Looking for better top end speed

[BigBellyBassn]

Hope all is well. I have a 2000 518 DVS with a 1998 Johnson Vindicator 200. I have an 8" manual slidemaster jackplate. The prop currently installed is a Renegade Bass 4 blade 13.5 23P SS prop. I have the pad to prop at 3.5". From my research this is a great starting point and then small adjustments can be made from there.

On a good day I may hit 52 MPH as a max at roughly 5700 rpm which I was told that is slow even though the boat is a heavier one. This is with a full tourney load with typically 1 gas tank full and a 1/4 in the other for backup.

What do you think I should be seeing with this setup?

I was looking at a Johnson 3 blad SS 14.5 24P but not sure if it'll make a difference.

What have any of you fine folks experienced with the same or a similar setup?

Bigbellybassn

[Robby Moser]

The 4 blade prop gives you a quicker hole shot,the 3 blade prop will give you better speed,but you will lose about 200 rpm because of the 1 degree of pitch increase and 1" increase of diameter the particular Johnson prop you are considering.

For every degree of pitch you go up you will lose 200 rpms on tach.
For every degree of pitch you go down you will gain 200 rpms on tach.

[mactlman]

sure engine is sound on all holes? I had a 200 ficht on a 20 foot stratos and used a worked 25p gade. I ran 68 on gps. your hull is heavy but 2 foot shorter so 15mph difference seems like something more is wrong? my 19 ft basscat with 200 opti did 65 mph with a 24 fury also

[Jbass123]

“Regular” stainless steel props, which it sounds like you are using, don’t compare to high-performance props like the Fury or Raker when it comes to speed. So there’s that, and the prop you are using might be damaged or otherwise not right out of the box. But you really need to look first at a Raker prop, which is OMC/Evinrude/Johnson’s high-performance prop designed for bass boats. There are other high-performance props you could use, but the Raker [or Raker II] is the baseline for rigs like yours. For another point of reference, I had a 2011 Ranger Z119, which is a 19’6” boat; no jack plate and a 200 Evinrude. It ran 66 mph with a 22 pitch Raker II prop at only slightly higher rpms than you are running. With a jack plate, at 5700 rpms, either there is something bad wrong with your prop or with your setup, such as something disturbing the flow of water to the prop so that your rpms are artificially inflated, aka cavitation.

[BigBellyBassn]

I don't recall the compression numbers but when it was done last year everything was good according to my boat tech who only handles Johnson/Evinrude.

Should I stick with a 13.5 " and go down to a 21P for better top end.

It was suggested to me going to a 3 blade 24P or 25P I should get more top end speed!

Is my 3.5" pad to prop wrong maybe?

My jack plate is a slidemaster 8" manual...

I think I forgot to mention I have one 12' Talon on the back with a jack plate bracket and tilt...

[BigBellyBassn]

So should I consider a 3 balde at 13.5" and a 21P or?

I forgot to mention I have a 12' talon on the back with a jackplate bracket and tilt.

[PatriotAW4]

You need a 24" pitch Raker. That should get you in the low 60s, if not you have a motor or hull problem.

[1ranger487vs]

I have same boat. It would run 67 full load with a 200 opti. 65 with a new sho 200

[1ranger487vs]

Also you need bow lift

[mactlman]

could it be water-logged and real heavy?

[H2O_Fowl]

I think the max RPM for that engine is 5500 if I’m not mistaken. A Raker would be a better prop
choice for you but you’re not going to make up over 10 MPH with just a prop I don’t think.

Not the same hull but my 1999 518VX with a 200
opti mounted straight to the transom will run 65-67 all day long with just me, my gear and same fuel load. 25 tempest plus
at 5750 RPM.

[Jbass123]

Also you need bow lift

This ^ is the big difference I’ve seen between standard SST-style stainless props and bass boat performance props like the Raker. The stouter blade construction of props like the Raker keep the blade shape more intact at high rpms: in other words, the shape designed into the prop for efficiency is maintained rather than degraded. But Raker-style performance props also have increased bow lift capabilities via enhanced cup and rake. Full disclosure, I am not a prop expert by any means, but have witnessed dramatic performance increases from regular stainless to high performance props. As noted, however, 10+ mph gains from just a prop would be surprising.