Posts: 3480
Location: Elk River, Minnesota | Hiya,
I'd say go up 3 holes and test... With the motor mounted directly to the transom, the motor is designed to be moved up and down as needed, so as to find a nice balance. Down low, the boat handles well, but will not be as efficient. Up high, the boat loses handling, but gains speed and efficiency. The key is finding a balance for you in both handling and efficiency.
So long as you stay within the given mounting holes of the motor, you should see no issues with lack of water pressure to the motor, which is a good thing. What can happen, though, is the higher you go, the motor may have more of a tendency to blow out on a moderate turn. My motor is set high, so I trim down for moderate turns as I know the motor will blow out if I don't.
In many cases, the anti-ventilation plate can be up to 2" higher than the lowest point of the transom. You are able to do this because as soon as the boat passes over the water, the indentation (so to speak) in the top of the water starts to fill in, thus keeping the prop under the water, but yet have the anti-ventilation plate above the water, reducing drag, with minimal influx of air to the prop.
The prop you have is designed for higher motor settings, so going up 3 holes should give you another 300 or so rpms, if not a touch more as much of that is rig dependent.
It's worth it to try.... When you find that sweet spot, the boat will just float along easily at cruise, the bow won't pop up as much on hole-shot, and handling will be decent overall.
Steve |
