Can someone please explain this? when looking on yamaha or mercury websites at the engine tests on bass or flats boats they always seem to reach max recommended rpm for the motor even when using an really high pitch prop like a 27" for instance. how are they reaching max rpms with props that high in pitch? i cannont even hit max rpm on my ranger cayman with 200 opti on a 23" pitch. any ideas?
2005 Ranger Cayman 191
Ever seen a bass boat run at full speed? It is almost flying. I’m no expert but it all relates to the amount of drag you have which will be effectied by the weight and size/design of the boat. A boat that weighs less and gets more of the hull out of the water on plane has less drag. Think about it like this. When you tow your boat to the ramp you havent changed anything about your truck but by putting a trailer behind it it will not perform like it does without the trailer. If I’m wrong here someone please correct me.
Is your opti the same engine that was installed at the factory? Has the height of the motor been adjusted? Do you have a jack plate?
Your boat should fly w/ a 200 opti.
Are you trimming the engine out properly?
i have a 150 on my boat and a 23P prop I mak out at 5500 rpm (53mph) - and I get up on a plane pretty quick
I had a 29 on in for a while topped out close to 6200 and ran close to 60- also did not have a trolling motor with 2 batteries-
It also took longer to get on a plane - In the end it come down to the higher the pitch the faster you go - slower out of the hole
to answer the question why did I get a different prop? pretty simple someone borrowed it at night and never returned it.
I feel I get a little better milage out of the new prop and lot better whole shot. I dont think i would go back- I would even consider a 4 blade if i had a low water pickup and a jack plate.
Key West Stealth
150 V-max
if you are comparing real world to what the yamaha tests show, you have to look at teh load
the boats are empty for the most part
weight makes all the difference, as well as prop manufacturer
a 23 stilleto will never turn as many rpms as a 23 yamaha prop
i bought this boat second hand. pretty sure its the engine from the factory but not sure if engine height was changed it does have a jackplate. here is what i do to test it. please tell me if there is something im doing wrong.start with jackplate all way down and run up to wot. then i trim motor up until it gets kinda hard to steer to the right, then trim down a touch. then i bump the jackplate up a touch at a time while watching my rpms and gps speed. i does seem that the speed drops if i lift the jackplate any higher than full down position. prop is a mercury tempest plus 23, which i was told by many people that the tempest is one of the best props for the cayman.
probably has to do mainly with load like chris v said. i have fishing gear, 22 gal gas, trolling motor, 4 batteries.
2005 Ranger Cayman 191
I didn’t see where you mentioned raising the trim, only the jack plate, trim the motor out and see how it runs
after wot. i trim motor up until i get kinda hard to steer to right, then trim down a touch. then raise jackplate
2005 Ranger Cayman 191
what rpm are you turning at WOT? what kind of gauge are you using for rpm and speed(smartcraft, regular tach, gps for speed?)
have to check again next time im out but think its about 5350 rpm. using smartcraft gauge, because the regular tach is not accurate at all. and gps for speed
2005 Ranger Cayman 191
what kind of prop do you have? Mirage? Tempest? Laser???
I’d look at how far down the motor is sitting on the transom. Trim the motor down so it perpendicular to the gournd(while its on a trailer). Measure the distance from the antiventaltion plate to the level of the bottom of the boat. Does the hull have any setback?
May be I can help a little. I had a 2008 Cayman 191. Sounds like it was set up like the one you have… 200 Mercury Optimax, 10" jackplate and mercury tempest plus 23 prop.
My jackplate went from 0 (full down) to 6 (full up). the 0-6 was measured on a dial on the consul and also by a 1-6 inch scale on the actual plate. I really didn’t mess with the jackplate too much. I found that with it set at 2 the boat would plane quickly and run good too. Running the boat with the plate fully down (0) made the boat try to run bow down and it felt very unsafe. The 23 prop wouldn’t get me to the 5750 max rpm (WOT) the motor is rated for but I got to 63mph at about 5500rpm. By reading I figured if I wanted to get to 5750 I needed to go down a pitch size to a 21" tempest plus but I never did bother to do that.
Richard E.
yes…thats the exact setup i have and same prop 23 tempest plus. only diff is my motor seems to be mounted higher on the jackplate than yours im thinking beacuse there is no way mine would plane without caviatating if i raise the plate to 2. seems that full down position is fastest spot. raising jackplate does raise rpm but speed falls. guess its prop slip. im just wondering if its not mounted one hole too high. maybe by droping one hole i could reduce some slip and pick up few mph?
Blindboy…was that 63 gps speed? what kind of load? trolling motor? 3or4 batteries?
2005 Ranger Cayman 191
the 63 was likely on the trailer behind the truck on the I …
Hey hey hey P-k you know I don’t exagerate like that. In fact you’ve been on the boat i’m talking about. Remember I had to get out and push us off that oyster bar in …March(???)
The 63mph was with just me. And it was GPS speed. I’ll admit most of the time I ran it in the high 50’s. Sixty plus felt a little unsafe for an old man. Load may be half a tank (24 gal.of gas). Three batteries and Tm of course. I left the rear storage compartments almost empty and put any stuff i wanted to carry up front to avoid exagerating the bass boat stern heavy set up that boat has. Im not sure I can help much more.
Richard E.
cool…thanks for the info…i wonder if i moved most of my heavy gear to rear hatches if would notice a difference in bow lift and top speed. ill give it a shot
2005 Ranger Cayman 191
Take me for a ride. I’ll get the speed out of that boat. 
Gotcha Covered,
Lee Strickland
Strickland Marine Insurance, Inc.
843-795-1000 / 800-446-1862
I’d figure that boat would run faster than that with a 200 opti on it, guess it has to do with the fact its a flats boat(meaning the designs to make it a better flats boat), rather than a bass boat
yeah…doesnt get bow lift like a bass boat…i guess because of the hull…designed for ride through chop
2005 Ranger Cayman 191
the hopper/floyd team who fish(ed) one of the redfish tours had a 191 w/ a 200 hpdi. If I remember correctly they were running a 24 tempest that had been worked. I thought they were seeing mid-high 60’s (gps) out of their boat. I would expect the opti to be capable of running as strong.