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Dealer just installed a new (2004 in the box) Merc saltwater series 150 EFI. Upon sea trial it sprays a fan of water like crazy, to the point some even comes back in the boat. Getting 4200 rpm vs engine spec 5750. Dealer put a 26p prop on against my (and Merc web site) recomendation of a 17p to 18p wheel. Said the engine needed a bigger wheel. The engine mounting plate also covers the center transom scupper and will not allow water to exit the boat. I told the dealer it was mounted to low but he insisted that the engine bracket had to be seated on the transom. Boat is a 1984 Outrage 18. Original Johnson 140 bit the dust a month ago. Freshwater.

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I hope you got a good deal on the motor...cause I would run with reckless abandon from that dealer, before he does some real damage. 26P prop is a joke and you should remove it immediately.

Search this site for other 18 Outrage, 150 HP engine combination's for some propellers to try. Depending on what specific propeller you choose, you should be in the 17P-19P range; Not one close to 26P.

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Seems to me that your motor should be raised a hole or two on the transom. The spray might be coming from the cavitation plate set below the waterline and causing splashback.

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I'm with Josey--find a competent dealer who can work with you. The motor is just plain too low. My new motor exhibited the exact same symptoms as yours. All the dealer said was, "She's all set, and she does throw a rooster tail." Yeah, right. I immediately raised the engine about 3/4" and the rooster tail/wash pretty much went away. I still needed to raise the motor more, but at least I knew the right direction.

John K.

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The dealer you are dealing with sounds completely and totally incompetent.  You should demand that the motor set set up correctly and met the manufacture specified operating WOT.  This would include raising the motor up one maybe two holes and installing a lower pitched propeller to reach the spec'd RPMs.  If they are unwilling to do that contact Mercury and escalate it up the line until you get things where they need to be.  

Personally I would be contacting Mercury no matter what to inform them of the utter incompetence you encountered with their dealer.  No manufacture would in their right mind want a retailer representing their company in such a poor manner.   

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I think you will find that almost all the Outrage 18's have the engine mounted one or two holes up on average. I have seen a couple mounted all the way up.
My 1985 Evinrude is mounted 1 hole up and needs to go up another hole.

Most 150 engines on the Outrage 18's are running 17 to 19 pitch props depending on brand.

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Thanks for confirming my thoughts. I pretty certain of the incompetance of the dealer (aka. rectal cranial inversion) soon after meeting them but the deal was too good (8K vs. 13K). Sincerely wish I would have paid the long dollar and dealt with a reputable business. Note to self "never deal with people who keep baseball bats next to their desk".
One more question, would it be possible to use a floor jack to move the engine up two holes? i do not have an overhead dead fall and there is NO WAY i would allow the dealer near my boat.

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Kevin,

I've used a floor jack to raise mine however I'm running a 40 vs. your 150.

I think that if you used a peice of 2x4 between the skeg and the jack, along with a few friends to help stabilize the motor, that you'd be okay going that route. maybe some of the "larger engine" guys will chime in on that advice.

Post pictures in your personal page when you get a chance...we love seeing each others boat.

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This is how I raise my engine.

With a helper if possible......
Lower the jack on the trailer.
Put blocks under the fin of the motor to take the weight.
Loosen the lower two bolts.
Remove the upper two bolts and have someone balance the engine just in case. (I didn't have a helper and it worked out but it is still better to have a helper).
Raise the trailer jack and the transom will start to lower.
Go up 2 holes and put the upper bolts back in.
Tighten all bolts. (use new sealant on upper bolts.)

NOTE:
Do not let the lower bolts turn so the sealant is not broken. Only loosen the nuts. This way you don't need to remove the bolts and put new sealant in the lower bolt holes.

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If you are going to raise that I would lift from the top. You can buy a Mercury Lifting ring for not much money that quickly screws into the flywheel top and gives you a pick point. Heck you can likely barrow one but, I would buy one as it will always come in handy.

