Regardless of how they are mounted, I like to have two of the “Rocket Launcher” style rod holders. I mount them beside the drivers seat and the passengers seat. The reason I use them in those locations is because they do not allow the handle of the rod to intrude on the interior space of the boat. Scotties or Rams allow the rod handle to poke you in the side while you sit in your seat. The Scotties or Rams are great holders for other mounting locations in my boat.

Justin-
I was on Leech lake today and was able to really see what my 21p Bravo 1 prop would do. Keep in mind that I also have an electric jack plate. My max RPMs were 5600 which got me to 55 mph. This is with a fishing partner (250lbs) and myself (200lbs). I wish I could get the Rpms out of this prop that you get but it it just won’t get there. Don’t know if you have an exceptionally strong running motor or whether mine is weak. I am happy that this prop gets rid of the big rooster tail and handling in the turns is excellent. There is still a tendency to porpoise but it is not nearly as bad as with the SWSII. If I get a 20p Bravo 1 I should get the Rpms up to 5800 which would be acceptable but I would rather see 6000. Don’t know if I should try a 20p in the Bravo1 or switch to a Rev4 in 19p.

Justin –
I will be anxious to here how your boat does with the 21P Bravo I. Reporting results has been helpful in trying to get the best set-up. This is an expensive process but learning from others with the same boat helps keep cost down for all of us. I owe you and others a big thanks for sharing information.

Justin –
Out boats are apparently not reacting to the SWSII prop the same. This prop makes my boat porpoise beyond anything I have ever seen. There are others with the same problem and no amount of waiting to get up to speed before trimming makes it go away. I wish it was a easy to solve on all of our boats, as you have suggested.

Justin –
I had the chance last evening to try out my boat with the a jack plate. I gained a little rpms and a little speed with my Bravo I FS 21P. Still not what you are getting with the 22P Bravo I FS. In all fairness, the lake was to small to really wring out max performance. I was also running in 90 degree temps and humidity which isn’t ideal for max engine performance. In addition, there are small differences between boats and motors so we shouldn’t all expect identical results.
The handling issues many of us are seeing (porpoising and blowing out in the turns) were much much improved!!! The Bravo I prop solved these problems even before I installed the jack plate. I understand your comments on how to shift weight in a boat to affect performance (porpoising), but there is only so much weight to be shifted. All of the storage in these boats is up front. There is only one seat up front and I haven’t found anyone brave enough to sit up there at 50+ mph while the boat is porpoising. Trimming the bow down all the way down is the only solution with the stock SWS II Yamaha prop. In my opinion, trimming down all the way all the time isn’t a reasonable solution and I won’t accept it. When I moved my motor up one hole, chine walking became a problem. I also experienced having the back of the boat trying to pass the front if I turned very much at speed. Neither of these conditions are safe.

I’ve tinkered with the SWS II prop (including sharpening and balancing and adding cup) and boat set up as much as humanly possible and it will not work in an acceptable manner for me with my boat. This boat needs to run a different prop. In my case I believe it will be a four blade Bravo I FS. The prop alone solved my performance problems. The Jack plate is a very nice upgrade but you are right about it not solving the porpoising issue. Without a Jack plate, I would try a Bravo I FS 20P to get the Rpms up. Based on my experience and several others, I think Skeeter would be doing everyone a big favor by selling this boat with a more appropriate prop for this otherwise great boat.

Phil –
My cavitation plate is just above the water level (I only have one more hole to raise it). Can’t wait to get my jack plate installed. That should happen by the end of the week.
I think there is a formula that calculates how high above the bottom of the boat your cavitation plate should be. The further back your motor is, the higher you should have your motor. The water rises after the boat passes, so with the 8″ setback you will run higher than the same boat w/o a setback.

Justin –
I have heard concern about insufficient water pressure when raising a jack plate to high. With the way the SHO lower unit is designed, is a water pressure gauge needed?

Justin Schneider (Woods & Water Insurance) wrote:

I’m seeing 5800-5900 RPMs with the 22P Bravo 1 depending on where I have the Jack plate. 2 guys tournament loaded and livewell full I’m right around 58mph.

I found the Bravo 1 had just as good if not a little better hole shot than the 18P saltwater my boat came with. It also holds really well on turns. Overall, I found that with the increase in stern lift, this prop also gave the boat a much smoother ride.

I think Justins post above might be the answer to our propping questions. I tried the Bravo I FS in 21 pitch and achieved everything from a handling perspective that I was hoping for. No porpoising, no rooster tail, and rock solid in the turns. The problem I had with this prop was the WOT 5400 rpms. These motors need to run at higher RPMs. I was getting 55 mph which I am happy with. Without a Jack Plate, this prop in a 19.5 pitch might achieve the higher rpms I am missing. Since I’m already invested in the 21p Bravo I FS I chose to stay with that prop and went the next step and ordered a power Jack Plate. If I get performance similar to Justin, I will be ecstatic. I will report back on my results once I get my new Jack Plate installed. There are always small differences in hulls and motors, so I might not get the same result as Justin. Keeping my fingers crossed!

Joe –
The problems some of us are having with the Salt Water series II prop are:

1. Porpoising at full throttle unless trimed nearly all the way down.
2. Not holding in the turns.
3. Big rooster tail. (big waste of thrust)

How does the 21 pitch Pro Series compare on these performance characteristics?

