Steve
the cavitation plate is does run parallel from what I seen. If you are going to use that I would remove the prop one time and measure from the center of the shaft to bottom of the cav plate. Once you know that dimension all you need to do is subtract it from the measurements you take in theory should be the same if the math is right. I have also used the front of the bullet on my set up too. Big factor is to make sure the engine is level with the bottom.
At the end of the day the height numbers do not matter. It is a matter of how high you can go with out loosing pressure or in my case to either the props slip or it doesnt steer anymore LOL!

Hey Ron, I was trying to explain but looks like was a bit confusing whether the prop shaft runs parallel to the cav plate. Instead of taking my props off to check if the motors/propshafts are running parallel to the bottom so I can get a correct reading on the propshaft height relative to the bottom of the boat I could just confirm the cav plate level with the bottom. Well so I found It does run parallel to the propshaft if I put my digital protractor near the rear underside just above the prop. Its just easier with my boat on a lift in the water not having to remove the props. Ha. Now that I have that reading I marked on the jackplate where they were at 2 inches above the bottom and go up off of that.

Well guys its the same old story. When its not raining the wind is blowing from the wrong directions at 10 plus mph. This Summer has sucked for my high speed running. Anyway the closest Ive come to any indication of what I may be expecting in gains is yesterday I ran with a weird side/front kind of wind at 10 plus mph coming off the shore which I was hugging best I could for calmer water. I purposely kept the trim low at an indication of 27 on my vessel view for fear of wind. That is roughly parallel with the bottom of boat. my rig does its best speed when the trim is up at 35 or a hair higher depending on the conditions. Im definitely not putting it up there with much wind around. Dangerous for sure. I ran up to 112mph and might have gotten 113 but I ran out of room. It was crazy to say the least. I had about 65 gallons and I was alone of course. My point is Ive never come close to that number before with the trim at that level. I know I'm not going to gain a ton of mph on the top but it would be cool for me to get to 117mph. I can't see not getting another 3 to 5 mph with the additional trim that I usually run at being that 35ish number. It makes a big difference. I usually get a bunch of nice morning or evening days where the water is pretty close to flat with maybe a 3 mph breeze and it doesn't matter where the wind is from but I haven't had that one time this season since Ive put my new props on. This Summer has sukked for what I need so far. Anyway Ive got a bit more time left and maybe Ill get lucky with ONE favorable day.

Great to hear your boating Steve. A bad day on the water....second thought I always feel better out on the water. A little food for thought. After 9 years and hundreds of hours in my Talon I enjoy going out in rough water more than flat water or light chop. When we have a lake wind advisory I'm fuelling up and hitting the water. 48 mph gusts are the heaviest winds I have experienced. The experience taught me volumes about my Talon and it's handling characteristics. Two bass tournament fishermen drowned the same day we were out in those 48 mph winds. Those guys are truly crazy being out in a boat with no freeboard in those conditions. Don't let a little wind or rain keep you from enjoying your cat. You might be surprised what your Skater can handle. Enjoy!

Bob

Wow Bob, 48 mph thats insane. I boat out on the Barnegat Bay in NJ which is about 30 miles long and 2 to 3 miles wide at points. When I get a 15mph plus wind blowing up the bay by me I can see 3 1/2 to 4 footers. Not a lot of fun. Ha. Im out whenever I can like you and my rig has about 370 hrs on her now and it will be the end of 3 seasons for me when she comes out in a month. When I am out I can run up to 110mph in almost anything ill go out in but a strong head wind gets crazy. When Im looking for a top end number its perfect with wind about 5mph with 6 to 8 inches of flutter chop. Slip is good and the nose doesn't get up to high. Like I said I need to be up at that 35 or so number on trim in order to get my best number and that would be a perfect day which we all know happens rarely and I don't run around above 110mph much anyway. Any day on the water is definitely a great day for sure. I have learned a lot so far but every day can be a surprise. Its my first Cat and I learned from everybody on this site and others that you always need to respect the speed. Things can go bad real fast. Since I got my new props Ive had zero great days for me to do comparisons. Its unusual for that to happen. Ive been to 116mph with my original set up but I think and its a big THINK I might get a little better being I had a bad powerhead since the start and I was on the limiters with my previous props. Im not going crazy to chase a number but its always nice to know how you can do. Thanx for the advice its always appreciated and may you have many hours of safe boating in those crazy winds. Steve.

