I just joined the basscat family recently but heres what I would try. I just set up my Pantera Classic/200 Opti Pro XS. I could go with a 26 Fury and hit the high numbers lightly loaded. But I chose the 25 Fury and loaded the boat with tournament tackle and my partner and over 1/2 tank of fuel. Bow wouldnt lift until high speed high trim as you described. But I run the boat in tournaments in the summer and at lower speeds while practicing. Lightly loaded numbers dont help me. Dropping the outboard by approx 1/8 inch incre. at a time, bow lift kept improving until the boat lifts like a dream and feels like a nimble speedster. Remember, the Fury likes to run low. I can run 4800 rpms and 60 mph at light throttle loaded because of the improved lift. I may come up just a smidge to maximize top speed. At about .750 below flush on mine, I hit 72.4 @ 5640 RPM and the bow was lifting like a champ (loaded). I kept going down until am .930 below flush and am sure I am low enough (this is where I see 60 mph @4800 rpms). Perfect for me will be somewhere in between here and .750 below. I will tweak a bit more with full livewells and after getting more seat time with the chine walk. I am not convinced that you are low enough yet for the load. I would stick with the 24 Fury and try to drop the plate in small increments and see how your midrange lift and load carrying ability respond. Of course, keeping as much weight rearward helps, but once again, you have to be able to fish efficiently with the final setup. If you are like me, you dont spend much time lightly loaded at full throttle! Good Luck and enjoy the search. I truly have had a blast working on mine so far.Last edited by nightcaller on March 4th, 2012, 7:20 pm, edited 2 times in total.
