Re: Propper Props???
Gonna ramble a bit here.
I think you have a motor problem.
I took a look at the Lund site and looked at the current Tyee. I think my situation is close enough for comparison.
For reference, I have an 1980 Evin 115. With a 15p prop I turn 5800 rpm and almost hit 40 mph on a 18' Starcraft aluminum boat. You are only getting to 3800 rpm. My setup is likely lighter than yours but for you to get to the same rpm would be a huge drop in pitch. The math would say to go down 10p to gain 2000 rpm, which is a stupid answer.
As a rule of thumb, a 1p change in prop pitch will change your rpm by 200. The higher the pitch, the lower the rpm. So a 17 would drop you to 3400 while an 11 would increase you to 4600.
But you really don't seem to be in the right area to start with.
Your motor is rated to run between 4500 and 5500 rpm and, the brighter guys than me here will recommend 5500 to 6000 with modern fuel to prevent coking problems (ask that in the Evinrude/Johnson forum).
Now, the number you give can't be right. You can't be seeing 30 mph with a 15p on that motor at 3800 rpm.
Using this tool,
http://www.go-fast.com/Prop_Slip_Calculator.htm
Your gear ratio is 2. Put that in plus the 3800 rpm and 15p prop and, before any slip is taken into account, you would max out at 27 mph. Assuming 10% slip (common), you would be doing 24 mph.
Either your tach is off or you aren't going near 30. Is the 30 based on a gps or a speedo that came with the boat?
But, when all is said and done, I would think a 140 turning a 15p prop should be pretty responsive out of the hole on that boat.
I don't know how comfy you feel about testing a motor but there are some basics you can do easily (compression check, decarb) that may make a difference and some bigger things that you may not be comfortable with (carb rebuild, link-n-sync).
I'm thinking you need to make a post in the Johnson/Evinrude forum but be warned. The first comment will be to buy an OEM manual for your motor.
Before you go much further, you will want to be sure your tach is working right and that you know what speed you are doing by gps (the speedo's that come with boats are junk in my opinion).
And welcome.