1754 SC grizzly tracker too slow

[Mikeys250]

I have a buddy with a 1754 SC grizzly all weld with an 06 mercury 50hp 4 stroke on the back. It has the fishing decks front and back and I know is a heavy boat but this thing is slow. It comes out of the hole like a Prius and has a top speed of 25 mph and takes 20+ secs to somewhat plane out with 2 200lb guys in it. Prop is a 3 blade 13x10-1/2. Motor starts and runs great. What can be done besides putting a 75 on it to increase hole shot and /or top speed?

 

[Scott1298]

Try adjusting the outboard's trim/tilt. Adjust it so that the prop is farther away from the transom and this should get the nose up, this helped me.

 

[Mikeys250]

Thanks for the reply. The nose will come up but getting it back down and up on plane is the hard part. We ran a tank of gas through it and tried all tilt and trim positions to help but its slow in all positions. Our best results like you say we're starting with the tilt back some and bringing it in as we got "speed" but when I say best that is relatively speaking.

 

[Jeffrey]

It might help if you put a hydrofoil on the cavitation plate. A lot of people swear by them.

 

[Mikeys250]

I think I'm gonna tell him to put a hydrofoil on it to see if it helps. I think I need to check the rpms at WOT and find out what the correct motor height is to know if he needs to invest in a jack plate.

 

[lovedr79]

my 1448SC grizzly was like that at first. i had to move some weight around, went to 1 battery for starting/trolling motor, moved fuel tank forward and ended up putting a jack plate on it. worked like a charm.

 

[RivRunR]

FWIW, and even tho' it's apples to oranges... my (heavy) Lowe 1752 with a Suzuki 60 came with a 11 1/4 x 15 prop and had similar performance to what you described. I switched to a 11 3/8 x 14 prop and got much better "hole shot" and on plane quicker.

 

[RiverBottomOutdoors]

My 1656 gets better top end than that and I'm running a 60/40 jet. I would venture 3 guesses: The weight is not balanced out, the motor is mounted or trimmed wrong, or the boat is overloaded. Is the boat old enough to have water logged foam?

 

[Ictalurus]

First I'd check the RPMS, make sure they are in recommended operating range and the correct prop is installed. If everything is good on those lines, then:

Is the boat old enough to have water logged foam?

X2 on the extra weight somewhere. I would like to know his deck material, it could be some heavy 3/4" ply. I agree with RBO, probably a weight balance issue coupled with too much weight added to the boat.

 

[Mikeys250]

Thanks guys. I'm gonna check on all your suggestions. The boat is an 06 so I don't know if that's long enough to Waterlog the foam. The decking is factory built aluminum with storage. Right now there is only one batter and a gas tank and the boat sits real high in the water with just a slight tilt towards the transom.

 

[Mikeys250]

Here is the boat in question

 

[lovedr79]

oh yeah, i did go from a 10p to a 9p 4 blade prop. made a huge difference in plane time. front end pops right up.

 

[Mikeys250]

oh yeah, i did go from a 10p to a 9p 4 blade prop. made a huge difference in plane time. front end pops right up.

4 blade vs 3 blade was gonna be my next question. Do the 4 generally have better performance or is it mor about the pitch than number of blades?

 

[Sharpix]

I think you're trying to do too much things without doing free things first.

1) Have you done tune up of the motor? Is the intake filter cleared? Are your sparks fouled or bad? Do the inyectors are good and cleaned lately?
2) Check the blade pitch , check the RPM in the water. . If with the usual weight you can hit easily 6000 rpm then use a larger pitch propeller. If you can't hit 6000 rpm, one pitch greater or more.
3) Check if the boat has water inside. Take it to a agricultural, truck style scale. Weight the trailer and such.
4) check if the motor is properly put in the boat. The anti-cavitation plate should be one or two inches below waterline... check motor manuals... im not sure exactly about this, but it helps.
5) Do you fish at high altitude? I've got a 60hp '2011 Mercury fourstroke in a Lowe 1760. It doesn't pulls that hard at 6200 ft. :?
6) Do you have many gear inside? too much coolers?

Let us know how things go...

 

[Mikeys250]

We are definitely going to do the basic cheap stuff first before we throw money at it. He just got it so funds are already lower than usual haha. It was taken to a boat shop for service/check up before he made the deal. We are in middle Georgia so no high elevation. Our game plan right now is get a tiny tach to check rpms and raise the motor up a couple bolt holes. It is in the lowest hole right now, and if the cavitation plate is suppose to be 1-2 inches below the water line then it is way low now because the plate sits an inch below the bottom of the hull.

 

[lovedr79]

Four blade will give u low end punch. The front lifts right up. I lost a 1mph on speed. You can also turn at a higher speed without prop slip. But do your homework before u buy one. I found a new one for $50. But the pitch is going to he different with a four blade aswell. But start with weight distribution and motor height. U want the cav plate +/- 1" from bottom of boat. Mine is at -1" but with my transom angle the jack plate set the motor back about an inch. Do your homework on jack plates too. Everything will start coming together

 

[juggernot]

Definately get a tach and see what it's turning and get the right pitch for your average load also try to raise the motor till the plate is at or slightly above the bottom of the hull. I had poor steering and holeshot performance w the factory alum. 3 blade on my G3 1860 w the max. HP and was sure the prop was blowing out trying to get on plane quickly, I raised the motor and I want to raise it higher as the AC plate is still below the hull. I put a cheap ( $117 on sale ) alum. 4 blade Solas Rubex prop on and it completly changed the performance of my 1860. I would compare it to going from driving an old wore out stationwagon, to a new Corvette. Steering and throttle response is instantanious, it will turn harder than I want to and sticks to the water like it's on traintracks in hard turns now even in slight chop ( before it seemed unstable in anything but very wide sweeping turns at speed on flat water and seemed to wander in turns ) now the boat almost jumps out of the water getting on plane alot faster than before and acceleration is unreal. 4 blades help raise the stern of the boat and that helps alot w a heavier 4 stroke on a lighweight boat.

 

[reedjj]

50hp is plenty for that boat. I have. G3 1756 with a 40 Yamaha. 2 batts 9 gallons gas TM and with 4 people and 2 full coolers,gear, and the little livewell full it jmps right up and runs WOT 30 mph. My boat is heavier than the tracker and has less hp.

I had the stock 11 1/4X14-6 3 blade prop and it did fine with a light load but when heavy she struggled. I switched to a n 11.4 X 12 3blade from solas....Made all the diff in the world. I lost 1mph at WOT but acceleration and hole shot are incredible. I can get on plane now quicker loaded and pulling a kid in a tube than I could unloaded by myself with the old prop.

Since ur buddys boat is sbout the same size with sbout the same size Hp I eould suggest the same prop.
I would also suggest looking into a Mercury Spitfire 4 blade They claim bettrr holeshot snd higher Top speed. Its an slum 4 blade made for midsize outboards.

Unless he has a prop tunnel hull or has a problem with cavitation of the prop you dont need a 4 blade. 4 blades r USUALLY slower top end. The spitfire is supposed to be different..

Figuring out props can b a nightmare...... One thing Im positive of though is that boat should be getting on plane quick and running at least 30mph.

 

[cva34]

Sounds like your on the right track..with raising motor/tack/.Where are you getting speed nubers.When you get it proped right I would expect 30+ a little.....I got 16/60 with tunnel and pontoons and low 30s is my numbers on GPS, tunnel and pontoons creat a little more drag and interferience..my 2c ...cva34

 

[Mikeys250]

Thanks guys. Ill let y'all know the outcome.