Outboard Boat Performance Improvements
Recently, I viewed a number of boating videos that featured people looking for increased performance. There were a variety of points made, but propellers were the leverage point most commonly cited.
As you know, propellers come in a variety of diameters and pitches. And there can be one prop or two on each shaft. In addition, on a Mercruiser Bravo 3 the gearcase points backwards, while on the Volvo IPS, the gearcase (and props) face forward. It’s safe to say there are a lot of hydrodynamic engineering factors to consider to optimize the performance of a boat.
Many boats featured “jack plates” which enable the entire outboard to be moved up or down while underway. The type of control enables boaters to place their drives down deep into “clean” water when accelerating from slow speeds and raise the entire drive assembly up for better efficiency at high speeds. Some boaters cited an increase of 1 mph for each 1” the drive was raised which is a pretty inexpensive way to gain extra speed. Jack plates have been popular with bass tournament fisherman for that very reason for a number of years.
So, if you want your Mako, Whaler or Sea Ray to go a little bit faster than your neighbor’s boat, look at getting the correct prop (s) and consider using a jack drive. A thorough look in both areas will likely provide you with the results you’re looking for, a lot less expensively than a new rig.
