Today I took out my boat for the first time. It has an 87 Johnson 140 looper with an aluminum 13.5 X15 prop. MY boat is a 21 Dixie Bluefin with the motor mounted on a factory fiberglass bracket. With the motor trimmed all the way down the stern pushed so low that I had to tilt the motor up to avoid swamping the motor. When I got home and took a look I noticed it didn't have a thrust rod. I have read in a few posts that it is not needed on a motor with power tilt.My question is a 2 part question. First, is my low stern issue do to the motor being mounted too low or possible the incorrect prop? could it be because of the extra 1/2 inch tilt down I get because of the missing thrust rod? Or do I just correct this issue as I did today.......trim the motor up?
The second part of my question may or may not be related. Under load the motor made a loud and hard thump every minute or so. It felt like my motor hit something, but it didn't kick up. I did Just put on a different prop at the advise of the repair shop I took my boat to. I have read some post saying an improperly installed prop can cause this thump, as well as a bad prop. Could this be a prop issue? Lower unit issue? Any help is appreciated
The second part of my question may or may not be related. Under load the motor made a loud and hard thump every minute or so. It felt like my motor hit something, but it didn't kick up. I did Just put on a different prop at the advise of the repair shop I took my boat to. I have read some post saying an improperly installed prop can cause this thump, as well as a bad prop. Could this be a prop issue? Lower unit issue? Any help is appreciated