[Destroyer]

Originally Posted by cfelton

I've gotta 77 V cuddy cabin with a 170 Mercruiser I/O but don't know what size stainless steel prop it is. The brand name on the prop is ELITE, but it dosent have any other markings on it inside or out. I've had it up to 42 mph with 5 folks, 2 full 20 gal tanks of fuel, trimmed up and WOT on slick water in the Albemarle sound. It seems to run faster on salty/brackish water, don' know why.

I think your speedo may be off... That's a pretty fast speed to be going with that load with that engine...even assuming that you're getting a full 170HP from it. Is that a GPS number or an indash speedo number?

As to your comment about faster in salt water...Hmmmm... That might be true. For the same reason that, when swimming, you can float in salt water easier than in fresh water. Salt water is denser than fresh, so the boat rides higher. It's a tiny increase, but it is there, so that may be the reason.. You're riding higher so there's less resistance of the water on your hull since there's less hull in the water. I admit that it's a S.W.A.G. (Simple Wild Assed Guess) ...but it sounds logical enough to actually make sense.