Prop. Help for my boat

[Stratos19XL]

I have a 1980 Ranger 350v. Not what you think. This boat looks really good for its age. I just had a new power head put on it. its a Mercury 150 xr6 with some work done on it. More like a 175 or 185 I would say. The lower unit has a lower water pickup on it. Cone is just below the bottom of the boat. I have a trophy 4 blade 24 pitch prop. I am running around 60 MPH now. which is fast for this old heavy boat I think. Anyone got any Ideas for different props for better results?

[Riverfisher]

sounds about right, Are you running at max RPMS at WOT? Do you have a jackplate? What is your water pressure at WOT?

[Stratos19XL]

I am running around 6200 to 6300 rpms at top end also my water pressure is good at 15 pounds. Yes it has a 6" jack plate on it. sorry not sure what wot is

[Monarkman]

WOT=Wide Open Throttle

[CTFSHWHISKER]

according to bass and walleye boats formula with 10% slip and turning a 24 prop 6300 rpm you should be at least in the high 60's.at that speed 60mph the nose coned gearcase is probably hurting you,with low water pick up you need the motor as high as possible to reduce drag,my buddy gad a hydra sport vl475 with a 200 on it and a coned case it ran 69mph,put on a stock case and it gps 73.5.are you sure your tach is right?even if you are running 185 hp it would be hard to get 6200 rpm without a lot of extra slip on that ranger.when you trim it up watch the rooster tail,if the bow don't lift and the tail goes up,start dropping the motor a little and see if it bites better.I would start with the prop shaft about 3 1\2" below the pad and start up from there.you need a gps to really see if what you are doing is working.
test the boat as you normally run it.1\2 tank gas some water in the wells and don't overload the front.
Sorry the post is so long my computer has been down and i havn't been able to post for a few days.

[Stratos19XL]

Yes I think the tack is right. I think the nose cone is about a inch if that below the pad. I do throw a big rooster tail going down the lake trimmed up. So you think I should lower it down? So if the prop is down in the water more it will lift the boat more?

[CTFSHWHISKER]

does it feel or look like it is up on the pad good?I don't know alot about this boats lifting characteristics,that prop should lift it good,always measure off the propshaft,yes it may be too high to let the prop bite.that is a good prop i would use the jackplate and play with height.to really measure right you need to level the boat on concrete trim down the motor to level measure to the hull bottom then the propshaft and record the difference.if the point of the bullet is even with the bottom of the hull i'd say it is too high.if you don't like the results start prop swapping with your buddys just remember each prop will need to be fine tuned with the jackplate.

[Stratos19XL]

I don't think is is getting all the way up on the pad but I will try to play with it thanks for the help

[CTFSHWHISKER]

if you try jackplate adjustment an props without sucess try and find a stock lower unit to borrow for a few tests,if that cone isn't on straight or smoothed down right it will never perform right.that's what was wrong with my buddys.

[Zfrog]

Just a word of caution, I have a 150 EFI and my partner has a 150 XR6. The max rpm on both of these motors is 5600. I'd assume yours to be the same and if so you are over revving your motor. From what I have gathered these 2.5 liter mercs dont have a rev limiter so there's nothing to warn you that you are over revving till it blows. Sounds to me like you need a prop with more pitch, or yours is slipping badly.