New owner holeshot help

I know there are lots of prop threads out there but here goes anyway!Have owned my 2008 Cougar FTD w/ Merc 250w, 8 blades for about 10 days and have taken it out 6 times trying to get the "seat" time needed to learn to drive safely. I am very, very disappointed in the holeshot. Tempest 26 with one hole open. Huge bow rise on takeoff and very slow to plane. Had a passenger this morning...both of us about 220 lbs each... and could barely get on plane. Hydraulic jack is set at about 7 on a 10 up scale. Trim down all the way.I dont have an opportunity to try different props although I will check with the Mercury dealer 60 miles away. Ive read long threads about a Bravo 27 with 4 extra holes, a 25 Fury, a 25 Fury 4, etc. and need an excuse to buy a spare so would love some info on either what Im doing wrong or what I might buy to get the good holeshot eveyone brags about OR are my expectations too high?I normally fish alone with no water in the live wells and not much tackle at this point. Basically its me, gas, and 20lbs of tackle. Im willing to give up some top end in exchange for burning rubber!Thanks in advance.

This topic has 9 replies, 7 voices, and was last updated 7 years, 10 months ago by Landscaper.

Viewing 9 posts - 1 through 9 (of 9 total)

Author

Posts
June 23, 2017 at 6:04 pm #268970

Mainliner61
Participant

There is a 25 Fury 3 for sale on the for sale page on this forum. New in box for a decent price. I havent ran a Tempest on mine but most say they dont run well on a Cougar, Puma, or Eyra. May have to drill a few extra PVS holes in the Fury to get what you want. Remove all the existing plugs first and see how it runs.

June 23, 2017 at 6:09 pm #268971

PhilAddison
Participant

Tempest is not a good prop for that hull. If all youre worried about is hole shot then you should get a 25 fury 3 or 25 fury 4. All your hole shot issues will be solved.

June 23, 2017 at 6:42 pm #268972

Aimhigh
Participant

Thanks for the advice on the Fury. I do want good holeshot and mid range. I fish smaller OK lakes so anything above 70 is perfectly fine.

June 23, 2017 at 6:59 pm #268973

Aimhigh
Participant

Phil, just as a matter of curiosity, why is a Tempest not good for the Cougar hull? Just bought the Fury 25 on the for sale forum!

June 24, 2017 at 3:40 am #268974

PhilAddison
Participant

Aimhigh wrote:Phil, just as a matter of curiosity, why is a Tempest not good for the Cougar hull? Just bought the Fury 25 on the for sale forum! Going back 10 years ago I use to try and make a Tempest prop work and it was always 2 or 3 mph slower than a Trophy. On hole shot, a Tempest was no better than a Trophy. A Trophy may be the fastest prop, but a Fury 3 is the best all around prop!

June 24, 2017 at 8:13 pm #268975

BamaCat
Participant

I changed from a Fury 26P to a Fury 4 25P and helped my problem tremendously. Might want to take it into consideration.

June 26, 2017 at 6:44 pm #268976

BIGCATTER
Participant

No mention of water temp . yet ….. Gotta remember , summertime makes you pitch down a bit due to power loss from heat / humidity .

June 27, 2017 at 2:29 pm #268977

frenchcat1
Participant

Just my 2 cents on this I dont know about the tempest prop, but at the Open at the sabine a couple weeks ago I had the same problem. But mine was a 26″ Fury on a 250ProXS so I had the Mercury guy just double check the motor, but he knew immidately what the problem was. Being from north Arkansas I still had plugs in my 250 Pro XS. He took out 2 compltely only leaving one in & that motor prfromed way better the next day. Heat+Humidity+Hot water Temps+plugs holes in the prop== No bow lift…… Its amazing what these guys that travel in those service trailers know and they all will go out of there way to help us. Hope this helps

June 27, 2017 at 8:40 pm #268978

Landscaper
Participant

I have a 2002 Jaguar with a 225 Optimax. With a Mercury Trophy Pluse prop 26P. Hole shot has not been very good. Ive owned the boat since last August. Pulled one of the plugs out of the prop which had a large hole in it. That seemed to help. I then put a ultrrex trolling motor on. I have it loaded heave with tackel and hole shot became a lot longer. I have pulled moer plugs out to where it blows out and have put plugs back in, different plugs and have not tried it again. Is this the best prop for my boat?
Author

Posts

Viewing 9 posts - 1 through 9 (of 9 total)

You must be logged in to reply to this topic. Login Register