Anyone change props on motor?

[Tjames09]

I’ve noticed with more than 2 people in the boat the holeshot is very sluggish and getting on plane with more than 2 is slow. 

I get 5500 top rpm, and thinking I should be able to get more rpm closer to the 6000max of the motor (60hp merc). Boat also struggles to get past 29mph with two people, thinking it should be about 36mph. 

boat has a 14 pitch prop stainless. 

[Bill Shearer]

Being able to get out of the hole is easier with a lower number prop, and it will increase  the RPMs as well,(be careful about over revs) but it won't give you an increase in speed.

[Woodsman]

What boat do you have and what's it's maximum rated HP?

As Bill stated you may be able to improve your hole shot a bit but top speed will not be effected much. Also IMO stainless props on that size of a motor are not necessary. It's generally with the bigger motors where prop flex becomes a issue.

 

[Tjames09]

16foot legend. Max is 75hp. Not interested in changing motors though, be just as easy to sell and buy a new boat lol. 

[BillM]

I'm in the process of doing this now.   Dad destroyed our old 4 blade, got a new one, I was hoping for a bit more top end, he ends up with a 13x21, lol not working.   I'm sending him back to the shop for something else.

[porkpie]

Yeah I used to switch back and forth on my old Lund depending on if it was fishing or hunting season.  The lower pitched prop would get me up on plane much quicker with a heavy load, but I definately lost top end.  For what it's worth my buddy has the same motor on his rebel 16 and had the same issue.  Heck I have it with my boat if I have 2 big guys sitting in the rear flip seats.

[Freshtrax]

My dad just got tje same boat as you last year with the 60hp we went to a spitfire 4 blade aluminum and the boat woke right up.  Will get the pitch and dia. For you

[captpierre]

I changed to 4 blade prop. Improved hole shot, lowered rpms at 20 mph. But can’t troll as slow as before. I drag a drift sock for that. Remember to trim motor all the way down for best hole shot. 

[Freshtrax]

We had a 13 p 3 blade way over propped great with ine in the biat but other than that trash. Sluggish and struggled to get in plane ..put this prop in and woke the boat right up.  Fine with 3 guys and gear topend 32 ish  holeshot and midrange fantastic.   Watch it with one in the boat it is possible to over rev. 

www.boatpropellerwarehouse.com/product/28771/spitfire-10-6-x-12-mercury-rh-propeller-48-8m80266

 

16.5 ft legend dual console 60 hp merc

Edited May 28, 2018 by Freshtrax

[Freshtrax]

http://www.boatpropellerwarehouse.com/product/28771/spitfire-10-6-x-12-mercury-rh-propeller-48-8m80266

[Freshtrax]

Here's one in Amazon 

http://www.amazon.com/Mercury-Spitfire-Aluminum-Propeller-488M8026625/dp/B00N9HJ0RA

Edited May 28, 2018 by Freshtrax

[Mister G]

Welcome  to 4 stroke syndrome...........

[Garnet]

Live wells really effect hole shot most are like adding 2 people to boat. 

[AKRISONER]

ahhh....the plight of boat horse power...

for perspective ive got a 18 foot skeeter with a 130 on it and even it doesnt get on plane as fast as I would like it to...and having followed the guys on the BBC boards...the quest for more HP never ends. Just last week I heard about a guy being worried about a 200 merc having enough power. Im pretty sure unless you have 250hp+ youll never be totally happy lol. 

My best friend has a 16 foot smokercraft with a merc 60 4 stroke and yup...more than 2 people in the boat it basically just doesnt get on plane ever, and rides like crap when it gets up to speed. 

I hope the prop helps a bit! Consider going stainless as well...Call me crazy or whatever but i swear to god theres a noticeable difference....big $$$$ though

Edited May 28, 2018 by AKRISONER

[Garnet]

More cup in prop catches more water better hole shot.

Less cup "pitch" more rpm faster. So your game is compromise you can't have both.

Jacket plate can move rpm 200 on bigger motors, vent plugs can do a little for hole shot.  

Go to Buckhorn Marine you can try props until you faint.

[Lape0019]

Guys,

He's talking about a Legend with a 60, I doubt he has a jackplate.

Tjames, first, I appologize for the novel but before you go out and buy a new prop, Maybe play with your set up first. For what it is worth, I had two props for my Bass Tracker PT190/75HP four stroke when I sold it and they both acted very different. The 17p would jump out of the whole no matter the load (1-3 people and all of our gear) and would still obtain good top end speed of 36-37ish mph. this was at about 5500rpms I could turn it higher but really never did). The 19p was a little more sluggish out of the whole but also took a little more driving on plane. For starters, the prop would blow out at 5200 if I slightly turned the wheel but in a straight line, I could hit 40mph with it. The boat also came with an 18p Michigan wheel and it was perfect but the hub was slipping and I couldn't find a replacement locally at the time which is why I bought the 17.

Now, when I bought my boat used, the guy had already played around with raising or lowering the motor so I left it where it was. What hole in the motor attached to the transom in counting from the top? The tracker was set in the third hole and the previous owner moved it up to the second hole because it was too low. If you can raise your motor while still getting good water pressure, you might gain 200rpm, maybe a little more speed and possibly a little better wholeshot.

If that doesn't work, check the merc prop selector. Plug in your info and see what prop is recommends but if you want better wholeshot and the motor is set up correctly, you'll have to drop a pitch size or 2. dropping to a 13p should gain you about 200 RPM and a better holeshot. You probably won't lose any speed but it is a possibility. Dropping to a 12 will gain you about 400rpm and I would bet that boat would hop out of the whole but your top end may be a little slower.

I am assuming you are running a 3 blade and the estimated rpms are with 3 blades as well. If you got to a 4 blade, you MIGHT gain 200 rpm is you go with a 12. There's just a little more drag with a 4 blade but the trade off is better handling.

