Jackie

Not sure if the impeller has been changed or not, gotta check with the dealer... Tempest to too expensive...and how much more am I really gonna gain by spend that much extra?

Yea for sure there is not enough front lift because I had my brother stay on shore watching me drive the boat, and he said the bow didn't lift up much...but then i saw some videos on YouTube, most of the rangers don't get much bow lift except the Z series... Wondering if that's how it is for the R61... But yea I will definitely try some smaller props and see if theres big deference in between. I'll call Paul and see if he has any 21p or 20p props that will fit the 115 and let me try it for couple days. Again thanks for the help Terry! Hope I can get it up to 50-55mph soon!

Do they even make 12 3/4 in 22 pitch 3 blade? Thought they only have 12 3/4 in24p 5 blade for my motor...

But I tried 3" below pad before, i only got 35-40mph and maxed out on 4500rpm wot and had to lower the rpm to gain speed at some point. and the rooster tail was as high as the CN tower...So after I raised the plate, I gained about 10mph and maxed out at about 5100 rpm wot, roostertail just levels with the top of motor cover...But the problem is the psi seems a bit too low...it's weird tho, because the first time I tried after raising the plate the psi was around 12-13...but then after a couple run the psi drops to 10 and stays around 9-11psi...the reading is not constant somehow.

yes it comes with a hub kit. and yea I am still throwing a rooster while running WOT and trimmed out, so I have to trim a bit down to avoid that. My rpm and speed did go up after I raised the jackplate to 2 1/2, I didn't have to over trim and there is not a lot of slip. Thanks for the advise! Jackie

The diameter of the prop I am using right now is 13-1/2. The max rpm rated for my motor I believe is 5500. The Prop selector site is very useful! I punched in all the info and it recommend me to get the Laser II Features SS 3 blade 13.25 diameter 21p 899006A46...that's exactly what I am having in mine. Thanks for the site! Helped a lot!

Hey guys, just found a pretty good deal on a 3 blade 21p laser 2 ss prop. The Model #is 48-16546 A40 21p diameter 13 7/8. The seller said it came off a 135hp Merc. Just wondering if that will fit my 2004 Mercury Optimax 115hp 2 stroke on a 16ft Ranger R61 and 5.5inch jackplate. I am currently using a 3 blade 22p laser 2 ss prop, getting 45mph, 5000RPM WOT with one person, half tank of gas, light load. The jackplate is set to 2.5 below pad, and water pressure gauge (analog gauge) at WOT indicates a little over 10psi, and sometime drops a little below 10psi...even when I trim down a bit at high speed the pressure gauge still wouldn't go up...wondering if that's fine since it's an analog gauge, maybe not 100% accurate...and I can't get it to go over 5100 rpm...so thought maybe I should try a 21p prop and maybe that will increase the rpm and hopefully some speed as well... please give me some advise!! Thanks a bunch! Jackie

Hi Folks, just bought a water pressure gauge today, got everything hooked up on the dash already, but I have no idea where the other end of the hose connects to...The motor is 2004 Mercury Optimax 115hp. Instruction with picture or diagram would be great! Here are some pictures of the motor: Thanks a bunch!!! Jackie

Haha yea that's a lot brain energy been used in providing these great info and advises. Really appreciate ur help! Thank you very much jedimaster! Now let's hope I can absorb all these info good enough to make everything work out soon!

Oh and what's the right psi for my motor to run in high speed? Or it varies between different settings?

Woah! Thanks a bunch jedimaster for these useful info! I will sure get a water pressure gauge before I do anything else. Do u know if BPS sell them? And around how much should it be?

I don't have a water pressure gauge on the boat, but I will soon put one on before I Play with the jack plate. But I think the cooling was running fine during the last outting, water flowing out was warm and coming out freely for the whole day

Oh and what do u mean by wedge the motor a bit?

It doesnt porpoise much, I can get out of water without issue, might be a bit slow, but not much porpoise. I think the bow didn't get lift up enough... I can see that while running at high speed, the water splash was right beside where we were sitting or maybe just abit behind. I guess supposedly the splash should be even further back near the transom area?

Exactly ur 18 with 115 no jack plate is goin faster than my 16 with jack plate... That's why I'm not satisfy with the speed it's getting right now... A jack plate might not do much for a 16, but it wouldn't do any harm...would it?