The same Mercury Racing 300R/300HP package was also run on a slightly heavier Allison Bassport with dual consoles and a 36V trolling motor on the bow. This test posted a top speed of 102 mph. Both Allison boats were tested with a full fuel tank and a tournament load of gear.
Mercury Racing next met with Ballistic Boats of Fruitland, Idaho, an up-and-coming builder of performance bass boats. A tournament-loaded 22-foot 3-inch Ballistic .223 model weighing about 1,600 pounds and powered by a Mercury Racing 300R outboard posted a best top speed of 98 mph running a 15 x 31/15-degree 300HP prop – great performance but Mercury engineers feel it could be even better with some fine tuning of the setup.
The naturally aspirated, 4.6L V-8 Mercury Racing 300R FourStroke outboard delivers up to 40 percent more bottom-end torque than the two-stroke Mercury Racing 300XS it replaces, all at a weight comparable to the 300XS and on 87-octane fuel. The Mercury Racing 300HP 5-Blade CNC Cleaver propeller was created to maximize the performance of the Mercury Racing 300R with the Sport Master gearcase. Its proprietary blade profile delivers stronger acceleration and more top-end speed than the Mercury Racing 400HP CNC Cleaver prop when run on the Mercury Racing 300R outboard.
“Following each of these tests, drivers noted the great handling provided by the 300HP CNC Cleaver prop, and its confident stability at top end on these single-engine, pad-hull bass boats,” said Petersen. “The CNC machining process used to create these high-performance propellers insures that pitch, diameter, and rake are perfectly true, and that lift, handling, and speed characteristics are absolutely consistent.”