Also, I see several Yamaha Pro series props. Specifically there is a Performance 3 and a Performance 4. Which prop are you using?

Phil –
I moved my engine up one hole. It is now in the third hole from the top. I can’t say that I noticed much difference other than it blows out in the turns easier with the stock Salt Water II 19P Yamaha prop.

The 21P Bravo I FS does not work well for me. Speed was unchanged but top RPMs were only 5400. Hole shot was good and didn’t blow out on the turns. No porpoising. If I could get RPMs up this would be my prop. Justin has a Jack plate on his rig so that may be the answer with this prop.

I get the same porpoising problem unless I am WOT or trimmed way down. I have a Bravo I FS in a 21 pitch ordered. i don’t have a jack plate like Brian so I can’t expect the same results. I will post my results once I have bolted on the new prop.

Brian-
I am very impressed with your performance numbers. Running your prop slip numbers through the calculator you are getting over 16 percent slippage. I’ve never had a jack plate so I am curious if you are raising your motor to the point where your prop is breaking the surface causing the high slippage? With my limited knowledge of props, I would have expected a very low slip percentage with your 4 blade prop and I would have also expected a lot less pitch with a 4 blade. Can you please explain what you think is happening to get your great performance? I would be ecstatic to get similar performance with my rig.

That’s great performance! Is your motor the 250 SHO or the 250 Offshore model?

Justin –
What are your performance numbers with the Bravo 22P and how does it hold the turns?

I am currently seeing 5800 RPMs and 54 mph (gps). Every once in a while I see the tach hit 5900 so I am probably running just under 5900. These numbers are before sharpening and thinning the leading edge. My prop guy says I should see about a 150 rpm increase when he has completed the sharpening. This should put me at a little over 6000rpms. I should also see about 1 or 2 mph gain with the additional rpms. All of my prop testing has been done with only me in the boat with the live wells empty. I should also add that my hole shot is epic! I was also able to raise my motor (SHO 250) to the third hole.

I’ve been making progress on improving prop performance on my 2016 WX2060. My local prop shop suggested that the Yamaha prop (Saltwater Series II 15.25 X 19) could perform better if some cupping was added to the tip of the blades. The cupping on the factory fresh prop does not go all the way around the tip of the blades. The design of the Yamaha prop relieves most of the cupping at the tip of the blades. My prop shop added some cupping at the tips of the blades and the performance is dramatically improved. I was previously blowing out on the turns quite easily. My boat now corners like it is on rails. I saw a very slight decrease in RPMs with the added cupping, so I am having the blades sharpened and thinned on the leading edges to gain back my lost RPMs. Speed remained the same, so after the blades are sharpened I should gain a little speed. We will see.
I should add that, at least in my case, having my prop worked on by a reputable prop shop was much less expensive than buying a new prop. Total cost of adding cupping sharpening and thinning of the leading edge of the blades and refinishing will be $180 vs $700+++ for a new prop.

The original post stated that he dropped the engine one hole and RPMs went from 5400 to 5600. I learn a lot from this site but I do not understand how dropping a hole would result in an increase in RPMs. Can someone explain why/how this could happen? Was he unable to get the RPMs up before it blew out with the higher mounting height?

Got it lowered to the lowest hole. Problem solved!

Thanks for all of the responses! I will try towing with it on. Does anyone secure the tag end of the straps? I’m thinking that they will scuff up the finish if they are left flapping in the wind against the side of the boat. If so what is the solution? Tape? Zip ties? Or am I over thinking this?

Hey Bryan-
Thanks! I will get it lowered.

Thanks Dean. Here are a couple of pictures. It looks like there are mounting holes that could drop the height almost two inches unless there is some reason it would interfere with the main engine steering linkage.

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The same kicker on my wx1900 never came out of the water in high waves and had a lot rear thrust when needed. I’m questioning whether my kicker is mounted properly with the 8″ setback. I understand that if the main motor is mounted on a setback, that the kicker needs to be mounted on a setback also. I am hoping that there is more than one way to assemble the setback for the kicker that would place it at a lower level.
Could someone at SBC comment on this? Have any of their customers with this boat noticed anything similar to my experience?

Sorry I am so slow in responding, but I have been out of town and away from my computer.
The shaft is 25″. It is the package that Skeeter is currently putting out with the WX2060.

Thanks Dean!

I have the 15 1/4 x 19 pitch saltwater series 2 ss 3 blade that came with my 2016 model WX2060. The hole shot with the Vmax 250 is by far the best I have ever experienced. Top end is 53 MPH (5800 rpms) fully loaded with 2 people and live wells full. The prop does blow out quite easily on the turns.

I am interested to find out what other props have been tried with this boat. I am sure there is room for improvement.

Phil-
Where are you located? You would be more than welcome to go for a ride in mine. I’m located in Sioux City, IA and I also have a summer home near Park Rapids, MN. I’ve only had mine out twice, but I can tell you that the 250 SHO is all that I want hanging on my transom.

The set back on those two motors are built like a tank. You won’t have any problems with them.

In a word “Yes”. If you can swing the added expense, get a “Troll Master” when you get your kicker. Once you have used one, you will never want to fish without one again.