New motor no hole shot

[Larryakrueger]

Just put a Merc 250 pro xs 4 stroke on my 2003 Cougar (original owner-love the boat)  and now can’t get it on plane it just blows out. Details: 23 Fury 3 blade, manual jack plate, PTP 3 1/2″, 1 talon, lithium batteries, home lake is at 4600′, tried vent holes all plugged, all open, and everything in between.  Tested with est 30 gallons of gas and 190 lb. driver + tackle.  Is it just a prop issue?   Old set up was a 225 EFI with a 24 trophy plus 4 blade, ran 63-64.  Is there a problem running that prop on this set up.  I know BCB recommends the fury.  Should I just try a bigger fury prop?

[Bass Cat Boats]

Do you have a hydraulic plate, or manual. If it is manual, then it probably is set higher than suggested as the ventilation is not existent with the plates lowered. Granted, your hull is different than todays hulls and you may have to tweak the PVS plugs. We have not run that combination on a 2003 model hull.

 

BCB

[Larryakrueger]

Thanks for the reply. It’s a manual jack plate so I should lower the motor and check it?The current gap is 3 1/2” should I go down 1” to start?

[schodackbassman]

I remember when I switched from a Trophy Plus to the Fury 3 blade on my 07 Classic I had to run it 2-3 inches deeper.  If I were you I’d start by dropping the motor to at least where the plates are even to start.  If you decide you want to move up a pitch to 24P and your prop is new when you got the new motor, I’d be interesting in doing a trade.  I have a brand new 24P 3 blade in an unopened box.  I bought it for a spare during Covid because that was all I could find but would really like to try a 23P on my 2020 Caracal 225 ProXS.

[Larryakrueger]

Thanks, was hoping someone had done that before. Will keep the trade in mind if I need to go up a pitch.

[unravels]

My boat (p2 – know is smaller but may apply) seems to have better holeshot if only give it 1/2-3/4 throttle to get out of the hole.  Have a 200 mercury v8 with 23 fury 3.   If put foot to the floor basically just spins the tires on holeshot.  My jack plate is 1/8 inch over flush on the inner outer plates.

Just something to try, the new 4s make a lot of torque without a ton of RPMs or ventilation like the 2 strokes needed.  On mine don’t floor it until it already has broken over and up out of the hole.

[Will Hesch]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBTWTRpzonQ

That’s the video I watched that convinced me to order a 23 pitch Fury on our (then) new 2022 Caracal. I put the SeaStar foot throttle to the floor on take-off and it jumps out of the hole (this is our 9th boat) and top end is super fast-hull lift is amazing (we have the underseat gas tank). All holes open on the Fury.

[Wheelman]

unravels:

My boat (p2 – know is smaller but may apply) seems to have better holeshot if only give it 1/2-3/4 throttle to get out of the hole.  Have a 200 mercury v8 with 23 fury 3.   If put foot to the floor basically just spins the tires on holeshot.  My jack plate is 1/8 inch over flush on the inner outer plates.

Just something to try, the new 4s make a lot of torque without a ton of RPMs or ventilation like the 2 strokes needed.  On mine don’t floor it until it already has broken over and up out of the hole.

Does a 4-bladed prop help since it has more surface area and not as easy for the engine to over power?

[Catmanagn]

Schodackbassman, is the 24p a Fury? If so I have a 26 Trophy if you would be interested in a trade. If not, what would take for the 24?

[unravels]

I tried a 23p trophy+ 4 blade prop, but didn’t like how it handled vs the 23p 3 blade fury.  The diameter and size of the blades on the trophy+ is smaller, so you have to run the jack plate lower.  The trophy+ was slower by a few mph, handled like on rails, and had decent holeshot.   I just like the way the fury 3 handles better, almost like it has a little more slip, good holeshot without full throttle and for some reason gets better mpg.

A 4 blade you have more blade surface area in the water, so tighter handling and holeshot, but this also turns into more drag as well so less mph.  Was always told this was the compromise on the 4 blade.  If you don’t care about top end the 4 blade might be worth a try.

The fury 4 might be better, but I have not tried one.  Was told this was a good compromise between the trophy+ and the fury3.  Is also Bravo prop people seem to like.

I chased props for a little while, basic issue with new V8 merc 200 is that it needs shorter pitch prop than the old optimax.  On Optimax you could run a 24-25p but on a merc V8 200 the 22-23 works better.  Mainly to get the rpm range up to the 6-6200 rpm range.

I bought a 4 blade trophy+ in the classified section  in BBC for $300, wasn’t a big gamble to try it, just had to make sure had proper hub kit   Now I have a spare prop, use it in the dead of summer when it’s really hot out, works good when have loaded up heavy.

For my application 23p fury 3 was the best overall.

 

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