I have a 1982 Ranger 335V bass boat, just under 17 feet long. The max. HP is rated at 140. The hull weight is between 1,000 and 1,100 lbs.<br />The motor is a 1982 Johnson 115 with a 13X19 SSTII prop.<br /><br />Fist question... The prop has been reworked a couple of times the last being a repair of a spun hub. Now it doesn't have the "bite" it used to.
Before, I could trim the motor way up near the top of the trim field of my tilt/trim gauge without any problem. I now can't move it up from the lowest setting too far (well before the "Trim" indicator) before I get what seems to be ventilation. The hole-shot is nothing like it use to be either. With a load of 5 people (6 max) the other day, my max RPM was close to, but under, 5,500 at a tad over 40 mph. I didn't get a chance to run alone, but I usually got a tad over 50 and the RPMs would go close or over 5,500.<br />What props (manufacturers and styles) would be a good replacement to improve my hole-shot and maintain top-end perfomance too. I use this fish/ski model to runabout at speed a good bit.<br /><br />Second Question...I've noticed the parts on the Johnson 115 and 140 seem to be interchangable. The cubic inches are the same as are the lower units. The RPMs seem to be higher for the 140. What are the differences between the two, and can I transform this somewhat low hour 115 to a 140 to improve performance?<br /><br />Thanks for any advice,<br /><br />Brent