Re: Prop for my pontoon boat. Help please!
Pontoons are not planing hulls in the same sense that a V-hull would be and therefore take a lot of power to move at 30 mph. It would appear the prop you have is pretty close. The best prop for any application is one that allows the engine to operate at or very near the upper end of the manufacturers WOT rpm band -- which is where you are at. Speed and fuel economy will be what it is with that prop. Installing one with higher pitch lugs the motor, requires more throttle to maintain the same speed as before and therefore sucks even more gas. And just so you know, a 150 HP engine burns about 15 gallons of fuel per hour at wide open throttle. It is a fact of life and it doesn't matter what engine you have -- that number is 10% of rated HP. Making sure the engine is properly tuned and making full power is key to optimum fuel economy. Compression check and perhaps a de-carbon process is in order.
