1991 Bayliner Capri Cuddy w/ Force 120

[sje0123]

My father in law recently purchased a 1991 Bayliner Capri Cuddy w/ a Force 120 outboard and asked me to help him get it water ready. All model # stickers have been painted over so I'm in a real bind. The boat did not come with a prop. I haven't been able to find any indications on the motor or spindle as to which pitch I need to buy. I am hoping there is someone here that could give me a hand in finding the correct one. Bayliner's customer service is about as useful as an unattended voicemail box... oh wait it is an unattended voicemail box.

I used iboats guide but get a choice of 10", 13", 15", 17", 19", 21". Honestly, I have no idea which one to get. I apologize for having just limited information but that's all I have.

Thanks for any help/advice you can give.

 

[sje0123]

Re: 1991 Bayliner Capri Cuddy w/ Force 120

I think I have narrowed it down to the 15" or 17" prop. I think we will go with the 17". RPMS may not be as high as recommended at full throttle, but we are staying on the safe side.

 

[steelespike]

Re: 1991 Bayliner Capri Cuddy w/ Force 120

If you read the stickys at the top of the page and the helps on the prop store page it will help you understand prop selection better.
First what size is the boat?There are capri's from 14ft up.
Here's my thoughts. A 17" pitch is surely in the ball park but if it turns out to be even just a little too big the motor will be lugging at or below its rated rpm. (wot 5000-5500.)
this will deliver poor performance and over time could create premature motor problems.
And if you carry a large crew with water sports it will make things worse.
If you go with a 15" it could be a little light and the motor might over rev slightly.
But you can control this by reducing the throttle slightly.The 15 will give you better hole shot , carry large crews better and do water sports better..As long as you watch the tach and the throttle you won't have any problems.Once you have pinpointed the rpm with a 15 you can decide if you need to fine tune the pitch.
You might be able to find a dealer that will let you test props with a deposit and the understanding your going to buy a prop[.

 

[sje0123]

Re: 1991 Bayliner Capri Cuddy w/ Force 120

Like I said, I have limited info. I provided what I had. I know it's easier with all the info, but we don't have much. I believe its a 19' maybe 19.5'.

As far as watching revs, well, there is no tachometer currently on the boat. not sure if it never came with one or the previous owner took it off. That will be an addition to the boat later down the road. At this point, the boat needs a lot of work. We are just looking to make it water ready and iron out the bare bones now, then fine tune it later. He will be purchasing another prop to have 2 on hand so we will see how this one performs then if we need to step it down to the 15" we will. I think going bigger we are playing it a little on the safe side. Let's face it, the motor will be used lower that the rated rpm 70% of the time or so. Not going to be going WOT all day in the thing.

Not 100% sure as of now what the plans are for the boat as far as activities other than we will mainly be using it for fishing. He got it for cheap so it needs work, but it floats .

 

[sje0123]

Re: 1991 Bayliner Capri Cuddy w/ Force 120

Spoke w/ a local Bayliner dealer. I was right on with the prop size.

 

[steelespike]

Re: 1991 Bayliner Capri Cuddy w/ Force 120

Marine motors work very hard, like they are running up hill all the time if they are over propped
its like going up in overdrive and thats at any speed over no wake speed.
The 91 Capri Cuddy with a 120 is 20 ft and over 1700 lbs dry weight.The Force is not kinown for its power or speed.
Very likely a 17 could be right; however if it ends up to big The motor will lug and perform poorly
If it is marginally in the low rpm area it will fade even more as you add weight.
If it ends up lugging you shouldn't operate it at any speed for an extended period It could lead to premature repair problems. It would be much peppier with the 15 if it ends up over reving you can still run it as long as you want by just watching the rpm.
All the talk about wot max rpm is to get the motor propped right not about running at wot all the time.

 

[sje0123]

Re: 1991 Bayliner Capri Cuddy w/ Force 120

Understood. Only way to see is to try it out. We don't have a prop now as it is to compare to so when we get her in the water we will know better. Thanks for the advice. I'm def going to talk him into a tach as a priority to the list. That way we can check rpm vs speed and go from there.

 

[steelespike]

Re: 1991 Bayliner Capri Cuddy w/ Force 120

There you go; good luck please post back your results it's allways good the have that tucked away for future reference.