Bass Fishing Forum - Westernbass.com

Ok need some help here guys. Got my first bass boat couple weeks ago. Mint condition 1997 Fisher FX21 tournament. It has a 1998 Mercury 225 ECU ignition motor with a tempest 25P prop and a manual jack plate. Great boat strong motor but here's my issue. On take off it jumps out of the hole great. On plane it pulls left naturally because motor it trimmed down. I start trimming up and the pull goes away but it pushes nose down and lists left slightly. If I try and go past the quarter mark on trim gauge the back gets squirrelly and prop blows out. Does this sound like a jack plate issue or something else? Any help is appreciated thanks again.

I would check your prop, sometimes they look OK maybe a little sanded but they will loose the cup. Next is check your
your engine height, get online and see if you can find another person with the same boat that will help with your setup.
Also check to see if you have too much tackle in the front, some boats are very sensitive to weight location.
That should help to get you going, Good luck!

Double-G wrote:I would check your prop, sometimes they look OK maybe a little sanded but they will loose the cup. Next is check your
your engine height, get online and see if you can find another person with the same boat that will help with your setup.
Also check to see if you have too much tackle in the front, some boats are very sensitive to weight location.
That should help to get you going, Good luck!

You got a great answer from Double G and it doesnt get much better than that. My first thought was also what is your engine height? Bass Boat Central has a great group and tutorial for measuring engine height and guys that can help you look at the ideal setup. Everything else GG listed is great to look over as well.

have you spoke to the person you bought it from.. he might have some info..

You should also verify the trim gauge calibration. Just because the gauge reads 1/4 - doesn't mean the trim is 1/4.
Need to check with Marc mechanic for calibration, unless you have digital gauges - then you can calibrate it yourself by following the instructions for the digital gauge.

Here is how to calibrate an analog trim gauge:

Trimming up after on plane shouldn't push the bow down, it should lift it up.
Check the torque tab if you feel pulling to one side, it should be about 15 degrees towards the drive side, opposite the torque pull.
Sounds to me like the engine is too high, prop shaft center line should be 3 1/2" below the plane pad surface with the engine prop shaft paralell to the boat bottom plane surface, as suggested go on line to see how it's done.
You might also want to check the overall weight on a scale to be sure the hull isn't wet inside.
Good luck,
Tom