2016 Tracker Pro Guide V175 - Speed / RPM / Hole Shot / Motor Height

[trondsbr]

I've been up and down this forum and I find bits and pieces of ifo here then some info there then some conflicts due to differences. Hopefully I can bring all of my issues together and someone with a lot more experience in these topics can assist with guiding me in the right direction.

2016 Tracker Pro Guide V175 Combo (Used boat, new to me. Previously worked with older Lunds on the recreational side. Spent 10 years USCG and worked on the RHIBs. Went to Johnson/Evinrude outboard school back in 2000)
2016 Mercury Four Stroke 115hp (not CT, not Pro XS)
One 240lb adult. 25 gallons fuel, 3 tackle boxes, some other basic lightweight items (estimated 530lbs total for everything)

Issues / Concerns:
1. Hole shot - Must have motor trimmed all the way down or the bow rises insanely high. I would guess to a 35 degree if not more. Motor trimmed all the way down gives about 20-25 degree rise.
2. WOT RPM - Once on plane, I trim the motor up, on the trim gauge its 3/4 up between the bottom and the first mark. Any higher and we cavitate. Trimmed down I run 5300RPM trimmed up to the point before cavitation runs 5800RPM.
3. Speed with the above RPM - At WOT trimmed down at 5300RPM I get 32MPH GPS / 35MPH Gauge. At WOT trimmed up at 5800RPM I get 36MPH GPS / 38MPH Gauge.
4. The motor is current mounted in hole 2 of 5 is counting from the top down. (second from the top)
5. The boat was purchased used. It had a four blade Black Max Aluminum 13.25 x 17. I purchased a Turning Point Turning Point Express Mach4 13.25 x 17" Propeller. My numbers changed. WOT trimmed up ran at 6000RPM at 35MPH. Trimmed down ran at 5100RPM at 30MPH both GPS measured.
6. On Plane Performance - The spray from the hull shoots out right beside me whether I am trimmed up or down. More so when trimmed down. It doesn't feel like its getting up on plane fully. As I trim up is starts to get better then starts cavitating.


What my expectations are.
With the stainless prop I expected to see higher speed with similar RPM ranges.
My though is the less flex in the prop would have helped with speed to around 40MPH.
The stainless prop would have helped get the boats up out of the water more.

I am at a loss for my next step. Do I raise the motor? Do I buy another prop that's 15 pitch? Jack plate? Hydro foil? Drill holes in the boat and fill it with concrete?

I appreciate you taking the time to read my post and offer your thoughts. Please tell me what would you do to remedy this or tell me this is just how it is going to be with this boat.

[CincyGus]

You don't say anything about hole shot but I'm going to assume that improved with the SS 4 blade.
Do you have any issues with cavitation when your running WOT and turn in a sharp turn?
You're right in the RPM range you should be at 6000.
Where is your cavitation plate on your motor in relation to the boats hull?
If you put a straight edge on the hull and extend it towards the motor is the cavitation plate above, even with or below that straight edge?

My 175TXW only gave me about 1/4 trim before it started cavitating also. The 60hp motor on it was also mounted in the second from the top hole and matched up well on the cavitation and hull. I could get 35mph with it lightly loaded with a 1/4 tank and just myself so I'm surprised that all you're getting with a 115hp. Granted it's a V-hull vs. a modified V Hull but I would still expect better with the bigger motor.

[trondsbr]

CincyGus, I greatly appreciate your reply.

Holeshot is only tolerable with the motor trimmed all the way down. If it isn't, the bow will rise real high and take 15 or more seconds to finally level onto a plane.
When I get on plane and trim up to where is doesn't feel like it's "plowing" water it will cavitate on the slightest of turns.
At max speed, I looked at the cavitation plate. It wasn't visible. I trimmed the motor up and looked again. Still not visible.
Ran the straight edge across the bottom to the engine. The cavitation plate is 5 inches below the straight edge line from the hull. I think I see where this is going. An engine lighting eye is in my future. I am debating a jack plate but never used one on any of the engine swaps I've done on the military RHIBs I worked on.
In your opinion and experience, jack plate to raise the motor so I have more fine tuning ability or is that unnecessary and just slide the motor up two to three holes?

