WillyBWright
Fleet Admiral
- Joined
- Dec 29, 2003
- Messages
- 8,200
Re: Mercury High 5
The 3-blades need to run submerged, although you can sneak them a bit higher if the prop is Stainless and has a cupped trailing edge. 4-blades can pierce the surface and High-5s can run even further out of the water. I've seen them run with the water line just above the bullet on the gearcase.<br /><br />Raising the motor on the transom pulls these out of the water and the reduced drag from less gearcase in the water will give you more speed. When jacking out a motor with a High-5, it's a really really good idea to have a water pressure gauge because it's easy to jack the motor up above the upper water intakes and the water pump starts sucking air instead of water. It's common to plug the top two intake holes on each side when running a High-5 with the motor jacked way up.
The 3-blades need to run submerged, although you can sneak them a bit higher if the prop is Stainless and has a cupped trailing edge. 4-blades can pierce the surface and High-5s can run even further out of the water. I've seen them run with the water line just above the bullet on the gearcase.<br /><br />Raising the motor on the transom pulls these out of the water and the reduced drag from less gearcase in the water will give you more speed. When jacking out a motor with a High-5, it's a really really good idea to have a water pressure gauge because it's easy to jack the motor up above the upper water intakes and the water pump starts sucking air instead of water. It's common to plug the top two intake holes on each side when running a High-5 with the motor jacked way up.