BradM

I had the same era 1900v, and it was far easier to remove them from under the console. I’m 6’3”, 275 and managed to get in there just fine. Comfortable? No! Manageable? Yes. Take a few pictures with your phone for future reference. It’s pretty straight forward; blue to blue, green to green, and I think the rest will only plug into their proper counterpart. It’s been a few years....Eric can put the original color film in there or the newer gray color/style. I was his guinea pig on the gray film and it looked GREAT! I preferred it over the original color. Just happen to have a pic still on the ol iPad. These are my gauges....and a side by side of the two choices.

Eric Clayton at "The Gauge Saver" turns them around pretty quick. I know you're wanting to avoid that route, but if you look at the cost of news ones, you'll be happy to send them out for repair. Not a bad job at all, Fin!

Accurate Jason P. I'd venture to guess it's a Motorguide Xi-5? Mine has done it since new. EXTREMELY annoying.

Cool story on the plane. Local?

And now he’s faster than us. Can’t wait to hear how she runs!

Don't be fooled, HB's 22 will hurt our feelings if we aren't trimmed out perfectly! Don't sympathize with him.

I meant to speak to outrunning a squall, and I did that very thing last year. I was at the sandbar with some friends last year (he has a Sportsman with an F150) and a storm kicked up. I packed up and pushed off, which prompted him to say "you're going to get soaked no matter what, you can't get in front of it". I got in front of it, on the trailer on heading home long before we saw a drop of rain. I loved a PowerTech prop on my old Pathy, it was great! I did not care for a PowerTech on the HPS, at ALL! PowerTech makes a robust, well handling prop, and their CushLok system is second to none. However, the ones I ran on my HPS were not for the HPS. Not at all. I want to be clear that I am not bashing PowerTech, or Marcus, great company and great guy, however, I have not found one that allows my boat to preform as it should; as it is advertised. In my thread about my prop dance, you can see where Sunstone switched up to a Bravo, and all of the sudden he could turn at speed. Not being able to freely turn at speed was more of a concern to me than anything else. I mean it's not that you couldn't turn at 50 mph, but with the OFX4, it took a lot of effort....Enough that there is no way my wife could operate the boat. The OFX4 works well on the 24 and 25 because (in my opinion) they haul a lot more weight than we typically would in a 23. Also, as I have found and as JoshB mentioned, you don't want to pick up a bunch of stern on the HPS, the step needs to get free of the water to see the fuel mileage improve and the speed, too. I'm done with McComb.....for now.

I've been out that way a lot, heading towards Jackson, MS (little town call McComb, MS). Sure is nice out there and a lot of water. I hear you on the pre-Easter duties, I have them too and, they are also keeping from testing a few things. Good luck on whatever route you decide to go.

Hey George, where in the world are you? If you’re local to me (FL) I may let you try mine out. I usually cruise around 37-3800 m and see over 4 mpg. Check out JEM,s results when he moved to the same prop, in 20p. He also hauls butt in a 22TE with a SHO 225, and cruises just over 4 mpg. Still getting the same performance...pin it to 55-5,600 with no trim, trim up to 6-6,100 and let’r eat. The Bravo FS in 23 would probably be dead on, but I wouldn’t buy it from Merc. due to the odd numbers coming from an even casting. Nothing wrong with it i suppose, but I’ve heard they tend to wear down rather quickly. I’d buy a 22 and send it to Mark Croxton, once you have some solid base line data to provide. He does all the work himself and with a keen attention to detail. Google his name and see what he’s done for the bass guys who really go fast. I’m about to do some work, and will report back soon. 🙈

Hi George, I can’t speak to the OFS4 on the HPS, but I did try a handful of props and for what I look for in a boat, the Bravo FS was the one for me. Here’s what I found. As of Saturday, 4/13, I can run 62 anytime I want and 63 is pretty easy to come by, too. I ran 62.5 into a head wind and 3 mph incoming tide with inshore gear, passenger and 65qt. cooler, 50 gallons of fuel and 36 v trolling motor on the bow. I wanted to turn around because she was feeling frisky and I felt like I could have seen 64 easily and maybe 65 since everything would have been in my favor.

When I built engines, we had a very similar issues with camshafts. Everyone listed the lift and duration at different points on the cam. Eventually the industry agreed to measure duration starting at .050” of tappet movement. There is hope that prop manufacturers will do the same, but not likely. As HB said, the Mercury site does a pretty good job explaining things. They also have a q&a section under each prop listing. I’ve found the info there to be worth it’s weight in gold...although most of the boats are unlike ours, you get a great real world comparison on things. Also, Scott Reichow is easily accessible by phone. I called heir 800 number one morning and asked for him, he was on the line as soon as the operator was off. My boat has been a 6 mph faster ever since.

The new ones come like that now, SCFD. They must have taken notes!

Hey Bill, when you say radio do you mean VHF or AM/FM? Do you know what brand or style? If you mean AM/FM, I saw a slick idea the factory did on the carbon fiber HPS they recently built; they mounted it under the console. Since it's a Bluetooth capable unit (JL Audio, Media Master) you don't necessarily need it on the dash, which will save you some room for the 16" screen you want. I'll measure my console tonight and advise, but it may be tight. I recall seeing a thread on here (I think) where a guy building a 25 Hybrid used some sort of arm mount for his screen. I recall a small hole in the dash that the screen mounted on. The rest of the mount/bracket was on the inside of the console. Maybe someone else here can elaborate on that item or thread. Assuming you're going to run a Yamaha 250 SHO, go right to a Mercury Bravo 1 FS in 22 pitch. Hole shot is great, mid-range is incredible and it totes the load VERY well. It also does great on fuel and will give you 62-64 mph.

Figure out a way to soak it in vinegar....It will eat that corrosion up. Maybe wrap towel around the mount and soak the mess out of it.

I'm not sure. I had a guy make some for mine years ago, but have never been able to find his contact info again. If I remember, he was down towards Melbourne, FL. I think he signed up here a long time ago and know he was also on The Hull Truth, selling decals. I know some of the gentlemen here used him, maybe ask in a separate thread titled as such. I know a lot of people will say eBay, but..... Make sure you post in "What did you do to your boat today" as things progress!