Again, I appreciate the response. Thank You.

[CincyGus]

I would start with setting the motor to the correct hole that gets the cavitation plate as close to even with the bottom of the hull as possible. Make sure you are measuring from the bottom of the actual hull, Not the bottom of the transom as there is a step back on some Trackers where the transom ends and there's a step back to where the drain plug is. Fixing situations like this can get real ugly and expensive if you change more than one thing at a time as you have no real cause and effect when you change multiples at the same time. So since your mounted in the 2nd from the top, lets get it mounted in the hole that gets us as close as we can get to matching up with the straight edge. Then we re-test and go from there. I'm surprised that you're having cavitation problems with it being that 5" under the hull height. That's why I mention to make sure you're measuring from the hull bottom and not the transom bottom. Usually if your motors set way to deep, you can't get it to cavitate on turns unless your trimmed way to high. Let me know how that goes and we'll go from there.

[gr8shot]

I've got the same boat, same setup. I am running a 13x17 Spitfire aluminum prop. 4 blade. This boat is new to me. Its a 2016 that I bought with 25 hours on it. I had it at Santee this past weekend and I was very impressed with it. With me and 2 other people on board, half tank of fuel and a full rear livewell (app. 300lbs), I ran 41.2mph per gps at WOT. 6000rpm. Hole shot is good and the boat rides and handles great. My motor is mounted in the second hole from the top also. I dont know what the difference would be other than mine is a single console, so yours is probably a little heavier.IMG_2154.jpg

[FrancoCialone]

I've been up and down this forum and I find bits and pieces of ifo here then some info there then some conflicts due to differences. Hopefully I can bring all of my issues together and someone with a lot more experience in these topics can assist with guiding me in the right direction.

2016 Tracker Pro Guide V175 Combo (Used boat, new to me. Previously worked with older Lunds on the recreational side. Spent 10 years USCG and worked on the RHIBs. Went to Johnson/Evinrude outboard school back in 2000)
2016 Mercury Four Stroke 115hp (not CT, not Pro XS)
One 240lb adult. 25 gallons fuel, 3 tackle boxes, some other basic lightweight items (estimated 530lbs total for everything)

Issues / Concerns:
1. Hole shot - Must have motor trimmed all the way down or the bow rises insanely high. I would guess to a 35 degree if not more. Motor trimmed all the way down gives about 20-25 degree rise.
2. WOT RPM - Once on plane, I trim the motor up, on the trim gauge its 3/4 up between the bottom and the first mark. Any higher and we cavitate. Trimmed down I run 5300RPM trimmed up to the point before cavitation runs 5800RPM.
3. Speed with the above RPM - At WOT trimmed down at 5300RPM I get 32MPH GPS / 35MPH Gauge. At WOT trimmed up at 5800RPM I get 36MPH GPS / 38MPH Gauge.
4. The motor is current mounted in hole 2 of 5 is counting from the top down. (second from the top)
5. The boat was purchased used. It had a four blade Black Max Aluminum 13.25 x 17. I purchased a Turning Point Turning Point Express Mach4 13.25 x 17" Propeller. My numbers changed. WOT trimmed up ran at 6000RPM at 35MPH. Trimmed down ran at 5100RPM at 30MPH both GPS measured.
6. On Plane Performance - The spray from the hull shoots out right beside me whether I am trimmed up or down. More so when trimmed down. It doesn't feel like its getting up on plane fully. As I trim up is starts to get better then starts cavitating.


What my expectations are.
With the stainless prop I expected to see higher speed with similar RPM ranges.
My though is the less flex in the prop would have helped with speed to around 40MPH.
The stainless prop would have helped get the boats up out of the water more.

