[woodNfish]

Hi all,

I had my 170bass up to 43mph on the Merrimack River last week. The water was smooth and I found that by trimming my motor up I could increase my speed from 38mph to 43mph. I'd always trimmed the engine all the way down to get out of the hole before and pretty much left it that way for cruising. My boat has a 2-stroke 75hp engine.

If I have two adults in the boat it can sometimes take me 7 - 15 seconds to get up to plane depending on the weight of my passenger. I weigh 180, and most of the guys I fish with weigh more than me. Alone in the boat I am on plane in about 3 seconds, but I've never paid attention to what speed I need to reach to get to plane and what speed I need to maintain it.

So what kind of performance do you get. I am wondering if a different prop might give me better performance. The prop I have came with the boat and I have no idea what size or pitch it is. It is black just like my Mercury. This is my first power boat and I always assumed the prop came with the engine from the engine manufacturer. I may consider buying a new prop if I can get more performance out of my boat.

woodNfish