Then find a large tree limb, overhead I-Beam or like structure to sling a come-along over and lift like that.

This is an image of how I lifted my Evinrude using this method
[img]http://whalercentral.com/forum/attachments/motora.jpg[/img]

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I used an engine hoist on my Yamaha 200. You can rent one but like Jeff says you will need the lifting ring. Joe's way would work just fine also. BUT, get some help if you've never done it before.

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Kevin, really not too much to worry about as long as the engine works O.K. You can easily complete the necessary adjustments with advise here. I would press your dealer for a new 19P prop though. Sounds like you got a good deal on the engine.

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I'm running a Yamaha 150 on my Outrage 18 ('86) with a 19 pitch prop. Mount either 1 or 2 holes up and you will stay dry.

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A 26 inch pitch prop??? Good God. Not to mention the mounting. I'd tell you to bring it to us but you're a long way away. Yes that prop is way too tall and obviously the motor is improperly mounted. You can lower the trim all the way down, set a block of wood under the skeg with the trailer tongue jack all the way down. Then take out the mounting bolts, while having someone steady the motor, then raise the tongue jack until the cavitation plate is even with the keel and bolt it in place. It's sort of a backwards way of thinking but trust me it works. Instead of raising the motor to mount it, lower the transom by raising the bow. And yes, the skeg will support that motor.

Oops, sorry, I didn't read all of Joe's post telling you to do the same thing. Yeah, what he said.

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Duane,

Great minds think alike....

That method works great for me too.

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For the safe sure and easy way rent a portable cherry picker from your local tool rental place. That way you don`t need no stinkin helper.

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Hey Bink,

Who the heck is he gonna drink beer with when he's done?? ;-)

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I've used the method Joe and Duane describe above to lift our 200 HO Etec solo, works great. The trick when doing it alone is to use shims on the top of the transom each time you crank the trailer jack to keep the engine steady. The other thing I recommend is drawing a light pencil line on both sides of the engine bracket on the transom before starting. That way when you get the engine up, you'll have a reference line to ensure that the engine is still perpendicular as there is some wiggle room from vertical (on my set up anyway).

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I used the trailer jack method described above to move my F115 weighing 405 lbs It was straightforward. I highly recommend a helper to steady the motor.

If you want to rent a hoist, feel free but it is not necessary in my opinion.

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Turns out the anti-cavitation plate is about 2" above the bottom of the keel, so I don't think I should bring it up any. She's perfoming alot better with the new prop, rpms are up, but cavitates on corners and porpoises unless I tilt it all the may down and then you get the whale tail spray in the boat.
Perhaps I need a jack plate to lower the motor?
Dealer said it was the 25" long shaft, serial number indicates XL...

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Any chance you can get a decent picture of the spray as it comes off the motor? It may give some clues as to what the best course of action would be.
My Honda also sprays more than I am accustom to seeing. I read somewhere that the new Honda model has a larger splash plate. In my motor it may be a bit of a design issue.

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Yes, I will take some shots later today and post them.

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Kevin -- The cavitation plate is not 2 inches above the bottom of the keel if the 25" (XL) motor is mounted all the way down on the transom of your Outrage 18. Are you sure you are not looking at the spray shield instead of the AV plate?

The spray is the obvious clue that the motor is way too low on the transom. If it is all the way down on the transom, then it needs to come up two holes and all your problems will be solved.

If you are using a "whale tail" foil, remove it form the motor as it will only aggravate any problems you are having now.

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Here is a link to a few shots i took about an hour ago, Its kind of difficult to see the spray / fantail. It is not in the wake but close to the boat. I do not have a whale tail. And yes the anti-cav plate is at least 2" higher than the keel. i'll take a shot of that later this week if i pull it out.
I appreciate all of your help.

Here is the photo link: http://picasaweb.google.com/115933246...tTV2tmwSg#

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What size prop did you end up getting?

What RPM's are you getting now at Wide Open Throttle?

