New here and couldn't find an answer so I hope this is in the correct place..
I have a 1987 tracker tx17 with a 87 mercury 60 elpto. The motor starts and runs great but has trouble getting on plane and going over 20 mph. It takes around 60 seconds to go from 5 mph to 20 mph. I am working on moving two of the three batteries on the boat to under the front deck. I am also in the process of replacing all of the foam and wood in the boat to make sure its not water logged but so far its all pretty dry. I believe my prop is undersized, it is a stainless steel prop with the marking m70 p15 stamped on it, my hope is someone can help recommend a right size prop for my boat. Here is some relevant information from my research trying to find my answer.
Boat says it weighs 800lbs.
There are three group 27 batteries on board.
motorguide trolling motor on the front.
Outboard I am estimating at 250lbs.
Usually around 500lbs between me and my fishing buddy and gear (he sits up on the front deck when moving from spot to spot to help with weight distribution)
Compression shows "good" on the three cylinders 120-110 on each though I have not verified this.
Outboard shows 4800 rpm at WOT currently but my tach my not be correct.
Outboard starts easy and sounds like it runs strong.
I know it is old and wont be able to get anything crazy as far as speed but I would like to get on plane easier and maybe get 25mph if possible but at the very least I would like to make sure my prop is sized correctly. Any advise or help would be appreciated as I am new to boating and the equipment being so old I cant find any good information on what I am needing.
I have a 1987 tracker tx17 with a 87 mercury 60 elpto. The motor starts and runs great but has trouble getting on plane and going over 20 mph. It takes around 60 seconds to go from 5 mph to 20 mph. I am working on moving two of the three batteries on the boat to under the front deck. I am also in the process of replacing all of the foam and wood in the boat to make sure its not water logged but so far its all pretty dry. I believe my prop is undersized, it is a stainless steel prop with the marking m70 p15 stamped on it, my hope is someone can help recommend a right size prop for my boat. Here is some relevant information from my research trying to find my answer.
Boat says it weighs 800lbs.
There are three group 27 batteries on board.
motorguide trolling motor on the front.
Outboard I am estimating at 250lbs.
Usually around 500lbs between me and my fishing buddy and gear (he sits up on the front deck when moving from spot to spot to help with weight distribution)
Compression shows "good" on the three cylinders 120-110 on each though I have not verified this.
Outboard shows 4800 rpm at WOT currently but my tach my not be correct.
Outboard starts easy and sounds like it runs strong.
I know it is old and wont be able to get anything crazy as far as speed but I would like to get on plane easier and maybe get 25mph if possible but at the very least I would like to make sure my prop is sized correctly. Any advise or help would be appreciated as I am new to boating and the equipment being so old I cant find any good information on what I am needing.