Hello I have a 2001 125hp mercury. What can I do to increase…

Speed you can can, and the perception of power you can get. I have some questions back to you.

1. What kind of speed and rpms are you getting now?

2. What kind of propeller do you have on the boat now? Is it aluminum, stainless? A good one or a cheaper one?

3. Do you have tabs, a setback plate, or a jackplate now?

Couple of things.

Obviouly everything costs money to make the boat go faster. Starting with basic tabs, a set of Smart tabs from Nautilus will help the boat plane off faster. It will not increase your top speed, but it will increase your overall acceleration because it will pop the boat out of the water faster. Click this link below;

http://www.nauticusinc.com/smart_tabs.htm

I don't know your actual speeds, but lets say for example it takes you 14 seconds to go from 0 to 50, it will definitely help shave a few seconds off that.

Next, setback brackets and hydraulic jackplates will both increase your overall speed and acceleration. 1 advantage that sterndrive powered boats has is the actuall propeller is further behind the boat than it is with an outboard. And that distance gives you a mechanical advantage, like a lever. And the further back you can space the propeller away from the boat the better performance you are going to have. Click this link, these are basic setback brackets;

http://www.bobsmachine.com/Fixed-Setback-Brackets_c42.htm

A basic setback bracket is going to allow you to pick up 2 to 3 mph, and thats relatively cheap for the 110 bucks they cost.

Next is a jack plate, there are 2 versions here, manual and hydrualic. These allow you to lift the outboard out of the water vertically, and with the hydraulic ones, on the fly. Manual Jackplates are a bit trial and error to get set up properly, but they cost less. Hydraulic jackplates let you raise things on the fly, which adjusts for all water conditions. Here is a link to manual jack plates;

http://www.bobsmachine.com/Standard-Versa-Jac-Upgradable-Manual-jack-plate-35-300-HP_c15.htm

And the hydraulics;

http://www.bobsmachine.com/Standard-Versa-Jac-Upgradable-Manual-jack-plate-35-300-HP_c15.htm

Between adding tabs, and a setback or jackplate, I dont' think you will hit 60, but you should hit mid 50's and also get there a lot quicker. With the hydraulic jackplate being the best option.

More than 10mph. The biggest part of the difference is not just the horsepower, but it is the displacement of the engine, and the number of cylinders, and more importantly, more torque. The biggest problem you have now is just the size of the engine block.

The 4 cylinder you have now was made in 4 different horsepower output configurations. They made an 80, 100, 115 and a 125 all using that block. So right now, the block is maxed at it's horsepower output. (if you had the 100 and you wanted to go 125, there are a few things you can do there).

The nicest thing if you go with an optimax is the fuel injection. It will start up every time for you just like your car, no messing around with choking it or priming it any longer.