A long Shaft motor is 20 inches = L
An Extra Long Shaft is 25 inches = X
An Extra Extra Long Shaft is 30 inches = XX

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From the looks of the center picture, it "appears" that the cavitaion plate is under water while on a plane. Ideally, you should see your cavitation plate should be clearly visible. The first picture shows the tell tale signs of a motor that is sitting to low in the water.

Without actually seeing a video or more detailed pictures, it's very difficulty to tell.

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I have a Vortex 15 x 17 on now
I haven't vet had the kahuunas since the engine is new (5 hrs now) to WOT, but I had her pretty close to WOT and was over 5K
Rides WAY bow high and is pretty vertical when jumping up on plane.
Falls off plane at about 2900
If I tilt out the fan tail, she starts porpoising
ENGINE Serial number reflects XL

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I don't see how any inference regarding the position of the cavitation plate can be drawn for any of the photos. You can easily measure the relation of the cavitation plate while the boat is on the trailer. All you need is a 2 or 3' piece if straight wood.

I don't know the ride characteristics of a Vortex propeller (stern or bow lift) but you may try a propeller known for its stern-lifting characteristics.

2,900 RPM seems awful high for the boat to fall off plane. I would think you could maintain plane down to 2,000 or even less.

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2,000 rpm or even less with a 150 on a 18' Outrage?, seriously?

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Kevin,

Looking at the photos you provided the motor appears to me(?) to be "trimmed" out/up too far. Is it possible the dealer installed a tilt pin or or failed to remove the shipping bolt preventing the motor from trimming in/down enough?

From the operation manual: "In rare circumstances, the owner may decide to limit the trim in. This can be accomplished by purchasing a stainless steel tilt pin (Part Number 17-49930A1) from your dealer and inserting it in whatever adjustment hole in the transom brackets is desired. The non-stainless steel shipping bolt should not be used in this application other than on a temporary basis."

Also looked at the Mercury EMEA download area and the tech. drawing indicates the XL shaft measures 25.25". The mounting height is close to correct(old school) and shouldn't be causing your strange performance issues. The prop shouldn't be either.

Once you find the root cause and fix their rigging errors you'll be able make further height adjustments if desired.

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No, it is not. I think we there may be some confusion as to what the AV plate is and how to measure its height. I owned an Outrage 18 for over 10 years and it had a 25" shaft kenbgth (XL) 150 on it. I know what I am talking about.

There is no way on Earth that a 25" shaft length outboard mounted all the way down on the transom of an Outrage 18 can have its AV plate anything but below the keel.



Yes, those things are all perfectly consistent with an outboard that is mounted way too low on the transom. The photos of the spray confirm this.

It was pointed out at the beginning of this thread that the motor is too low, I said it above and now I am repeating this advice: raise the motor at least two bolt holes (1-1/2").

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OK, I pulled the boat and here are some pictures of the location of the engine on the boat. Let me know what you think. http://picasaweb.google.com/115933246...H3tIiSvAE#

Thanks! Kevin

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Kevin -- Ah, just as I thought, your cavitation plate is well BELOW the keel. I think you are looking at the spray shield and thinking that is the cavitation (AV) plate.

I again recommend you raise your motor two bolt holes and the spray will be gone, you boat will go faster, handle better and get better fuel mileage.

The installing dealer who insisted the motor needs to be mounted all the way down on the transom is an idiot, but he is in good company with a lot of other older outboard mechanics/dealers who do not know how to properly rig an outboard or prop it.

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AWESOME! Thanks for the info!! Appreciate all your assistance

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Unfortunately I don't think this is just limited to older mechanics and dealers...

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Kevin -- I should add that if you are going to stick with that feeble aluminum prop, you may be better raising it only one hole, but to get the full benefit of your new Mercury 150, you need to install a good stainless steel propeller on it and raise it two holes.

I recommend a Laser II, Advantage or Turbo 1.

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Kevin. I think you were confused as to what exactly a cavitation plate is. The photos clearly show it is way too low. Take toms advise, he's spot on.