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just got this boat and trying to get a handle to getting the set up right. has 25" shaft but manual jacking with 5" set back. motor and jack both maxed up in height. center of shaft is about 3.5 below pad. playing with props. marginal 14x26 and it ran 56 @5500. new 14.5 x 25 four blade ran 62.2@4700. next prop available is 14 1/8 x 23 4blade will be trying soon. I'm wide open to suggestions and info.
should i be looking for larger or smaller diameters for best speed on this boat? and yes, I do understand the difference between pitch and diameter

You need to ditch that 25" and get a 20" mid. These boats were not designed for 25" motors what so ever. Get a 20" mid (or whole motor) and the boat will really come to life and be a whole new animal.

With a 20" motor, you will be able to get the motor up a lot higher and then you can work on the set up a lot better and you will see much better RPMs out of it with the props you have.

I hear you, but replacing motors and lower units is too expensive, looking for other alternatives

You could just change out the mid and get a 20" shaft for your lower or have the 20" cut. The boat will be 100x happier with a 20 inch motor. I dont know how much more you can really do until you can get that propshaft close to even with the pad. Of course you will need a cone with a low water pickup when you start getting up that high.

Maybe someone alse will have some tips for running a 25" motor but your best bet would be to find a 20" mid/motor.

ok, forget the 25 in shaft, i am a 20in. was mistaken.
center of shaft is about 3.5 below pad. playing with props. marginal 14x26 and it ran 56 @5500. new 14.5 x 25 four blade ran 62.2@4700. next prop available is 14 1/8 x 23 4blade will be trying soon. I'm wide open to suggestions and info.
should i be looking for larger or smaller diameters for best speed on this boat? and yes, I do understand the difference between pitch and diameter
found a 26 chopper but it only ran 62 constant cavation, couldn't fool it into grabbing. season ran out before i could lower it down some. i have hit 68 with a 24 3 blades at 5300

Does the motor have a nose cone on the lower with low water pick ups or is it a factory lower?

factory. from what i've read, under 80 ish, nosecones don't help. i keep water pressure at max trim

Thats not necessarily true. If you can get the motor up a little more and if you have too, plug the top one or two intake holes on the lower. Can you move the motor up by changing holes on the clamp maybe? Then again, a Voyager is a lot of boat for a 175 so if your getting in the mid to upper 60's your not doing too bad. But getting the motor up as even with the pad as you can without losing water pressure will help a lot too unless you get a cone with a LWP.

I have a 5in manual jacking plate, and plan to try chopper again a little lower because it just cavitates. might get 200 merc in the spring. would perfer 225 but my rating is 200 and don't like insurance issues. buddy had a voyager with 200 merc and 28 chopper. no jacking plate, no lwp and he did 77. i think i can get 70 if i get set up right. what is better for top end- larger diameter or smaller?