Fresh Water Runabouts - Page 5

'73 H1 Triple · 03-28-2012, 10:11 PM

Willing to give up a mile or two on top end? Get a whale tale/stabilizer. Made a world of difference on my '18 I/O ( 175hp Mercruiser V-6 ). Went from about 6-8 seconds to on plane to about half that.

Made it easier to pop waterskiers out of the water and made it more stable too.

Hydrant · 03-28-2012, 10:53 PM

Stainless will also help. It won't flex as much as the aluminum. Just know the waters your using it in. If there is a lot of underwater logs, then stick with alum. On aluminum the blades will break before the internals.

I would try to call the manufacturer, they could probably give you a good recommendation. Just know what you plan to do, what's your RPM's (to know if you can go up or down in pitch, and to see if you have any prop slip).

shmike · 03-28-2012, 11:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hydrant

Stainless will also help. It won't flex as much as the aluminum. Just know the waters your using it in. If there is a lot of underwater logs, then stick with alum. On aluminum the blades will break before the internals.

I would try to call the manufacturer, they could probably give you a good recommendation. Just know what you plan to do, what's your RPM's (to know if you can go up or down in pitch, and to see if you have any prop slip).

Definitely Stainless over aluminum.

The dealer should have some recommendations on blade pitch. I can't imagine a 5 blade prop on a boat that size.

Also, if there are underwater obstructions to worry about I'd got composite or "breakaway" before aluminum.

LeeNetworX · 03-29-2012, 08:44 AM

I should have specified that I'm going with stainless. Most modern day props (even SS) have breakaway hubs, so worrying about hitting something and causing problems with the internals is a thing of the past. One of the more useful things I learned in researching this.

Haven't looked into the whale tail - thanks for the suggestion.

As for 5-blades on a small HP motor, again, some people have used the HighFive props on this engine and say there is an absolute difference with holeshot, but they lost 1-2 mph on the top. For every one of those comments I find someone stating it's a bad idea for various reasons. LOL

I will probably just have to bite the bullet and experiment with a best guess - prob a 3-blade SS.

askmrjesus · 03-29-2012, 12:25 PM

Problem solved.

JC

Hydrant · 03-29-2012, 11:29 PM

I would be willing to bet that a 3-4 blade is your best bet. I have a 19P 3 blade SS on my 22' Sea Ray open bow.

There is a few places, and let me check if I can dig them up, but they will give loner props out for trying. I know there is places that deal with the high dollar powerboat props, but let me see if they have run-about stuff, or even recommendations. Let me check my powerboat forums.

LeeNetworX · 04-02-2012, 12:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hydrant

I would be willing to bet that a 3-4 blade is your best bet. I have a 19P 3 blade SS on my 22' Sea Ray open bow.

There is a few places, and let me check if I can dig them up, but they will give loner props out for trying. I know there is places that deal with the high dollar powerboat props, but let me see if they have run-about stuff, or even recommendations. Let me check my powerboat forums.

Cool - thanks. I'm looking at a Michigan Wheel SS 3-blade 19P for my 18' Sea Ray open bow. Just in no rush to pull the trigger right now as it will be a few weeks before we get out on the water anyway. I have a pile of stuff sitting on the boat waiting for me to have a weekend free.

Hydrant · 04-02-2012, 10:44 PM

http://www.bblades.com/

This place is in Wisconsin. I don't know if they do a prop exchange but they should be able help ya as to what your wanting. They deal in high dollar race props for powerboats, but I saw they have some props for runabouts too.

LeeNetworX · 04-03-2012, 09:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hydrant

http://www.bblades.com/

This place is in Wisconsin. I don't know if they do a prop exchange but they should be able help ya as to what your wanting. They deal in high dollar race props for powerboats, but I saw they have some props for runabouts too.

Thanks - will check it out.

LeeNetworX · 03-26-2013, 10:48 AM

Something odd about working on the boat to get it ready for the water when we have a heavy flurry going on (can't see it in the pic). Got a stainless prop for this season as well and dropped the pitch from 19 to 17. Now we just need Spring to truly show up.

03-28-2012, 10:53 PM	#2
Hydrant WERA Yellow Plate Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Cincinnati, Ohio Moto: 2003 Suzuki TL1000R, 2002 Honda CBR 600 F4i Posts: 660	Stainless will also help. It won't flex as much as the aluminum. Just know the waters your using it in. If there is a lot of underwater logs, then stick with alum. On aluminum the blades will break before the internals. I would try to call the manufacturer, they could probably give you a good recommendation. Just know what you plan to do, what's your RPM's (to know if you can go up or down in pitch, and to see if you have any prop slip). __________________

03-29-2012, 11:29 PM	#6
Hydrant WERA Yellow Plate Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Cincinnati, Ohio Moto: 2003 Suzuki TL1000R, 2002 Honda CBR 600 F4i Posts: 660	I would be willing to bet that a 3-4 blade is your best bet. I have a 19P 3 blade SS on my 22' Sea Ray open bow. There is a few places, and let me check if I can dig them up, but they will give loner props out for trying. I know there is places that deal with the high dollar powerboat props, but let me see if they have run-about stuff, or even recommendations. Let me check my powerboat forums. __________________

04-02-2012, 10:44 PM	#8
Hydrant WERA Yellow Plate Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Cincinnati, Ohio Moto: 2003 Suzuki TL1000R, 2002 Honda CBR 600 F4i Posts: 660	http://www.bblades.com/ This place is in Wisconsin. I don't know if they do a prop exchange but they should be able help ya as to what your wanting. They deal in high dollar race props for powerboats, but I saw they have some props for runabouts too. __________________

03-28-2012, 10:11 PM	#1
'73 H1 Triple restorer of the original Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Zionsville,PA Moto: '93 ZR1100 &'73 Kawasaki H1 500 Posts: 1,331	Willing to give up a mile or two on top end? Get a whale tale/stabilizer. Made a world of difference on my '18 I/O ( 175hp Mercruiser V-6 ). Went from about 6-8 seconds to on plane to about half that. Made it easier to pop waterskiers out of the water and made it more stable too.

03-29-2012, 08:44 AM	#4
LeeNetworX SFL Expatriate #1 Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: ATL Burbs Moto: '09 Triumph Speed Triple Posts: 4,712	I should have specified that I'm going with stainless. Most modern day props (even SS) have breakaway hubs, so worrying about hitting something and causing problems with the internals is a thing of the past. One of the more useful things I learned in researching this. Haven't looked into the whale tail - thanks for the suggestion. As for 5-blades on a small HP motor, again, some people have used the HighFive props on this engine and say there is an absolute difference with holeshot, but they lost 1-2 mph on the top. For every one of those comments I find someone stating it's a bad idea for various reasons. LOL I will probably just have to bite the bullet and experiment with a best guess - prob a 3-blade SS.