Performance mods on 2005 Nitro185 F&S

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Tony banks

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Hey guys, I really like my Nitro 185. I bought her from the 2nd owner. She has a Merc 125 with a stainless steel prop. I believe its the prop that came with the boat. I am thinking about adding a stingray to the outboard or maybe upgrading the stock prop. The 125 Merc, cant really lift her up out of the water, like I would like for her to run. I know fish and ski hulls ride more in the water than a performance bass boat, but just curious what i can do to help that Merc lift her. What have you guys tried?
 
Curious, what performance are you getting right now? I'm have a stainless stainless prop on mine as well (4 blades). Best recorded speed for mine was 47.6 mph GPS recorded. Past weekend with 3 adults and 3 children, we still hit 39.8 mph, was satisfied. I am running a Mercury 115 ELPTO. I've got a 188 Sport from 2002.
 
Yeah, I have a 4 blade prop, so I lose some performance there vs 3 blade, but I get out of the pocket a bit faster and with more people in the boat, helps my stern stay up a bit.

Hmm, so with my 115, and 4 blades, I get 47.6, and the water wasn't a mirror. I think those 10 extra HP and 3 blade prop you should have even speed, but then again, it's not the same exact model as mine. The hull might just be the factor.
 
I've got a 2001 f/s with a 150 yamaha on it. Had it rebuilt and the guy put a 25 pitch prop on it. Ran great! I could easily get over 60 out of it but had to really watch it because it would cavitate at the blink of an eye. I dropped it back to a 21 pitch. Cut back on my top speed but solved the cavitation problem.
 
Yes, I am trying to build a covered shed to keep my boat out of the weather. Once its complete, I plan on taking my prop to the prop shop and adding a little cup to the blades. I'm youst to riding my trim switch higher on bass boats, this one seems to blow-out sooner when adding trim. Hoping the cup will make it bite better. I may also look at getting a higher performance prop. I think these boats came with a base, stock SS prop. Hoping I can get more lift with a performance prop.
I am also thinking about adding a stingray to the outboard. I have never used one, but i hear they improve the handling of the boat, with no real loss at high speed?
 
I have a 188 Sport and the 115 Optimax blew up so I replaced it with a 140 Johnson and with a 19P prop at 5500 rpm 32 mph on GPS after I added the SE sport Hydrofoil 38 MPH and I could trim higher before cavitation. Boat comes out of the hole better and the port list it had from prop lift calmed down. I tried a few props (prop shop was great) and the more the cup the worse the list got, less list with aluminum due to flex of the blades (according to the prop shop). Torque tab helped some. Bottom line: I recommend the hydrofoil it lifts back of the boat out of the water well. I bought the no drill type as the Johnson's Torque tab interferes with the drilling, sorry no pictures of the SE Sport.
 

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