Hey guys, I hope you can help me here. I used the livewell in my Triton for the first time last night and I got a surprise when I tried to take off....no hole shot! It just dug in with the nose in the air. So I figured it must be the weight. I let the water out of it down to about a third full and it took off just fine.  Is this typical? I wouldn't think I would have tournament grade livewells only to be able to barely fill them up.  Any ideas? Thanks in advance!

Stuart

What size boat and motor???

The boat should be designed to easily take off and get on plane with full livewells... no question.  I would think something else has to be the problem, so the main questions to me would be one... whats your motor size and boat size?  And two, have you done anything else like added extra rear end weight (more batteries) that could be the culprit?    

If you're running a Mercury Tempest or Trophy prop with the PVS plugs try removing one of the plugs at a time and see if your loaded hole shot doesn't improve. If taking them all out doesn't do the trick, you may have to consider going down in pitch. Your dealer should be willing to swap if you haven't damaged yours. Good luck!

My 06 20X does the same thing with both livewells full. She is a pig in the *** end during a tournament. Also burns more gas and oil.

My 08X2 launches fine with full live wells. Its going to be a tad slower, thats expected. But I don't think it takes more than 2 more seconds fully loaded than it does when I'm running light. You might want to get your prop blueprinted and have some cup added to increase your lift if changing the PVS plugs doesn't help.

Sorry guys, I've been away today. I appreciate all of the input. The boat is 18'6 with a 150 Optimax. I haven't added any weight to it in the back so that's not the issue. The prop is a Merc prop but don't remember which one, does Laser II or III sound right? I haven't looked at it that closely really. I don't know what plugs you guys are talking about....can you enlighten me there? The thing that sucks if I have to go back to the dealer is they are 5 hours from here...not just a quick deal you know...would any Triton/Mercury dealer switch it out?

Mine came with a Tempest+, but its an XS motor so I don't know if they put the same on the regular Opti.

When you look at your prop, you should see some holes in it. These allow exhaust gases to vent when you are getting on plane. Once you get going the water flow across the prop prevents the exhaust gas from coming out the holes.  You can put different size plugs in there to control the amount of gas thats allowed to escape. If too much escapes your prop will cavitate, basically a void of air surrounds the prop and it won't bite the water and can damage your prop. If not enough gas is venting it can cause problems getting on plane like you described. So if you have these plugs in your prop, the first thing to do is try removing some plugs or using inserts with larger holes to allow more exhaust to escape. This may fix your problem. You may also be able to have some added to your prop, depending on what prop you have. If your RPMS are good at WOT I wouldn't change the pitch that you are using.  I included a picture showing a prop with PVS holes in it.

If the PVS thing doesn't work out you can have your prop "worked". You can have cupping added to the blades. This produces more lift and will help you get on plane faster.

If your prop doesn't have those holes I'd suggest talking to your dealer about exchanging your prop for a different one. Your boat should plane fairly quickly loaded down, I don't think that is an unreasonable expectation.

Thanks a lot, I do appreciate it. Yeah, I tell you, I'm still only getting about 5100 rpms trimmed out and WOT, got about 60 out of it but I feel it should give a little more. I think I must still be in the break in period anyway, not 11 full hours on the outboard yet I wouldn't think...not sure how that is figured. I would like the smartcraft gauges to put on it.  I'll take a look at that prop. I agree that I shouldn't have problems getting out of the hole with full wells...that is what it's designed for. I do like the boat though, been using it quite a bit. I hope you're loving yours. I know you have that 175 ProXS Opti. What did you have to give for your rig if you don't mind me asking? You can send me a PM if you're more comfortable with that....

I've got a 27 Trophy on my Gambler and it wont even push the boat the last 12" up on the trailer. >  

I'd agree with the masses that it's a prop thing.

The whole rig was $31,095.00 with a LMS-520C added to the console and the X-135 moved to the bow.

You should be turning more RPM's than that at WOT once its out of the break-in period. I think the regular opti's hit the limiter at 5800. What pitch is your prop?

Thanks everyone, I appreciate it. I guess I'm looking at a 5 hour drive to SC unless I can figure something out on my own...

I will check it out. I didn't have a chance to look at last night, too worn out..just lazy I guess. I'm not sure what the pitch is, not that familiar with these technical things. How do I find out? Yes, I'm ready for more RPM's indeed.

The whole rig was $31,095.00 with a LMS-520C added to the console and the X-135 moved to the bow.

I was just curious about the price since yours had the ProXS. I think I got a pretty good deal, I ended paying 25K for mine with the LMS520C at the console. It came with the best feature package available but still no finder at the bow which bugs me. I picked up a used Garmin that will do the trick but haven't had it put in yet...need to do that soon!  

If you look on your prop, somewhere you will see some numbers. Look for something with a P after it. Should be in the 23 range. Mine has something like 23P 9842483493.  The numbers before the P are the pitch. If you aren't getting enough RPM's once you've broken her in, getting a prop with less pitch will generally give you more RPM's.

Do you have a jackplate?

I just looked and it's a Tempest Plus prop with a 25 pitch...I spoke to a guy from Mercury earlier and he told me I should probably be running with only one of the three plugs in the prop...Why wouldn't they have one of the lowest pitch props on there to begin with anyway? Should I go back and ask them to switch it out?

There's a lot of variables that go into figuring out the right setup. I'm running a 23 pitch prop on my motor, I am a little suprised you are able to turn a 25 with a 150hp motor. Usually you see those on 225's. You might ask why you are running a prop with that much pitch. It could be that you are only turning 5100 rpm because you are running too much prop for the motor, and that's bad because you can lug the motor. You can be putting too much load on the engine because its trying to turn a prop that takes too much effort, which can damage your engine. Its definately worth asking your dealer and seeing what they say. And make sure that what your dealer is telling you is right. some of the guys here are amazing to listen to, its fun just because they really know their stuff.

Thanks, that's great to know! I'll find out. Don't want to damage the Opti...Thanks for all of your help!! I really do appreciate it!