Would appreciate any help I could get.

[promtg]

I have a 1997 Tracker 21ft Party Deck with a 125 house Tracker motor. My issue is that the boat plows when on plane. What I mean is that when planed out I have problems getting the bow up and I get water spray along the sides of the boat starting right behind the fishing platform seats. This causes a lot of water to come in the boat when we have wind. I do not have any heavy items in the front of the boat. We also will move people (weight) to the back of the boat which seams to help some. Motor was mounted in the very bottom holes and we move it up 2 holes to see if it would help. It stayed about the same maybe a little worse. I am now wandering about prop. Currently have a 13.75 x 19. WOT is 4000 rpms. I would really appreciate any ideas or solutions this board might have.

Jim

 

[Alumarine]

Re: Would appreciate any help I could get.

Have you tried trimming the motor out/up?
This should get the bow up.
It should also help to get you WOT higher.

 

[promtg]

Re: Would appreciate any help I could get.

I do trim it up. I trim it up so much that sometimes it cavitates when turning.

 

[lncoop]

Re: Would appreciate any help I could get.

RPMs sound low to me. What do you mean by house motor? Over the years Trackers have come with Mercs, Forces, and Johnsons. If it's a Merc you might try running your setup through this.
http://www.mercurymarine.com/propellers/prop-selector/#

 

[tekmunki]

Re: Would appreciate any help I could get.

I have a 1997 Tracker 21ft Party Deck with a 125 house Tracker motor. My issue is that the boat plows when on plane. What I mean is that when planed out I have problems getting the bow up and I get water spray along the sides of the boat starting right behind the fishing platform seats. This causes a lot of water to come in the boat when we have wind. I do not have any heavy items in the front of the boat. We also will move people (weight) to the back of the boat which seams to help some. Motor was mounted in the very bottom holes and we move it up 2 holes to see if it would help. It stayed about the same maybe a little worse. I am now wandering about prop. Currently have a 13.75 x 19. WOT is 4000 rpms. I would really appreciate any ideas or solutions this board might have.

Jim

Shooting in the dark here, but do you have power/manual trim tabs in addition to trimming up the motor? Perhaps they are stuck down or in 'trolling/brake' mode? I just ordered some automatic trim tabs for the complete opposite reason.

 

[promtg]

Re: Would appreciate any help I could get.

It is a mercury motor. I did check out the prop guide and it suggested a 15 pitch. Do you guys think that moving down 4 on the pitch will make that much of a difference?

The boat does not have trim tabs.

I appreciate everyone's help on this.

 

[airdvr1227]

Re: Would appreciate any help I could get.

It is a mercury motor. I did check out the prop guide and it suggested a 15 pitch. Do you guys think that moving down 4 on the pitch will make that much of a difference?

The boat does not have trim tabs.

I appreciate everyone's help on this.

Do you know what the Wide Open Throttle RPM is supposed to be for the engine/prop combo? You need to get this info to know if you are at, above, or below. And yes, a 4 pitch change can have dramatic results.

So, once you know what WOT is supposed to be you can get in your rig and find out how far off you are from that number. Then head over to the props section and figure out what you need.

 

[lncoop]

Re: Would appreciate any help I could get.

I suspect WOT is supposed to be 5500. Every 1" drop in pitch is supposed to be good for 200 or so additional RPMs, in which case a 13 should get you very close. If you have a local dealer who will take back a prop that you've tried (and most will as long as they can still sell it) you might start with a 13 then try a 15 if the 13 is not to your liking. This is all predicated on the assumption that your motor is doing its job.