I have a 1992 175 XRi Mercury on a 1993 Ranger 481V bass boat. Last year I began having problems with the prop blowing out just as the boat begins to go on plane. It didn't happen every time, and sometimes would only happen on the first take off, and then be fine the rest of the day. It also seems to happen more when I have a partner in the boat. I thought it might be a problem with the prop, since it had some dings and pitting from hitting some gravel when I was in Maine last June, and the problem seemed to start after that happened. This year I took the prop in to be refurbished and rehubbed, thinking that would solve the problem, but it's still happening, it seems to be worse. The motor doesn't seem like it's losing power at take off. It takes off strong, but when the bow begins to drop down as it begins to get on plane, the prop blows out. I've tried raising and lowering the motor on the jack plate, to see if it made any difference, but no effect. When I was out yesterday, I had to have my partner sit up front to help get the bow down, but that didn't work either. I ended up having to start turning the boat while coming out the hole, and that helped. <br />Any one have any ideas?
