Prop pitch vs. elevation

[N.E.T.O.]

I've been boating for 35 plus years, with family boats and fishing boats. I used to go to Jacks Prop Shop, back when he was still doing it (changed hands/names now), and he had a revolving door just for me. It wasn't uncommon to have to try a few different props at different lakes and I would ultimately end up owning at least 2 props for each boat I had. I finally learned my lesson and started buying boats with fuel injected V8's in them and didn't have to mess with the props anymore. My last (family) boat was a 4Winns Sundowner 245 with a 454 port fuel injected engine and a Volvo duoprop with Stainless props. That boat would just plane out and go fast anywhere!
I got out of the family boat business and started getting into fishing boats. Most of the time I'd go with my good buddies, so my personal boat was basically a "displacement" hull, instead of a "planing" hull, with 15, or 20 horse motors which basically would get me there...but not in style (or quickly). Well, I retired and needed a decent boat, so earlier this year I bought a 16' tracker with a 40 horse motor. It ran well and would do about 25 with just me in it, but would only go 18 at Strawberry with 2 people in it. It took me immediately back to my old prop changing days. I decided I would solve this problem the easy way...I sold that boat and bought one with a bigger engine!!!!

I don't know why I sometimes have to learn things twice. There is no replacement for displacement.

The prop/elevation/horsepower charts are a good STARTING point, but the bottom line is that you need to load up your boat the way you are going to use it, take it to the lake you are going to use it at, then try a few different props. Also, weight in the back of the boat is BAD. Throw some of your gear in the front (or a person). When you buy a boat, try to get it at the maximum (or close to) the max rated horsepower for that boat. Usually the engine is fine, and it's the prop that does the most good but really, in Utah, you NEED to have the highest rated horsepower for any given boat. Don't believe most of the internet stories of 18 foot boats going 35 mph with a 40 horse motor, because those guys live at sea level...we don't. And also, boat speedometers are notoriously not accurate. I had a buddy that I used to waterski with and he would ask me how fast I needed to go. I would tell him about 32 mph for me to slalom ski. While out skiing, I would constantly be giving him the thumbs UP signal to increase the speed. When finished, he would comment that I liked to ski at 40 mph!!!! I brought a GPS with me next time to show him that his speedometer was off by about 8 mph. All this time he thought he had a 45 or 50 mph boat when in reality it was about a 35 or 36 mph boat, because his speedometer was wrong. Use a GPS to figure out your speed. Most fishfinders have them built in nowadays.