Man oh man, what a ride.

[bigeasy1]

The prop I have on now,is right on,or at least as close as I can get.
I'm hitting my engines max rpms(around 4400 to 4600 rpms),at wide open,and cruising at approx 24-25 mph at 3400 to 3600 rpms.speed is on the Gps.

I'd lose rpms,if i step up to a steeper pitch.My Mechanic,who is a friend of mine,and who would do a gear change for very little money,tells me that 1.50 is the proper gear for that engine and drive,and that the rig would perform better,with a higher top end,and better cruise speed.
He works almost exclusively on I/O powered boats,and I trust him.
He has an upper unit that he would install and let me try out,to see if I like it,at N/C.
He rode on this boat years ago,before i bought it,when it had a 351 Ford in it with a 1.50 drive,and claims it was quite a bit quicker.
The current engine is a 350 with a Edelbrock 4bbl and is in extremely good condition,with perfect compression and very few hours.
It should be equal in hp to the 351 ford that was in it before.

I just think that I should be able to get a higher top end,and a faster cruise at less Rpms.I was wondering if anyone had the same setup.

Here's the pics I deleted by mistake

[McGillicuddy]

John,
You may want to reconsider Denny's suggestion re. the gear change, and experiment a little with props. Determine exactly what your prop is and what it is designed to do. I know you mentioned your mechanic's comment about the previous config being quicker and faster, but was it set up for hardcore fishing like your beauty? And was the prop the same. Any number of props can get you the right rpm range but they will all get different performance numbers.

You are running a heavy boat with a heavy fishing load, and a parachute of a top. Even so I can't help but think you can get more top end out of your power package. I really think the answer is in your propping.

I went to a Merc Black Max (for its stern lifting attributes) and was very pleased. Best 100 bucks I've spent so far.

Before testing I added 4-500 more lbs of gear, water, and gas than I ran on my last tests with the old MWC Vortex, and after changing props I gained 3mph and much better cruise performance in the 3000-4000 rpm range. I haven't done an economy test yet because my flow meter was on the blink.

Good luck achieving your target speed and have fun slamming the Salmonids.