I am at a loss for my next step. Do I raise the motor? Do I buy another prop that's 15 pitch? Jack plate? Hydro foil? Drill holes in the boat and fill it with concrete?

I appreciate you taking the time to read my post and offer your thoughts. Please tell me what would you do to remedy this or tell me this is just how it is going to be with this boat.

BTW, Mercury Black Max aluminum props are 3 blade, the 4 blade aluminum are Spitfire, the SS 4 blade are Spitfire X7. I had a 13X19 Black Max on my Lund boat and replaced it with a 13X19 aluminum 4 blade Spitfire, improved holeshot but lost about 1-2 mph @wot. I have a 17 pitch 4 blade SS Trophy Plus that gives me instant holeshot but I lose another 1-3 mph @ wot.

[FrancoCialone]

All the PVS plugs on the Trophy Plus are in place and not drilled out, don' t need extra rpms for holeshot since I get all the revs I need from this prop. Looking back, I should have bought a 19 pitch instead of a 17.

[trondsbr]

After a lot of blood sweat and tears I figured out what the issues are. I pulled up the decking and was shocked at how saturated the foam was. There were low spots of foam and missing foam all over that allowed water to sit in those crevasses. I dug out the foam on both sides and the entire transom. Final weight was 469 lbs of saturated foam. The factory really did a crap job at putting the foam in on this boat. It was so inconsistent it baffles me. Any water that seeped through seams or edges of the decking would just pool up with nowhere to go. Pressure washer, scrapers, and curse words over the course of three days is all it took to get the job done.

[trondsbr]

Nice looking boat, those are real good looking in that red paint. I've got the black with dual consoles and full windows.

[trondsbr]

I have a black aluminum 4 blade that came with the boat. I wanted to get this weight thing figured out and once the motor and boat sit properly I will look at buying a stainless prop. Turning point or Spitfire x7 are the two I am debating on. The holeshot on the boat before finding the foam issue was disgusting. It would put the bow up and plow water for 10 to 15 seconds before finally dropping the bow only to spray out the sides right by me or slightly ahead of me.

BTW, Mercury Black Max aluminum props are 3 blade, the 4 blade aluminum are Spitfire, the SS 4 blade are Spitfire X7. I had a 13X19 Black Max on my Lund boat and replaced it with a 13X19 aluminum 4 blade Spitfire, improved holeshot but lost about 1-2 mph @wot. I have a 17 pitch 4 blade SS Trophy Plus that gives me instant holeshot but I lose another 1-3 mph @ wot.

[allanbradl]

After a lot of blood sweat and tears I figured out what the issues are. I pulled up the decking and was shocked at how saturated the foam was. There were low spots of foam and missing foam all over that allowed water to sit in those crevasses. I dug out the foam on both sides and the entire transom. Final weight was 469 lbs of saturated foam. The factory really did a crap job at putting the foam in on this boat. It was so inconsistent it baffles me. Any water that seeped through seams or edges of the decking would just pool up with nowhere to go. Pressure washer, scrapers, and curse words over the course of three days is all it took to get the job done.

I just bought an exactly same boat as yours.2015 , V175 Pro Guide, basic 115 Merc with exactly same prop. 13.25 x 17 Express Mach 4.
I have symptoms described in your original post, that is how I found this thread.
Can you share with me the final (post repair) boat stats please (speed /rpm/etc) .
Most puzzling is the amount of trim that you apply after you are on top. If you can describe it in trim button push duration eg: one second shot, two half second shots, . or whatever describes the trim amount the best.
My current situation - cannot get out of the hole if not trimmed all the way down, otherwise i risk falling out due to a crazy bow lift.
Once on the plane , If i trim up even moderately- I am loosing RPM - mind boggling !!!
At the speed, sometimes the boat is randomly tilted to left or right.
All conditions - Full tank , one person, moderate wave/wind 5MPH/1.5 chop - never had a chance to see flat water yet.

How hard was it to pull the decking? Any guides/recommendations?
Any advise is appreciated.