Getting Boat on Plane Faster

[MickinMO]

Have a Lowe Deep Vee 165 Fishing Machine I bought used earlier this year. Has a 60HP Mercury 4 stroke on it, with the Bigfoot gear case. Has a terrible time getting on plane unless it's just me in the boat. The bright spot is that it will run in the 5mph range without plowing, which is perfect for Taneycomo (guessing that has something to do with the bigfoot). That is not great when I have the fam on Stockton or trying to get on plane loaded down when we need to run a ways. Top end speed with 4 adults, full tank of gas, gear is 25mph. Can hit 30mph if just me and little gear.

Now, I knew when I bought it this wasn't the ideal motor for this boat. Boat is rated for up to 90HP and no idea why the previous owner ordered it with the bigfoot. Even the marina sales guy when I got to Iowa to pick it up said that I would want to find the right prop for this boat to improve performance and/or power up at some point.  I got the boat for a bargain with the intention of making those savings help work towards eventually going up to a 90hp, but that will take me a couple of years to save for.

In the meantime, that leaves me with a choice to try a different prop or consider a hydrofoil. I don't want to rehash that debate as I know the pros and cons to both. Two questions: If I look at a prop upgrade, how hard is it for a competent service department to figure out the correct prop? I plan to use Anglers Port in Warsaw as they are both a Mercury and Lowe dealer. And even though I didn't buy a boat from them, their service guys were helpful when I called and had questions in the past.  If I look at a hydrofoil, it seems very few of the popular ones will fit the Mercury bigfoot and none of the no drill ones fit the 40-60HP Mercury 4 strokes anyways. My thought was that if I plan to trade or sell this motor within the next few years I don't want to drill on it. Plan to discuss with Anglers Port when I take it in for winter maintenance later this fall, so I don't know what their suggestion will be yet.

[fishinwrench]

Sight down your hull line and see if the motor can be raised a hole or two.  Use a 3-4' piece of board if you have to.  You can most likely run your cav plate 2" above the hull line, or level with the tip of the uppermost prop blade.  Set it there and test run it...if it blows out on corners then drop down a hole.  If it doesn't then try a hole higher.  

You don't have to have an engine hoist to raise/lower it, you can use the tilt/trim and a few blocks of wood.  

[Smalls21]

you also might try a 4blade prop, i have had really good results with customers who have issues getting on plane, also a 4blade prop will help you stay on plane at lower speeds