Would 1 or 2 degrees make a difference of 1000 rpms?

I didn’t really get much of a chance to open it up. It was pretty rough. Hit 30 mph on gps but only for a few seconds. Conditions were less than ideal. Lol. Also. How much is an acceptable amount of water in the bilge? Seemed to be a bit maybe 5 gallons when I pulled the plug. There was a bit of splash over on the trip so that could have accounted for some of it. I haven’t checked the bellows which I will this week. I would think it should stay pretty dry for the most part. If bellows check out is there anything else I should be looking at? When it’s running the cooling system isn’t leaking so that’s all good

I did wonder about Teflon tape. I haven’t put any on but will try that next time to see if that makes a difference. I would like to see no water in the bilge.

Ok. I will definitely check that too. Seeing as the speedo doesn’t work. Maybe that’s it. Stupid question. Where is that located on the transom end?

5 gallons is a problem that you need to address. I had a corroded transom assembly that leaked in a way that was hard to diagnose until I had replaced every other possibility. Poke around the sides of the bellows hub with a screw driver to detect soft spots. Saltwater boats of this age are proned to TA failures. At the very least an auto pump switch is a good bet. Don’t sink my sister ship! LOL.

Another update. Went out yesterday and the seas were calm so hammered the throttle and only got 3400rpms and maxed out about 38mph. Cruises nice at 3000rpm and around 30 mph. I’m thinking it’s the timing but still have to find an advance timing light. Ran good. No coughing or sputtering. I did find out that the fuel gauge is not accurate. Had to get the tow of shame back to the harbor. Ran out of gas about 3 miles away from the dock and gauge still read 1/4 tank. At least now I know all old gas is out and gauge is off. Lol. Probably the sender. All in all great day on the water!!!!!