I missed the part of you having a stainless already so everything states here still is correct but only when comparing the same type of metal used. If you put on an aluminum 14p prop, you will gain RPMS because the bend more and will act closer to a 13.

Edited May 28, 2018 by Lape0019

[BillM]

On 5/27/2018 at 9:48 AM, porkpie said:

Yeah I used to switch back and forth on my old Lund depending on if it was fishing or hunting season.  The lower pitched prop would get me up on plane much quicker with a heavy load, but I definately lost top end.  For what it's worth my buddy has the same motor on his rebel 16 and had the same issue.  Heck I have it with my boat if I have 2 big guys sitting in the rear flip seats.

I think I've found the perfect prop at 13 1/8 X 19.   Although you're right depending on load that all changes.   It's usually just me and someone else in the boat though so it's fairly consistent (As far as weight is concerned)

A 13x19 is great for the hole shot but loses me about 10MPH on the top end and that last 1500-1700rpms or so provide no additional MPH.    Top end with a 4blade is 40MPH, this boat used to do 50 without too many issues.   I'd be happy with a decent hole shot and 45mph on the GPS.  

Edited May 28, 2018 by BillM

[KawarthaAngler]

I have Lowe 165 (16.5ft) Fish & Ski with a Honda 75HP 4-stroke.

A few years back I smashed a sunken island and tore the skeg off and slightly bend the propshaft and destroyed the stock prop.  Needless to say ... I wanted to vomit when this happened.

Anyways ... after the several hundred dollar repair, the motor looked brand new and I was happy with the repair.  At that time I changed the prop.  I commented that the boat is a little sluggish getting out of the hole and the fellow said to me I needed to change the pitch.  I'm sorry I can't recall the spec at this moment, but with asking the fellow and taking his advice I purchased the new prop and I was shocked how much better the boat got out of the hole and onto plane.   Changing the prop made a huge difference.  And I didn't notice much of a top end change either.

Motor achieves top RPM of approx 5900.  That is within the owners manual spec.

I get an approx top speed of 50km/hr.  I can get it up to 55km/hr when its just me or there is little gas in the tank (boat has a 100L tank ... which can be quite a bit of weight).

Edited May 28, 2018 by TheKawarthaAngler

[Sinker]

Post a pic of the set up. Your not going to get a lot of improvement with a prop if the engine isn't on the boat right. How does it sit on the transom? Is it too high, too low, we need a pic. 

 

I have a 16ft starcraft with a 40, and im on plane in 3 seconds, doing 30mph in about 6 seconds. Its all how the engine is set up to the boat/hull. 

3 people (big ones) and gear takes maybe 10 seconds, and i run about 26-27mph. 

2 guys, a dog, and 8 doz decoys and i'm on plane, and running 25mph no problem. 

I have no power trim either. 

 

S. 

[Garnet]

go to buckhorn marine that's the prop repair guy he will let you test props.

When you find the right 1 buy it. Don't be cheap buy it off the guy that let you try 10 props.

[KawarthaAngler]

30 minutes ago, Garnet said:

go to buckhorn marine that's the prop repair guy he will let you test props.

When you find the right 1 buy it. Don't be cheap buy it off the guy that let you try 10 props.

To add ... if it helps at all.  I got my prop advice and prop from Buckhorn Yacht Harbour.

[DRIFTER_016]

I agree with the 4 blade Spitfire props, they really help get you up on plane and you don't lose any top end if going with the same pitch.

Another great add on would be a set of Smart Tabs. They will also help you get on plane faster and stay on plane at lower speed as well as give you a bit better gas mileage and you also usually gain a bit of top end speed.

[porkpie]

10 hours ago, BillM said:

I think I've found the perfect prop at 13 1/8 X 19.   Although you're right depending on load that all changes.   It's usually just me and someone else in the boat though so it's fairly consistent (As far as weight is concerned)

A 13x19 is great for the hole shot but loses me about 10MPH on the top end and that last 1500-1700rpms or so provide no additional MPH.    Top end with a 4blade is 40MPH, this boat used to do 50 without too many issues.   I'd be happy with a decent hole shot and 45mph on the GPS.  

I'm running 14x19 on a Suzuki 140.  My top is 39 with a tailwind, half tank of gas, just me in the boat and livewells empty.  Hull design has a lot to do with it.  I have a 19 degree deadrise and top end suffers badly.  I can however bust 3 footers with ease all the while staying dry.  Trade offs LoL. My buddies pro V will do 50mph on a 150hp engine with stainless prop.  I feel he probably has the best of both worlds for rough water handling and top end.  That boat has seen us through some nasty crap.  I'm mainly a big water troller though, so high speeds aren't my thing.  My boat is excellent when things get ugly, but there are days I'd like to go fast.....

[BillM]

The gunnel height on the Pro-Vs aren't high enough for my liking, on my buddies I feel like I'm sitting ontop of, not IN the boat if that makes any sense.    I don't get that feeling with our Pro Sport though, although I wish I had an extra 2ft to play with     I haven't had a boat where I'm as comfortable in the rough stuff though,  I do get why people pay the money these boats command.    The search for the perfect prop continues!

[DRIFTER_016]

1 hour ago, BillM said:

The gunnel height on the Pro-Vs aren't high enough for my liking, on my buddies I feel like I'm sitting ontop of, not IN the boat if that makes any sense.    I don't get that feeling with our Pro Sport though, although I wish I had an extra 2ft to play with     I haven't had a boat where I'm as comfortable in the rough stuff though,  I do get why people pay the money these boats command.    The search for the perfect prop continues!

You really wouldn't like my boat then Bill.

It's like riding a jet powered surfboard!!!