[Fr. Frank]

We ended up doing a complete rebuild with a new (old) gearcase as the threads on mine were too far gone. No nose cone on the new case. We put in new seals & bushings, new bearings, new pinion gear, new clutch dog cam & pin.

I figure I lost 2-3 mph with the lack of a nosecone. I actually ran 4-5 mph less, but I figure higher air temps & lower air density of summer accounts for half of that.

Top speed on GPS was 47 mph at 6050 rpms straight downwind in 20kt wind and a light to moderate chop, trimmed out and surfacing the prop at that speed.

Here are the stats:
Boat is a '72 Seafari
Motor is a '91 Mercury 2.4L 150 Xr4 carb model reman'd to produce about 190 hp w/ 20" shaft.
Fuel burn at WOT was 15.8 gph.
Gear ratio is 1.75 to 1 (off a Merc 3.0L)
Prop is custom PowerTech 15"D x 16.5"P
Hull has fresh Slickote bottom paint.
Carried one person and about 20 gallons fuel.