Mercury High Five on 30ft Party Hut Pontoon?

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cclements716

Petty Officer 3rd Class
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I currently have a 2005 Sun Tracker Party Hut pontoon 30ft with a 115hp efi four stroke. The 4 stroke does fine but is very slow. Cruise is around 10mph. It has a 3 blade prop maxing out around 4600 rpm wot. I am thinking of increasing the pitch but going to a 5 blade mercury high five ss. The factory prop is aluminum. Any thoughts?
 
Barnacle_Bill

Barnacle_Bill

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Re: Mercury High Five on 30ft Party Hut Pontoon?

You need less pitch to get the RPMs up to where they should be at WOT.
 
jestor68

jestor68

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Re: Mercury High Five on 30ft Party Hut Pontoon?

If it's a Mercury 115 4 stroke, the recommended WOT rpm range is 5000-6000 rpm. Need to check what size prop is on there now, as it appears that you need to drop several inches of pitch in order to get your rpm up where it's supposed to be.

The High Five prop will not fit your motor. It fits V-6 outboards and Alpha1/Bravo1 stern drives with the 4.75" diameter gear case. Your motor has the 4.25" gear case.

For what it's worth, the Mercury prop selector recommends a 14 X 10 pitch to run WOT at about 5700 rpm @ 20-21 mph. But that's just an estimate. You should go by what your motor is doing on your boat.
 
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cclements716

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Re: Mercury High Five on 30ft Party Hut Pontoon?

I can tell you there's no way this boat is going to run 20mph. If it would i would be paying out of the a** for what ever prop would do that. Fully loaded last weekend it ran 9-10mph and 3700 rpms. Wot was only 4200 rpms. It def needs another prop but I have to go back to the boat to find out the current pitch and diameter. I am thinking a 4 blade would be ideal but do not see any 4 blade stainless referenced on mercury prop selector.
 
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Slip Away

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Re: Mercury High Five on 30ft Party Hut Pontoon?

Your best prop for that boat/motor would be a Michigan Match 14 x 11 Extended Cup aluminum 3-blade which is a prop specifically
designed for pontoon boats. Part # is 031200. You will get the WOT RPM you need, and better overall performance. I bet you get
very close to 20mph at WOT too. And at about $150, your a** will not be suffering.

Also, a 4 blade would not be ideal for your boat. Even if you can find one.
 
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calvinator

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Re: Mercury High Five on 30ft Party Hut Pontoon?

You need a lower pitched prop for that motor / boat size. 11" or 13" pitch.

I have a 29' pontoon with a sundeck and Mercury 2 stroke, 150HP. I run a 13" pitch 4 blade prop and get 5400RPMS. I can see 26-30mph.

I'm real happy with the 4 blade 13" pitch. Going to 11" pitch would get me more RPMS, but I would lose the high end speed, and only made in 3 blade.

Also, nothing wrong with an aluminum prop for your pontoon setup. You could get an 11" and 13" aluminum for the price of one stainless.....
 
QC

QC

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Re: Mercury High Five on 30ft Party Hut Pontoon?

cclements716 said:
I can tell you there's no way this boat is going to run 20mph. If it would i would be paying out of the a** for what ever prop would do that. Fully loaded last weekend it ran 9-10mph and 3700 rpms. Wot was only 4200 rpms. It def needs another prop but I have to go back to the boat to find out the current pitch and diameter. I am thinking a 4 blade would be ideal but do not see any 4 blade stainless referenced on mercury prop selector.
Click to expand...
You aren't even getting close to 115 horsepower if she is turning only 3700 RPM, plus you are going to kill it. What prop is on it now? You are thinking wrong. Blade count is not your issue. Pitch seems to be, or the engine is messed up. Mainly we need to know:

1) is your tach right?
2) what pitch, diameter etc is on there now.
3) Forget the blade stuff and listen to the recommendations above. If you are only turning 3700 RPM today there is much more speed in your future.
 
jestor68

jestor68

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Re: Mercury High Five on 30ft Party Hut Pontoon?

I have provided you with the recommended WOT rpm range for your motor. You must prop it so that it can attain the required rpm at WOT. The speed attained isn't that important. The 20 mph thing from the prop selector is just an estimate.

Failure to do so will result in the early demise of your motor from lugging it all the time. This motor develops it's full power at about 5500 rpm.

Extra cup adds effective pitch to the prop. An 11" extra cup has the effective pitch of a 13".

One post says 4200, and another says 4600 at WOT. Which is it? It sounds like a 9 pitch may be in your future in order to get close to 5000 rpm.

You might look into the "Spitfire Pontoon" prop. It looks like it's available in pitches down to 9.5". It's a 4 blade aluminum prop. They are on E-Bay by Mercury dealers for $ 170 with free shipping.

I went back and revisited your data in the Mercury selector, and noticed the Spitfire prop was on the list in a 10 pitch. Tracker lists the dry weight of your boat at 3215 lbs.
 
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cclements716

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Re: Mercury High Five on 30ft Party Hut Pontoon?

I have been cruising at 3700. Wot fully loaded is 4200.
 
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cclements716

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Re: Mercury High Five on 30ft Party Hut Pontoon?

Added a fuel/water separator and inline fuel filter. Cleaned the small gas bowl on the back of the engine. And determined the prop is a 14x11. Ran it again this weekend and only attained 4200 rpms wot. Not can only be clogged injectors or improper prop. Spoke with tracker marine and the dealership which sold the boat and they both recommended a 14x11. Could this be a fuel problem. We did run 35 gallons through the engine on Saturday.
 
QC

QC

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Re: Mercury High Five on 30ft Party Hut Pontoon?

cclements716 said:
Not can only be clogged injectors or improper prop.
Click to expand...
I think you mean "now" and it is never safe to assume anything. There are other things it could be. Numero uno is have you confirmed the tach?
 
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cclements716

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Re: Mercury High Five on 30ft Party Hut Pontoon?

Yes. I can rev limit the engine while not under load
 
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cclements716

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Feb 17, 2011
Messages
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Re: Mercury High Five on 30ft Party Hut Pontoon?

And idles right around 700-900
 
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cclements716

Petty Officer 3rd Class
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Feb 17, 2011
Messages
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Re: Mercury High Five on 30ft Party Hut Pontoon?

Took the boat out yesterday with only 4 people and ran wot at 4500
 
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Tompen

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Jun 3, 2013
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Re: Mercury High Five on 30ft Party Hut Pontoon?

Slip Away said:
Also, a 4 blade would not be ideal for your boat. Even if you can find one.
Click to expand...

Why do you think a 4 blade is not a good option for his boat? (I'm considering getting a 4 blade for my 24 ft pontoon to correct/improve ventilation problems and I am trying to get a feel for 3 blade vs. 4 blade.)
 
QC

QC

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Re: Mercury High Five on 30ft Party Hut Pontoon?

Tompen,
Start your own thread so we can get yours right too. Very hard to determine who's talking to whom when we mix topics.

Back to the OP. Is this boat slipped? What does the bottom look like?

Edit: I see you have one, Tompen, let's keep your boat's issues over there. Works so much better that way. You can link here to reference, but keep the threads separate if you follow. Thanks :)
 
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