Outboard Issue.. Please Help

[14gills]

I bought a boat (14' Mirrorcraft) with a 1973 25 Horse Evinrude on the back. I was stoked because that's what my dad had and what i fished in growing up. This evnirude even had electric start.

My issue i am having is that is does wind all the way out. It acts like its going to then never gets to top speed. Drives me nuts.

I have taken it to a Dicks boats in clearfield to have them look at this issue. They said it was the carb and i needed to be rebuilt. After $325 they told me it would be a rocket. I was stoked and headed to the lake for a test run. When i put the engine under a real load (my boat, not in a bucket) it still preformed the same way.

I know this engine will scream but i am not a engine repair guy. Does anybody know how to work on this motor, or know of anybody (that in not crazy expensive) that does great work.

Its fall time and i am have plans to go to the berry for the next 8 saterdays. I really need some local info and help.

PS. I live in UTAH.
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[wiperhunter2]

If the motor is running good, then its most likely a prop issue but what would you consider top speed for that motor and do you have any way to tell how fast you are going?
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[14gills]

Thats just it, the motor never sounds wound out. It sounds like it is at like half power and my boat sometimes will barely plane out.

If i am in my boat alone with not gear or people or the fornt deck i built (about 70 lbs) then i can clock it at 21 MPH.

But when you add anything to the boat it never gets anywhere around 21, it even sounds like it is struggling to run.
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[wiperhunter2]

So would you say that it winds up to top speed and the motor sounds like it is running wide open, when you don't have all that extra weight in it? If so there is little doubt it is your prop. Does this happen on all lakes or just The Berry?
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[14gills]

I would say that it gets close enough to full wind out that i cant tell. But it is hard to tell. When i load it up it really struggles.

I did the initial test run at willard, then took it loaded to the berry. I know they are way different in elevation, but i did not expect that much performance change.

I have taken it loaded to mantu and it still stuggles to wind out. I have taken the hard cover off the see if that helps and it does help a little but i should not have to do that, and it still does not top out.

I wish there was a guy that really knows these old motors. I don't want to sell it, it will only sell for a fraction of a new one.
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[wiperhunter2]

There are two guys on the site that might be able to help you, they both work on boat motors, geezer and mtncat1 but its likely a prop issue and not a motor issue. Here is a link to Tom's (Geezer)profile: http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/com...ame=GEEZER

Here is a link to Rich's (mtncat1)profile: http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/com...me=mtncat1

Do you know how to check the size and pitch of your prop?
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[14gills]

Wiperhunter2 thank you for all your information. We schould meet up and fish the berry together. I am going up this Sat the 17. Maybe you can come and we can trouble shoot this prop and angle issue.

Yes it says on the prop, i have a 9x10 now and have also baught a 9 x 11. They only have two choices for this motor and i have both of them.
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[wiperhunter2]

Sorry, I only fish The Berry for Kokes but this Sat I'll be up in the mountains scouting for elk season.
Have you tried both props to see if one works better than the other?
Geezer helped me with the last boat I had, it was having a similar problem to yours and this happened right after I had the carb overhauled, it turned out that the float wasn't adjusted right but it did not run better no matter how much weight was in the boat and it was running better before the guy(not Tom) overhauled it, so I knew it was a carb issue. Did you just put the 25 hp motor on your boat? or have you used that motor on another boat? Just wondering if you knew how it ran before you installed it on the your 14ft boat.
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[14gills]

I bought that boat and motor two years ago and have been trying to figure out the problem since I bought it.
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[Kent]

[quote 14gills]

Yes it says on the prop, i have a 9x10 now and have also baught a 9 x 11. They only have two choices for this motor and i have both of them.

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Do you have a choice on the pitch of the prop? If yes, you may have too much pitch.
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[dtayboyz]

Have you done a compression test?
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[wiperhunter2]

Looks like they also make a 9x9 prop for that motor:
Propeller Specifications:
Part(s): #012021
Manufacturer: Michigan Wheel
Brand:Michigan Match
Material: Aluminum
Diameter: 9
Pitch: 9
Blades: 3
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[mtncat1]

after reading this post i think curt may be on the right track with the prop issue .
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[lvfishingdude]

if you don't think you are getting all the power you should, a compression test must be done. you might be not firing on some cylinders. also what is the weight of the 14' boat?
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[14gills]

OK gents here is an update.

Last night I took both pros, all my gear, 6gallons of gas, bad a friend. We when to mantua (free) to mess with props and engine angle/pitch? After adding the deck in the front I never checked to see if prop and pitch where set up right.
I fist tried all pitch/tilt of engine with original prop(9 1/4 x 10). This seemed to do the trick. I had to put the motor tilted the farthest from my boat but the engine seemed to wind all the way out. The boats nose was more up in the air never really planed out but the engine ran great. How to get it to plane more and still keep the speed?
With all the weight I had, the boat ran at 14 mph.
I then tested the other prop 9 x 11. This engin never wound out on any pitch/tilt of the engine.
I was wondering wiperhunter2 mentioned a 9 x 9 prop. Would that make me go faster?
One more question. When going to higher elevation do I need to go richer Or leaner with my carb adjustment?

Thanks for all the info and help.
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[wiperhunter2]

Its been a while since I had a motor that I could not tilt with the push of a tilt button but I should have mentioned that as well. In case you did not know this, the more you can get the front end of your boat out of the water the faster the boat will go, so tilting you motor back more gives you that extra lift of the front of your boat. That was why it ran better when you did not have the extra weight of your casting deck. The lower the number of the pitch of your prop the more thrust you will get from your motor, so it will wind out better but that does not mean you will get a higher speed but you should get up on plan quicker. At the higher elevation lakes, the 9x9 prop will help you get on plan quicker but you may never get the higher speed that you get at lower elevation lakes. There are other factors that come into play, like the jets in the carb but just like the difference you saw when using the 9x10 versus the 9x11 there will a similar result when you go to the 9x9 prop but you should see an increase in motor RPM.
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[14gills]

I returned my 9 x 11 and picked up a 9 x 9. So i will try this maybe this weekend up at the berry and let you know how it goes.
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[wiperhunter2]

Well I hope it works out for you but I'm pretty sure you will notice a difference.
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[Kent]

[quote wiperhunter2]

In case you did not know this, the more you can get the front end of your boat out of the water the faster the boat will go, so tilting you motor back more gives you that extra lift of the front of your boat.

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Curtis, this statement is true to a point. If the bow of the boat is too high out of the water then the stern will be plowing too deep in the water and you won't go fast at all.
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[wiperhunter2]

Agreed
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