This subject has been discussed at length in the past, but there might be something new out there so I'll start off a new thread. Those of you that plan to tow kids or swivel skiers take a look at the videos of my boat in the media section. I am towing my daughter at 15 - 16 mph and the boat runs quite flat. There are several features of my boat that allow that, but the easiest mod is the prop. The motor is a 164hp V-6 johnson running a 1.86 (I think) gear ratio. The prop is a factory 17 pitch aluminum prop with the cup removed. Removing the cup decreases the rake and turbulence and creates what they call stern lift. It is not really stern lift, it is just less dig. The motor turns about 2700-2800 at those speeds and hit the rev limiter (6000 rpm) flat out. The higher rpm seems to help the boat run flat and makes speed control easier. A V-8 I/O can run the same prop but you need to watch the rpm flat out. When I go out to play without a skier I run a Torque Shift prop which is out of production. It is a variable pitch prop and it does not do well for low speed skiing. It does do will for pulling heavy loads or higher speeds. Feel free to post your opinions about props. jim
