I have a 17' Ranger with a 115 that I bought used. The prop I got with it
is a 4 blade stainless that had a 21 inch pitch. I was getting about 48mph
top speed with my normal load of fuel, gear and 2 anglers. At the time I
was only getting about 5100 rpm where my motor is rated to go to 5500.
After discussing the situation with guys in my fishing club and a couple of
prop guys, I had the prop modified to lessen the pitch by one inch. The
cost was about $100 but I also had some minor dings removed and the like.
The end result was a max rpm of 5500, top speed of about 52 and twice the
hole shot. I think the real issue is weather or not your getting the full
rpm at top speed, often this will tell you if the pitch is right for your
setup. I think the general rule is when you reduce pitch by an inch you get
back 2 to 3 hundred rpm. Good luck.

Rich P


"James Hancock" wrote in message
...
Well, in fact no, I don't want to spend several hundred for an extra 4
MPH.
However, I think the ideal conditions mentioned are with their stock
configuration; perhaps there's another config that will exceed that
figure.
Maybe it's 8 mph. Myself, I don't know, and that's why I'm asking, to see
what's possible, and then I can make an informed choice.

Thanks,

Jim

"Todd Copeland" wrote in message
ink.net...
"James Hancock" wrote in message
. ..
I have a Nitro 882nx DC with a Merc OptiMax, and I am beginning to
wonder
if
I can get a bit better performance with a different prop.

Currently runs about 60 in good water with the bow trimmed up, but
Nitro's
literature suggests 64-65 can be expected.

Ya'll know where to start looking for information regarding propping
out
a
boat properly?

Do you really want to spend several hundred dollars for an extra 4mph?
As
Bob mentioned, I'm betting 64mph is under _ideal_ conditions.