2000 Mercury 115 2+2 best WOT RPM is?

Dr. Jay

New Member
Joined
Feb 20, 2016
Location
Deland Fl
Boat
Nitro 700 LX
#1
Hi Everybody,
I am new here and looking for some help with best setting up my new to me 1997 Nitro 170 LX. It has a 2000 Mercury 115 2+2 with a 22 inch turbo 2 prop and runs 47 mph (GPS) at 5000 RPM at wide open throttle. It has a good hole shot and I'm happy with it overall. I would, however like to have the best prop for overall performance and have searched the web and the factory service manual in vain to find out what RPM the 115 should be propped for. The factory manual gives tons of detail about the engine, but only mentions RPMs at WOT in the water pressure spec where 6000 RPM is the reference spec.
In researching the 115 I found one post that said to never turn it over 5200 RPM, but nothing else. The Mercury prop selection application recommended either a 22 or a 21 inch prop but didn't specify the predicted RPMs with either. I suspect that if anyone has an owners manual they can check it will give the recommended RPMs that engine should be propped for, the factory service manual sure has me in the dark!
Thanks in advance!