Need some input for a 20' open bow with a Mercruiser 4.3LX.

[rhillman75]

I have a 1996 Sylvan V196 (commonly known as the Barritz edition) equipped with a 4.3LX and a Alpha One Gen 2 outdrive. I have been playing the prop game for about a year and I still cant seem to find the "right" or "close to right" fit for it. The boat came with 2 props, one was a 14.25", 19P, 3 blade. The other prop was a 14.25", 19P, 4 blade. Both props had seen better days and judging by both the onboard tach/MPH guage compared to the GPS, there really was no difference at 3/4 throttle to wide open throttle. I decided to go to a 14.25", 17P, 4 blade, which got me up to 5,000 RPM (not good), so I wnet an got another 14.25", 19P, 4 blade that was new. So here is what I got today on the lake. I had my wife, my son, and myself (total maybe 400 lbs), a half a tank of gas, maybe 20 lbs of gear, and at wide open throttle I am hitting 32 MPH at 4,200 RPM. With that said, all these props I have used are aluminum (just keeping in mind that they will give with minimal damage to the outdrive). If a 17P is getting it over the wide open throttle RPM limit and a 19P is not getting to the minimum wide open throttle limit, then should I go stainless at the 19P level or what? The boat is rated at 2,400 lbs with nothing on it.

 

[86 century]

Re: Need some input for a 20' open bow with a Mercruiser 4.3LX.

You droped 800 rpm with two inches of pitch wow.
Are both of the new 4blades the same make and model.

Was the boat loaded close to the same with both how about wind and water conditions.