Pitch and Bow Rise?

[OrangeF150]

1998 Sea Ray 180 bow rider.Has the 3.0 mercruiser engine,Alpha 1 drive with a 17p prop.Right now it takes off quick but maxes out around 38mph'ish around 5100rpms.It also shoots the bow skyward and takes a alittle bit of messing with the trim switch to get it back down.What prop should I go with to give me a little more top speed and less bow rise?:huh:It does shoot out of the hole real good now.

 

[Nehalennia]

Make sure the trim is all the way down when you start out. If you go to a 19" prop you may gain a little speed and it will drop your RPM's to 47-4800. I recommend a Quicksilver "High Five" prop. You'll retain a nice hole shot and performance on the top end.

 

[SFGiantsFan]

I've got the HIGH FIVE. Love it.

 

[Lazy Daze]

My experience (not to discount anyone else's) with a 180BR and a 4cyl is that a stainless prop is just too heavy for the 4cyl to be able to spin it up fast enough to take advantage of the stainless. The 180 I had a while back came with a 23" (gave me 46MPH), but if memory serves, Sea Ray later changed that to a 21" as standard. I went through a lot of props and experimenting. I ended up with the stock prop for cruising and a 4-blade, 18" for the "guys day out" when we went skiing (my top speed was about 35 or 36, without over-revving it).

4800 is your max RPM, so it seems the prior owner put a 17" on there for exactly what you are seeing - fast hole shot. See if you can borrow a 19" or 21" 3-blade aluminum and see if that works for you.

Like Todd mentioned, you should always start with your trim all the way down. As you get on plane, you can start tapping the trim up so your bow isn't plowing.