At 51 years old my memory is going. It's seems like last year you got your Skater. lol. I'm not suggesting that anyone should go out in 48 mph winds for the record. I had to try it and had a blast. We could only run about 40 mph parallel to 3' rollers as I couldn't stay on top with 23' of running surface running perpendicular to the rollers. I saw a 28 to 30 foot toon with a dog on the bow cutting thru the rollers. Some are crazier than I. We have boat drags on my lake today. The alcohol boats are truly the crazy ones but I would like one shot behind the wheel of one. Have a great Columbus day weekend everyone!

Ok guys the weather cooperated with me somewhat today. I went out and ran 115mph at 6924 rpm. Ill post the vessel view later as Im an idiot on the computer and I need my Girlfriend in order to do it. Of course it was me alone with about 60 gal of fuel. Wind was minimal but not scary. Could have been better. The temp is 80 degrees and the humidity was 93 when I ran earlier. Those two could be better. A bit high on humidity but theyre realistic for my area. My slip calculated to be 7% which is great for my rig. Considering last year when I ran 116mph it was a lot cooler and humidity was very low to nonexistent this 115mph is great for me. I also had my motors at least 1/4 inch higher which was a pain in the butt setting off the guardian at different times. Now the water pressure is great and I haven't had the guardian kick in for temp since I lowered them. It was great to see both Tacks at equal points almost 7000rpms thanx to the new powerhead. Im not going to chase anymore heights right now. I may revisit this if I ever get more than my current 3 inches of setback or after I have my water ramps corrected for proper alignment. I will continue to go out as the weather cools until I take her out in November. I may see 117mph like I hoped and I think is possible with my current set up. All things considered Im actually content where I ended up. The new power head definitely helped as last year with the set up where it is now I could never have gotten where I currently am keeping in mind that some of the weather conditions were much better then compared to now. Ill keep posting when I get new info.

"Merc Cleaver 15.25 dia 33 pitch 15 rake Props"
Today's run was with the new props?

I ran that day with the new props yes. 15.25 dia X 33pitch x 15 rake. As I said last year I ran with my original 15 dia 5 blade cleavers x 33 pitch. At 116mph The weather was cool and humidity was non existent. My port motor was on limiters at 7150 and my starboard which had a bad powerhead was around 6800 or 6850rpm. Vessel view said 7034rpm which I'm told is the average of two motors at 116mph. My engines were also higher at the time. Now if both my engines make it close to the limiters in better than yesterday weather at 80 degrees and 93 humidity I could see 117mph easy. At limiters would be at 119mph but Im pretty sure it won't get that high. Last years set up with my one bad powerhead would have been lucky to get to 112 or 113mph with the heat at 80 and gobs of humidity at 93 like the test day. Yuk. It was disgusting even at 60mph. Im going to run in a cooler day for sure just not sure when it will be as the weather sucks and Ive been going back and forth to Florida to help with my parents. Im still trying. Steve.

I have Some info Ive been wondering about while Im waiting to get out on the water again. My question for anybody is about Mercury Vessel view. Regarding the number reading for the trim indication. For example when my prop shafts are running parallel to the bottom of my boat Im finding that number on the vessel view to be approx 23 for both motors. When we had the boat at Merc Racing they told me that number was 27. Thats what they used when they set the Prop shaft heights. It looks closer with 27 than 23 so in the future Im using that when I make any adjustments. Doesn't matter as long as its very close and you're consistent. Any way lets assume that 27 is parallel. When I run my rig for high end speed I end up running with the trim positive up at 35 to 37 on the vessel view. So Does anybody know if we can assume or is it true that these readings can be considered degrees or percentages. Meaning if Im at 35 am I running at 8% or 8 degrees positive trim if Im saying that with the trim at 27 my propshafts are in a level position with respect to the hull running surface at the stern. Ive always been curious about this when people talk about what they are running the trim levels at. I've heard degrees or percentages used often and I wonder whether Im missing something or are people correct using the number on the vessel view or whatever system they have as percents or degrees. Is it actually measuring in those increments. Steve.