Thank you Mulholland, I was mainly worried that something may be wrong with my motor. Agree with everything you said.

Randy Howell won the classic in the fastest boat at the tournament;). So there you go...

What prop is on yours and how far below the pad is the prop shaft? Something is wrong with it. Maybe it has dropped a cylinder or maybe it doesn't have enough prop but something isn't right. It should run faster than that. I weigh 235, my fishing partner weighs 200 and I take a third person on occasion. It doesn't slow it down that much. What does it run with two people? That boat with a 250XB should run 75-76 easily with two people and tournament load if it's right.

my max RPM is 5850. I do not recall prop size.

Sounds close enough

Mulholland has a good point. Prop for your NORMAL fishing conditions. I always have three guys with me and a FULL load when I go fishing so I propped the boat for that situation.

When I first got my boat and was setting it up I played with a bunch of props and engine heights. My boat was the first Alpha 211 the dealer sold with a then new Yam 250 SHO so there was no history.

The prop that worked the best on my boat with just me and a light load was a 26 Merc Fury. The boat would fly with that prop. I quickly discovered that the 26 was just a tad too much pitch when I had three guys and all their carp in my boat and had a full tank of fuel with 40 gallons of water in the live well.

My top holeshot & topspeed suffered dramatically. I tried a 25 Fury and it worked very well so I sacrificed the extra couple mph on topend so my boat would perform better loaded like I normally fish.

I would like to point out that the top speed dropped off more with the 26 pitch prop when I loaded the boat down than it did with the 25 pitch. The 250 SHO simply did not have the torque to pull the 26 with a heavy load.

The Merc XB 250 is a stronger motor than the Yam 250 SHO or the Merc Pro XS for that matter. You have a potentially 80+ mph rig lightly loaded. However, it would take a ton of experimenting with props & height adjustments to realize that on your rig. My advice would be for you to find a good middle of the road height & prop for your NORMAL load and run it.

If you are running 74-75 solo now, you are most likely there already. If you are concerned about your motor a quick compression test on all the cylinders will tell you if you have a weak cylinder. Merc also had some motors get out with bad coils. Normally if you lose a coil, you lose the entire cylinder and you would notice that big time.

Just go fishing!

. . .I've never seen a bass boat with a 250 on it that wouldn't lose a good 5 - 10mph with 800lbs+ of cargo.

3 230lb dudes = ~700lbs.
50 gallons of gas = 300lbs (closer to 400lbs if its the 56 gal tank and full)
Add another 100lbs for gear and supplies. . .

You're talking a 1200lbs difference, give or take, with a one man light load vs a full boat.

That can easily sap 5 to 10 mph, ESPECIALLY if the boat isn't perfectly adjusted to run with a heavy load.

Had 3 Tr21's with 250 Yammies the last 5 years I worked. Propped to get up quick with a load of 3. They all ran in the 60- 65 range with 3 folks and 70-74 with just me. Ken is correct on prop. I also ran 25's

If you want it to go fast: 26P or 27P Fury or a 27P Tempest Plus and 2.5" below the pad. It will run close to/if not 80 mph by yourself and over 75-76 with two people. I have done tons of prop testing as well as a friend of mine that has one too. I have a Triton, same one for 10+ years. I know what they like but do whatever you want too;)

I would suggest doing a compression test. I would also check the coils to see if you have a bad one or it may have a bad injector. Sounds like it has dropped a cylinder.

Someone always has a boat that defies all physics.. LOL

I for one owm a 1990 Bayliner Cobra 1903 WITH matching Force 150 outboard that still runs. Take that Isaac Newton!

You may want to submit it to Ripleys Believe It or Not

Precisely Tim!

You forgot 40 gallons of water in the livewell so add another 350# or so. Weight kills ya. My boat is set up with the motor buried deep in the water and a lower pitch prop specifically for this type of load. If I happen to go out with just me and a skinny buddy, then yes it hits the rev limiter at 6300 rpms but that is a rare occurrence.

I knew I was forgetting some weight somewhere. . .

Plus 10lb of ice + snacks and drinks and 3 limits of white bass or black bass... Call that a cool 75lb either way 😂