2009 Tracker PT 190 TX W/ Mercury 90 ELPTO & Minnkota Maxxum 80 TM
"Not for fame or reward, Not for place or for rank, Not lured by ambition, Or goaded by necessity, But in simple Obedience to Duty; As they understood it, These men suffered all, Sacrificed all, Dared all--and died" USN Submariner - "Pride runs Deep"
Test run compete. I was running 40 mph at 5500 rpm before we changed anything. First run today was with the hydrofoil still on and it sucked! Major prop slip and only about 36. Went back to the launch, pulled the hydrofoil off. I was getting 38.5 at 5700-5750 rpm. It comes up on plane much faster and handles like a dream now. I did have an extra 240lbs wth my buddy and his gear. It does not feel like the nose is coming up as high as it should be. I was feeling drag and if I raised the trim anymore I was slipping the prop. If i trimmed down she dug into the water. I could not find that "sweet" spot like I did before we moved anything. My prop to pad is around 5.25" after raising it two holes. Your thoughts?
2009 Tracker PT 190 TX W/ Mercury 90 ELPTO & Minnkota Maxxum 80 TM
"Not for fame or reward, Not for place or for rank, Not lured by ambition, Or goaded by necessity, But in simple Obedience to Duty; As they understood it, These men suffered all, Sacrificed all, Dared all--and died" USN Submariner - "Pride runs Deep"
I am guessing a different prop is the right answer?
2009 Tracker PT 190 TX W/ Mercury 90 ELPTO & Minnkota Maxxum 80 TM
"Not for fame or reward, Not for place or for rank, Not lured by ambition, Or goaded by necessity, But in simple Obedience to Duty; As they understood it, These men suffered all, Sacrificed all, Dared all--and died" USN Submariner - "Pride runs Deep"
I, would move it down one hole. To me on these hulls, the sweet spot is in the second hole down from the top. Mostly it's right between the second and third hole. SS props are 5-3/4" prop to pad. Aluminum props are 6-1/4" prop to pad. Leaving the motor where it is. With the prop you have. Rework the prop a half pitch down a add trailing edged cup to it (not hard wall cup). This will bring your rpms up alittle more. And bring the bow up. If no prop work, drop motor one hole. Or a new bow lifting prop with cup allready added, leaving motor where it is.
Have an adventure everyday !
2006 PT 175 TX 60 HP.
2009 Tracker PT 190 TX W/ Mercury 90 ELPTO & Minnkota Maxxum 80 TM
"Not for fame or reward, Not for place or for rank, Not lured by ambition, Or goaded by necessity, But in simple Obedience to Duty; As they understood it, These men suffered all, Sacrificed all, Dared all--and died" USN Submariner - "Pride runs Deep"
I have the 08 Optimax on my 09 190TX and I left the motor on the top hole as it came from the factory. I had C&O Marine do a tune up and changed the stock prop out to a 22P Laser II that I bought from a board member. With my son (233lbs) and myself (200lbs) against current we went as pictured. With the current we went 1 mph faster. My RPM's will not go above 5500 now so I will most likely get it reworked by Mark on my next vacation trip home. It handled well and got on plane about the same as it did with the 19P aluminum prop that it came with.
After I moved the motor back down one hole I did a test run tonight with just me. Ended up getting a top speed of 41.8 @ 5500 RPM's, this was without the Hydrofoil on. I think the motor is where it needs to be now or as close as I am going to get without a jack plate at least. I still feel like I am getting more prop slip at the trim angle that feels the best than I was with the hydrofoil on, but that could be just me. Would a 20 or 21 pitch prop get me any higher in the speed category without exceeding max rpms for this motor? In the end I am not really caring about "maxing" out the speed, but i would like to have the best combination with out going to a bigger motor. Of course a 115 four stroke would be nice to have!
Last edited by dauntless_powered; 07-28-2016 at 09:36 AM.
2009 Tracker PT 190 TX W/ Mercury 90 ELPTO & Minnkota Maxxum 80 TM
"Not for fame or reward, Not for place or for rank, Not lured by ambition, Or goaded by necessity, But in simple Obedience to Duty; As they understood it, These men suffered all, Sacrificed all, Dared all--and died" USN Submariner - "Pride runs Deep"
5500 is your rpm max, for this 2 stroke right? You could go to a 20p if you stay in the aluminum. You will gain 1 mph but holeshot will suffer some. And loose 150-200 rpms. What I would do is get a SS prop in the same pitch. You'll gain about 2 mph loose about 100 rpms. But have much better hookup at higher trim, and better holeshot. With motors of this hp and higher your just not getting enough out of an aluminum prop. You can feel a big improvement in every category with a ss prop. Some need to stay with aluminum , because of where they fish at it's more practical and safer. But for your hp, SS is the way to go. If you do go SS , get a Vengeance in same 19p. If a stiffer prop like PowerTech or the like, you'll need to drop a pitch. What ever you get, stay with bow lifting characteristics in the prop.
Have an adventure everyday !
2006 PT 175 TX 60 HP.
Thanks for the excellent feedback!
2009 Tracker PT 190 TX W/ Mercury 90 ELPTO & Minnkota Maxxum 80 TM
"Not for fame or reward, Not for place or for rank, Not lured by ambition, Or goaded by necessity, But in simple Obedience to Duty; As they understood it, These men suffered all, Sacrificed all, Dared all--and died" USN Submariner - "Pride runs Deep"
Great thread and exactly what I'm trying to figure out since my motor is in the top hole. I asked my mechanic to raise it to the 3rd hole and he told me there's an edge across the transom (like a rail) that the motor mount "sits" on. He's concerned that raising the motor would weaken (add stress) the transom since there'd be a gap between the mount and the transom rail - is this accurate?
2016 Tracker Pro Team 190 TX
115 Mercury Pro XS Optimax
4" Rapid Jack Magnum
19p RAF3
24v 80lb Fortrex
Dual Console
Texas Highschool Bass Association (THSBA)
"Always go with your gut, it will never fail you..."