Tilt on Outboard

[The Sequel]

Two questions for you all.

On an outboard with a jet prop, how do I determine the correct tilt? New to me boat and it appears to keep the prop in the water when running hard I need it in the last hole to keep it down in the water but it also seems the jet should run more in line with the bottom of the boat. This is how it is currently set up and seems to run best but I'm new to outboards in general and the jet prop is even more of a mystery to me. Thanks.

https://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa291/TheSequelinWood/Boat/IMG_0390.jpg

My next question is how do I secure the motor while travelling. The PM just strapped it over to one side but this has caused a wear mark where the jet prop rubs on the transom while traveling. I need to figure out how to fix this divot and want to avoid it in the future. Here's a link to a picture.

https://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa291/TheSequelinWood/Boat/IMG_0391.jpg

 

[blunt]

Well the tilt should be set to whatever perform the best.. Now with my jet outboard which is a 80's 35 johnson converted to jet almost identical to yours, I have the shaft perpendicular to the bottom of the boat/water, this is the way my fathers jet is setup and most of the jets I see are setup around here..

When setting up a jet outboard you usually start by putting the leading edge of the intake flush with the bottom of the boat.. but you can usually raise the motor as much as maybe an inch for better performance. You will just have to find this by trail and error. On my boat I put the jet about an 1/4" higher than the bottom and called it good. You want the motor as high as you can get it without any cavitation(air ingestion) because the less intake you have underwater the less drag it creates and the less likely it will hit bottom in skinny water. Oh and always run the motor unlocked

In your case i would think you could raise the motor into shallow water drive and then tie it to one side so it wouldn't rub... I have an '85 30hp rude and '81 35hp johnson and both have that shallow water drive setting when you raise the motor and it only goes down 3/4 of the way with the tilt lever in the unlocked position.

Good luck with the new boat! It will get you through a few inches of water no problem

 

[The Sequel]

" You want the motor as high as you can get it without any cavitation(air ingestion) because the less intake you have underwater the less drag it creates and the less likely it will hit bottom in skinny water. Oh and always run the motor unlocked."

What exactly am I looking or listening for to determine if the motor is cavitating? Is it a pulsing type of sound where the engine surges or something else?

Also, what do you mean by running with the motor unlocked? The PM added a piece of aluminum channel to the top of the transom to raise the motor height. Thanks for the help.