough often) I'm not doing much 50-65 mph cruising. The lake is either too small for it or too big to have much more than the occassional outing where it's slick and you can haul. Usually, you're looking to match your bow height to the conditions to stay dry and drive through the chop...or rollers...but what I don't want is something that makes me nervous that I'm doing damage getting on plane and rides like a coaster. And the prop blowout with the original setup was disconcerting as well...again, that was happening trimmed full down but with the motor that high, it does make some sense.

    Anyway...thanks for the help guys.

  10. Member
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    Jul 2019
    Location
    Michigan
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    #10
    Another thing i should mention...the prop has four holes in it. I believe one has a plug, the other three do not. Obviously (as you guys can tell) I've not got much idea when it comes to props, etc. I'm not "dumb"...just not experienced in this area.

  11. Member Rkammer's Avatar
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    Jun 2016
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    Mount Dora, Florida
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    444
    #11
    Yes, put the 3 blade back on but, lower that motor as much as you can and to at least 3 inches PtoP.

  12. Member Finlander's Avatar
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    Aug 2013
    Location
    St. John's, FL
    Posts
    711
    #12
    Plug all the ports in that Tropy. You do not need any extra ventilation which may be causing your loss of bite coming out.
    2012 Ranger Z519 Comanche - Merc. 225 Pro XS - 24 Razor 4 XL/25 Tempest Plus

  13. Member
    Join Date
    Jan 2005
    Location
    Red Oak Va.
    Posts
    10,597
    #13
    Sounds like you need a 25" prop not a 27" prop. It's porpoising because the prop can't hold the bow up so it's either too high or the cup is worn off. I'd bet it's too high and too much pitch. Find a 25 M to test or a 25 tempest. That trophy might need a cav ring on it to stop the over venting but I'd plug all the holes first before I ran it again.

  14. Member
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    Jan 2005
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    Albertville, Al
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    4,686
    #14
    I would bet that setting the height at 3-3 1/2 inch on a 25 prop will do the trick.

  15. Member
    Join Date
    Jul 2019
    Location
    Michigan
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    11
    #15
    Hey guys -- Just an update. Dropped to 3.25 inches below pad and put the 3-blade, 27-M back on. Finally got to the lake this morning. Hit the throttle, shot out of the hole in no time and zero porpoising. Able to control the bow as I'd like, was cruising on plane at less than 20mph....THANKS ALL! I'll test again with a passenger but I'd say she's where she needs to be...