Made a couple of changes in the configuration of the Honda 130 on the TyBoo25, and they seemed to make some drastic improvement in the hull efficiency.
First off, while at the SJ's, the 13" pitch aluminum prop that was on the motor when I got it busted a blade off (in deep water, at cruise speed, without hitting anything in the water that I could tell). I put on a 15" prop that I knew was a bit too steep, but I also knew it was good and didn't want to take the chance on the stainless 13" prop that came with the boat but had not been tried yet. I put the stainless prop on at the next stop, and it is perfect. With the 13" aluminum, the WOT was right at 6000 rpm, even with the heavily loaded boat. With the 15" aluminum prop, WOT was about 4800. The stainless 13" turned up to 5600 with the heavy boat, and was smooth as could be. I like it.
While moored next to the Helen O 25, I noticed that his Honda 130 was mounted a whole bunch higher on the transom than mine, even though the hulls are identical. For some reason, I had never even looked at where mine was hanging. I guess I figured since it was installed originally (in 2000) by Marben Marine, it was where it was supposed to be. When I got home, I held a straightedge against the bottom, and saw that the A/V plate was about 2" low. The next plate up was pretty close to even with the bottom. So I moved the kids' swings out of the way, backed the boat under the swing bar, and hung a comealong on it. I raised the motor up two mounting holes (about 1 1/2"), and the A/V plate is now less than 1/2" below the hull bottom.
Yesterday evening, we put the boat back afloat. Tiffany and I wanted a little ride, so we went down the channel past the saw mill where we could open it up. I didn't have the GPS aboard, so I don't know what the top speed was, but it was noticeably faster. Less water kicking up out back, too. Still using the 13" stainless prop, and the boat with an average load, the WOT was 5800, and the cruise at 4500 rpm was smoother than ever. The hull seemed a lot more responsive to the trim tabs, too. And, I do believe it was a fair amount faster.
The water was flat, so we'll see how it does in some chop, but I gave it a few hard turns and there was no ventilation of the prop, even with the tabs pushing the bow way down. We'll give it a good test this weekend, but it looks like I finally found a winning combination. Still doubt that I can keep up with the Blue~C 22 twins, but I bet M won't lose sight of us between the buoys next trip.