need more power

[RidgeRunner]

Shrek, RE:pitfalls of raising the motor up on a jack plate. If the jack plate is electrically adjustable from the console I don't see any issue. Install a water pressure gauge so you know what you have and try it out. Raise the jack plate too high and the water pressure will drop off. Raise it too high and it may ventilate the prop getting on plane or in turns. What motor is your 225? If you are turning it to redline or close you can't gain much by putting a bigger prop on it.
Props are somewhat of a trial and error. Ferm sent me to Ken @ prop Gods who is a wealth of knowledge on props.(Ferm Spare School and others on here too for that matter)

[THEFERMANATOR]

As for a low water pick-up, they can actually cost you speed. I know I lost speed on my flats boat with one, but I needed it for teh shallow running I did. The low water pick-up puts more material in the water in front of teh prop which increases drag. High speed boats need them though to force teh water in as teh side pick-ups lose efficiency at a certain point. Somewhere around 60-65 is when you need to consider one is what I was told.

[Shrek]

Originally Posted by THEFERMANATOR

As for a low water pick-up, they can actually cost you speed. I know I lost speed on my flats boat with one, but I needed it for teh shallow running I did. The low water pick-up puts more material in the water in front of teh prop which increases drag. High speed boats need them though to force teh water in as teh side pick-ups lose efficiency at a certain point. Somewhere around 60-65 is when you need to consider one is what I was told.

Good to know, and thanks. We do a lot of marsh fishing here in New Orleans. What kind of loss of speed did you experience with your flats boat? I was really wanting the low water pick up for the marsh. My concerns of starving the motor for water were secondary.

[Shrek]

Its a 1998 3 liter carburated salt water series. I'm not sure what the red line is, but I would assume that at 5600 RPM, I've got to be pretty close. It is an electro-hydraulic unit so I can adjust it on the fly and I do have a water pressure gauge on the boat, but I wonder about it's efficacy.

As to the prop, it does not appear that I could turn a much larger diameter wheel, but was wondering about upping the pitch a bit. Do the chingered edges of the blades contribute significantly to slip?

I guess all will be answered when I install the jack plate and put the old girl in the lake.