3 or 4 blade prop

[Mordekai]

Re: 3 or 4 blade prop

Did you go down In pitch?

 

[mmwest]

Re: 3 or 4 blade prop

yea,sorry i did'nt notice i left that out----i did go down to a 19 pitch.

 

[sethjon]

Re: 3 or 4 blade prop

A 4 blade 18 would be better but only slightly. I'm not sure but if you go to a 17 the RPMS might be a little too much.

 

[davemoore]

Re: 3 or 4 blade prop

Just got my new Solas Rubex today - going from 14.5 x 19 (3 blade) to 14.5 x 17 (4 blade) on my Mercruiser 470 / 18ft. bowrider.

Can't wait to put it on this weekend and test it. I'm hoping for the same results - better hole shot, quicker to plane. Don't really care about speed that much.

iBoats had the BEST price too... gotta' love iBoats.

 

[Cruzomatic]

Re: 3 or 4 blade prop

Told ya......Glad it worked out!!

take care.

 

[matts72]

Re: 3 or 4 blade prop

I have a 20' Tahoe Q6 with the 4.3 MPI. Went from the stock 3 blade 19p to a 4 blade 18 and that was the wrong direction. RPM's where way to high. Replaced it with a 4 blade 20 and could not be happier. Good hole shot and does about 55mph trimmed up.

 

[xeddog]

Re: 3 or 4 blade prop

For you that have gone from a 3-blade to a 4-blade, is there any difference in speed while idling, or in controllability at idle?

I currently have a 1987 Beachcraft (aka Reinell) 215c with the 5.7L OMC Cobra and am running a 15x17p AL prop. The engine has been rebuilt and is putting out a tad more than the original 260HP, as I can get nearly 5000 rpm now. The books say my wot should be either 4200-4400, or 4200-4600 rpm depending on which book I have at the time. I rarely ever run wot anyway (it gets REALLY thirsty when I do) so I am not too concerned about that. But someone told me that going to a 4-blade would increase my speed when idling through all those no-wake zones, and also help with controllability. The latter sounds like a Hawaiian island to me (Watta Lotta Hooey), but just thought I'd ask.

Wayne

 

[matts72]

Re: 3 or 4 blade prop

Hey Wayne .... I dont think there is a noticeable difference with controllability and speed at idle with going from a 3 to a 4 blade as long as pitch is close to the same with both props. The 4 blade does get me on plane faster. And the pitch that I have, gets me a little more top end. With the set up that I have, at idle, I do about 3mph on GPS.

 

[xeddog]

Re: 3 or 4 blade prop

Thanks for that Matts. I was also kinda curious because my son just bought an old Silverline 22VHT with a 233 Merc. It had one of those paddle wheel 3-blade props and he swapped it for a 4-blade. He didn't have it out very much before swapping the prop so he doesn't really have much data to go on, but he is happy with his 4-blade.

We were out together on the 4th of July at a big boat bash. Hilton's Fireworks display at Mandeville Island in the California Delta. "Bash" was more literal this year, but that is another topic. While we were cruising out to it and back, I was running at 3000 rpm for a comfortable cruise for me. I would have preferred 3200-3400, but I didn't know what rpm he was running and I wanted to make sure it was comfortable for him too. After we came in I found that he was running at about 3500. But one thing I noticed is that whenever we had to slow to idle for whatever reason, he would be running probably 2mph faster than me. I asked him about that too and we were both idling at roughly the same rpm. I know there are way too many variables to say it was the prop, but I was curious.

Wayne

 

[davemoore]

Re: 3 or 4 blade prop

xeddog:

I just came home from a week of camping/boating with my new 4-blade 17P Rubex hub Solas aluminum prop.

I LOVE the results, but I must say - when idling through the no wake zone, there is a new HUGE amount of slop in the steering that I didn't have before. I find it rather odd... I would think it would be better with the 4-blade vs. 3-blade, but it was just the opposite.

However, the benefits of the 4-blade 17P (from 3-blade 19P) and the rubber hub combination far outweigh that one little problem. Quicker to plane, smoother shifting, lower vibration, greater stability in turns, less trim required, faster throttle response, and great hole shot.

Very glad I made the switch.

 

[eastern]

Re: 3 or 4 blade prop

Well been a while since last post . Installed the 4 blade and love it. The boat pops right up on plane and handles great. Just wanted say thanks for the help picking the prop.