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?

Lol yea exactly!

I'm aiming at around 50 to 55mph... I'm only getting 40 mph on gps. I just want the boat to run at its full potential...I understand that rangers are build for stability and not speed, but a 115hp with jackplate and ss prop on a 16.5ft bass boat should be running more than 40mph if set up right...

Waynechute, what's vent plugs? and what does it do?

just checked with the guy who installed the jackplate for me today, he said the jackplate was put 3.5" below pad...I guess I really should play around with the prop first before I raise the jackplate...gonna try the 20p 4 blade Composite Piranha Prop and see how that will do... Thanks for the advise guys!

Thanks a bunch for these great infos guys! Really appreciated! I didnt have any problem getting the boat off plan. But really, im expecting more from this little boat with a 115 and a 5.5 jackplate on it! And yea i was getting a pretty high roostertail... But no speed... I will try lowering the jack plate by a bit and see what it will do first. Then I will try a different pitch prop. Apparently someone with a same boat same motor, same jack plate and same prop is doing 55mph... So there's gotta be something... Anyways thanks again guys !! Jackie

Hey guys, I just bought a 1999 Ranger R61 with a 2004 115hp Opti. I installed a 5.5 inch jackplate and put on a 22" Laser II SS prop. I went out today to test it, didn't get a good result. I can only get it up to 66kph/41mph at 5100 RPM...it won't go higher... Another weird thing is that I cannot trim the motor all the way up while running at high speed. I can only trim it half way as shown on the trim indicator on the dash, it just won't allow me...But I was able to trim the motor all the way up while idling. Just wondering what should I do...should I lower the jackplate or raise it up? and by how much? do I need to get another prop? and what size? Thanks a bunch!

just drive there man...by the time they pick up the phone, you are probably there already...LOL

If you are not on tight budget...go for G-loomis rods...they are all technique specified. They have flippin rod, top water rod, crank bait, jerk bait, spinner bait, frog rod, swimbait rods, dropshot rods etc...they even have walley series...so just choose the technique that you use the most...such as spinner bait and flippin for bass...probably crank bait rods for both bass and walley... again...it's mostly personal preferences...you gotta experience it first before you know whether you like it or not...Some might tell you a med-heavy with extra fast tip is good for crankbaits, but others might think a slow action rod is needed to produce better hook set when cranking... As for the length of the rod, you might have to consider your height and whether you are fishing on the boat or shore. There is no set rules when it comes to choosing actions of the rod...simply personal recommendation and experiences. But pay attention to the lure wt...you are not gonna toss a 1oz Tungsten with an ultra-light setups... For fishing reels, people generally uses high speed ratio for fishing heavy covers such as flipin or frogin because you need to get the fish out of cover as soon as you can. For spinner baits or buzz baits, you might wanna use mid ratio (6.3:1). For crank baits you might wanna use slower ratio (5:1). Those are just recommendations. You may also need to consider the fishing condition of the day. When the fish are inactive, you may wanna use a lower ratio reel to provide a slower presentation. When the fish are really active, you may wanna provide more active presentation with faster cranking speed. But of course you can change the speed by reeling it faster or slower...So again, it all depends on experience and personal preference....

Thanks for the advises guys. I will probably go with the Platinum if I can get a better deal like Nipfisher did...lol. Mr Twister, The price for Hotmaps regular is $130 at Radio World...

So I am looking to buy a Navionic chart for my HDS 7...but not quite sure which one to choose from... I mainly fish in Kawartha areas. MSD HotMaps - Canada Lake Maps ($130) MSD HotMaps Premium Charts - All Canada ($150) MSD HotMaps Platinum Lake Maps- Canada ($200) Regardless of the cost difference I am not sure which one would be the best purchase... I am not quite sure of the difference between Hotmaps and Hotmaps premium... And I have heard that the Platinum cartridge is a memory hog and really slow down the system or be confusing, is that true? Is the 3D bottom viewing necessary or useful? Should I simply stick with the 2D viewing? Any input will be greatly appreciated! Thanks, Jackie