I have read this entire forum and there seems to be the same issue I’m having with mine. I have a 99 TR20 with a 200 Optimax, pushing a 26P tempest plus. The boat takes forever to come out of the water with just me, add weight and there is no way. I have a 6” hydraulic jack plate and have played with it all over. Nettles props told me to try going down to a 25 but I can’t find one to try first. My question I want to ask is will taking some of the PVS plugs out help or hurt the engine ??

It could help, but I can give a gut-feel opinion about the match up you have. I'm thinking you may not have much experience with knowing what's right or not as you didn't give the most important data. What is the Max RPM for your motor? Look this up if you have the owner's manual, and download one if you don't. Next, are you making that RPM? I'm guessing not, as I suspect 26" is just too much pitch for that boat/motor combo. You need to get your hands on a 24" pitch prop to try that. The RPM that I suspect is too low will then run higher.

Yeah 24P or 25P is the absolute most I would try on that rig. I’m thinking 23P is going to be your prop and you’ll be so much happier with your boat, and your motor will be happier too.

I appreciate the feedback. Flipping out, the WOT Range is 5800 RPM, I can turn 5400 RPM’s when the boat finally gets on plane. Sorry I did not provide that feedback first, I have a 24& 25 P prop lined up to try I just wanted to ask about the vents because I’ve never had to mess with them In any of my other boats. Thanks Paul I’ll see if the place I’m headed today has a 23 and will try that too.

I would try the 24p first, should be much better holeshot and get you to 5800 WOT. Depending on the boat and the load maybe a 23p. The vent plugs are basically for fine tuning holeshot once you get the prop with correct WOT. Pull them out until prop breaks loose on hard acceleration from stop, then add one at a time, you want a slight cavitation to let the engine rev up and then good hookup for a good holeshot.

BTW, my 99 TX21 with 225 Opti likes the 4 blade Trophy much better than the Tempest, I run a 25p Trophy most of the year. In 95 degree plus weather I run a 24p Trophy. I can run a 26p in cold weather but really don't see the need to go over 76 when it is cold out......

You may give Josh a call at Steve’s Propeller and get his opinion. I sent him a $75 craigslist prop and had him work it specific to my rig. It is amazing what he can do. The prop came back looking brand spanking new and it couldn’t be more perfect for my boat. I do like the sound of a 24P Trophy, might try to get your hands on one of those to try.

Thank you all for the info. She’s definitely going to take some fine tuning but like the layout of the boat. I figured out today that I had a set up issue and had to move the jack plate down. I ran a 24 pitch laser II just too see if the boat liked it. Had the right RPM’s but kept cavitating right before plane. Took measurements and my motor was too high. Going to try again tomorrow.

That Laser II will break loose way easier than a Tempest or Trophy but 24p sounds right due to the WOT RPM's

Yep, I agree with the others who sound like they have some hard knowledge on what I suspected. Look for the 23 or 24 to be what you like. Consider eventually having 2 props so you have a spare, but one could be 23 and the other 24 (examples). The lower pitch would be the choice to run in hot weather, and the higher pitch is winter and mild weather.

I had the same thoughts as Flippin. Having two props is sometimes the only way to get top performance out of your rig year round in Texas. I actually got a 23P for my boat to have as a spare, but have also found that it can actually be slightly better in the hot summer months. My normal prop is a Raker 25P and it can get a bit sluggish if I have a heavy load in the summer.

I wanted to post the final result just in case someone needs to reference in the future. I tried 5 different props out saturday, all of which were better than what I had, but one hit the absolute sweet spot. I ended up with powertech, 4 blade, 23 pitch prop, and the boat absolutley drives like a dream now. Good holeshot, great top end and handling. Thanks again for everybody's input and helping me get this figured out.

PS. If anybody is needing a 3 blade 26Pitch Tempest I have one for sale!

Thanks for the update and sharing the information! Glad to hear you found the one. Now you can pay attention to fishing and not how your boat performance is irritating the heck out of you.... Enjoy!

I too thank you for coming back to the thread to close it out. I also see that I was on the right track for "fixing" your problems.
I'm glad nothing serious was wrong, and that you simply needed to get a good performance matched system. Don't ding that shiney new prop!