Top Speed Question

Hey guys, have a question about my motor setup. Running a 1993 175 Johnson Fast Strike on a 19 foot Cajun. Purchased the boat about a month ago after I got into fishing this summer. Been really pleased with it, but wondering about my top end speed. WOT I'm only getting 55mph GPS max, calm water, by myself on good day. Is this normal? Thought I would be able to push a little faster. Experimented with trim. I am running a Raker 22 pitch prop, it does have some small dings. Could that be the issue? Or do I need to go to a 24 or more pitch? Experiment with jack plate? It looks to be in a good spot. Any of you guys with Johnson Fast Strikes know how fast yours moves your boat? Any help appreciated, thanks.

At WOT, what rpm are you getting out of your motor?

If it's a Travis edition, there's not a lot you can do to it.

The plywood transom can't tolerate a jack plate, and the center of gravity is so far forward it doesn't allow the bow to lift, which just makes it run flat in the water. Sorry to be a buzz kill, just don't want you to spend a lot of money and not see any results.

I'd have to go run it again, but I wanna say I'm getting upper 5000s. 5800 I think? And I think it is the Travis edition. There's already a manual jack plate on it... should that concern me??? I'm not really that upset with the 55 mph. I got the boat for pretty cheap, it was all I could afford, and to me it's been well worth that price. Just wanted to see if I could push any extra out of it.

It seems like a lot of the stuff I'm reading on some other forums say the Cajun's have pretty strong transoms, including the Travis editions, and that most of them are running jack plates? But that they are slow. Right on that bow lift is the issue.

Travis boats were built pretty cheap. It's a plywood transom that won't take a big beating, trim your motor up and bounce it hard, if the transom flexes, it's pretty well shot. Not slamming your rig, there were lots of budget boats built back then, it was hard to separate truth from fiction.

Just be happy with 55 and go fishing, I have seen people spend a ton of money just to get 5 more mph .
The older boats are going to be more weight = less top end ,,, but you have a better ride than a faster and lighter boat.

Can't detect any flex in the transom. I sold my first 1979 Ranger because it's motor was about to fall off the back it had such a big crack in it. I'll keep an eye on it just to make sure over time, but the transom was the first thing I beelined for when looking to buy it. 2500 bucks, 55 mph, a good graph, and a big ole deck to stand on in a paid off boat... works for me any day. I was just checking to see if that performance was normal.

It is in the normal range for that setup. Paid off boat means a lot...

Paid in full,,, is the ONLY way to go, if you can.

If you're prop is dinged, then it could use a tune-up. There could be a couple of mph there. Call Josh at Steve's Custom Props and visit with him.