74 Merc trouble getting on plane

"Need some help. I have a 199

"Need some help. I have a 1999 Sea Ray 270 Sundancer with a 7.4l mercruiser mpi (310 hp). This is my third season with the boat and have put over 350 hrs on it since 05' so I've spent quite a bit of time getting to know all the little shakes and rattles. This past weekend I took the boat out and had a real problem getting the boat on plane. When I throttled up from 1000 rpm the boat was very sluggish and took two to three times as long to get on plane as it normaly does with the same load. Also, the motor or sterndrive (couldn't tell which) sounded louder than normal. Once on plane the boat still seemed to lack some power, though it would cruise at 3600 rpm / 28 mph, which is normal. It also seemed like had to give it more throttle in order to achieve a normal cruising speed. Any thoughts on where to start?"

"- Something fouling the prope

"- Something fouling the propeller (marine growth, fishing line, rope, etc.)
- Fuel filter, old fuel, water in the fuel.
- Air filter/flame arrestor.
- Plugs, plug wires, dist cap, rotor."

"Thanks Troy, I'll be goin

"Thanks Troy, I'll be going down this afternoon to take a look."

"It's getting later in the

"It's getting later in the season,.....

What's the Hull's Bottom look like,..??...."

The hull still looks to be in

The hull still looks to be in decent shape. I just had it painted in the spring before putting it back in the water.
Unfortunately work kept me late yesterday and was not able to check the items Troy mentioned. I'll give it another try today.