Man....I'm never happy...

[QBhoy]

Ok...so despite great results with the new ballistic prop...I'm reading that the enertia prop might be even quicker.
I'm basing this on a chap that has a similar type boat and engine combo on YouTube.
This guy went to a ballistic and was delighted...the. Tried an enertia and it went even quicker.
I've heard others on here with good results...think it was Jimbo.
Mmm...problem is that they are almost unheard of in the uk and I'd need to order in from the states at a fair financial outlay.
Are they really that great or should I just be happy with what I have ? Horrible addiction this boating thing !

 

[alldodge]

I think you need to put a whipple on the motor

 

[QBhoy]

Oh...that would be lovely. Again not an easy thing to get a hold of over here and would likely overcome one of the things I love about the boat....economy when cruising.

 

[Scott Danforth]

if you want economy get a boat with oars or sails.....

 

[QBhoy]

Never a truer word said AD....I have a few with oars...as it happens.

 

[alldodge]

No economy at WOT that is unless your on someone else's boat and they are buying the gas

 

[QBhoy]

All joking aside...it's incredibly economical for a boat.
19 litres per hour at cruise speeds of around 24-28 mph. Not bad at all.

 

[jimmbo]

The Enertia is great prop, been using one for ten years. It is not the cheapest prop by a long shot, but sometimes you do get what you pay for.

 

[Texasmark]

I just googled "enertia prop", having no experience with such. Find it is a Mercury product. I had the Mercury Laser back in the late '80's which was followed by the Laser II. Both had ports; the holes under the leading edge of the prop. The pictures I saw were of the 14" range if diameters for the larger 4+ merc lower unit gearbox casting that comes with the 150 and up engines. I have/had 3 Ballistics, and my previous Laser was for the 4" gearbox used on the lower hp engines.

Point I am making here is my Ballistics were not ported. The Laser I had was as is the Laser II and at least in the 14" range of diameters, so is the Enertia.

Regardless of the WOT performance you are seeking, something you need to know. Do you have any experience with ported props? If so, fine. If not, ported props were invented to get 2 props in 1: A low pitch equivalent for fast hole shots (coming up on plane) and high pitch for dazzling WOT performance.

For a given "setup" the diameter of the port governs the performance in the hole shot. Larger the diameter, higher the revs, lower the apparent gear ratio, and better ability to get a heavy transom up and on the water........somewhere along the way to max rpms and speed, the ports will seal off from water pressure across the prop due to the speed of the boat.

When they seal off, it's like going from 3rd gear in a car to 4th (overdrive). The rpms drop back to what they would be without ports and the boat lurches forward moving on up in rpms and mph. Really a fun thing to do; was for me anyway.

The Lasers had rubber stoppers that you could use to reduce the size of the port if the cast in ports were too large. What one would do would be to buy the prop and put it through it's paces. Make a determination and if rpms were too high and hole shot too slow, reduction of the hole diameter would be in order....they come in different sizes....I guess the Enertia is equipped as such. Just reduce the diameter till you get the shot you want. If you don't want a faster shot then put in the blank plug and you will have no port and no port performance.

 

[jimmbo]

I don't notice any lurch or rpm drop when the vent hole become ineffective, I have felt lurches and rpm drops when a prop regains its bite after losing it. On mine the rpms climb fast to a point, then the boat catches up and then rpms continue to climb till peak

 

[QBhoy]

Thanks all

Yeah, very familiar with the Laser 2 and vented props. Never used the vents apart from once...didn't like it at all. I suppose they may have their use on certain boats, but anyway.
I went from the laser 2 to the ballistic and still have the laser. It's a great all round prop, I've found. Ballistic is quicker too end and allows planing at lower revs.
I have read of similar boats and engines having great results with the enertia, but as Jimbo says...not cheap, especially to get one in the uk.
I'm going to keep an eye out for a good deal and if not I'll get one next year.

 

[alldodge]

No first hand knowledge with the prop but when it came out there was an advertising article comparing it to another prop on same boat. After reading the article I sent Merc an email with some questions pertaining to apples to apples comparison. Don't remember what it was but the claims did not seem real world because it reminded me of comparing a pickup to sports car. Well Merc never replied so I chalked it up to advertising.

My second prop is a Stiletto and it is 2 pitches lower then what I regularly run. Used it for pulling multiple skiers at once. Not saying it is any better then others, but do like the may it pulls

 

[jimmbo]

I tried the Stiletto on my previous boat, it was okay, but I liked the Raker better

1998 Glastron GS180 with 150 Ficht running Stiletto


VP with Raker


with Enertia

 

[Texasmark]

I don't notice any lurch or rpm drop when the vent hole become ineffective, I have felt lurches and rpm drops when a prop regains its bite after losing it. On mine the rpms climb fast to a point, then the boat catches up and then rpms continue to climb till peak

Well maybe the boat matters. I was running a 13+x19 Laser on a 115 tower, 2:1 gearbox, right at 6000 and nudging 50 on the speedo (known to lie) at WOT after it hooked up and I trimmed for the sweet spot which was just before the rpms started rising and speed falling off. OB sitting on a Ranger Fisherman. The fisherman has a different hull than Forrest's bass boats; more dead rise in the hull plus lifting strakes for a softer ride like your Glastron.... , offset at the transom of about 3" and a pad (don't know if your Glastron runs on a pad or not......looks like it does. No doubt it was there and I loved it every time it did it. The other thing with that rig, when I was maxed out, I could hear two noises: the engine singing and the blades of the prop making a humming noise as they whacked the water right at the surface.

 

[jimmbo]

My outboard Glastron had a pad, the I/O doesn't

 

[QBhoy]

Jeez...Jimbo...she looks well with the enertia eh ? Very similar to mine with the ballistic. The Chase has a pad to run on.