Prop pitch advice needed?

[Loving Life]

Hi,

I have a 2006 Lund Sport Angler 1800 with a Mercury 115 4 Stroke and currently have a 3 blade 19 pitch (standard prop that came with motor). I found on my recent trip that the boat is really slow to come out of the hole and up on step, now we were loaded pretty heavy but not too heavy that would cause problems. So I had the boat in for a maintenance check and the boat's engine is working fine. So got to chatting with some other boaters and the suggestion came up maybe decrease the Prop pitch!

So anyone out there running a boat like mine with suggestions, or experience with props and pitch?

Thanks!

 

[Navy Jr.]

Re: Prop pitch advice needed?

I don't have an answer, but if you haven't already, try looking in the iBoats "Prop Questions and Topics" forum. Pretty good info there.

http://forums.iboats.com/forumdisplay.php?f=35

 

[ziemann]

Re: Prop pitch advice needed?

There is no such thing as a standard prop. Prop selection is based upon previous experience, desired performance, educated guesses and trial and error. You don't tell us what RPM's you are running WOT. Without that info, we cannot help you. If you are running heavier than normal, then it is possible that the outboard is simply over loaded. That boat as I recall is rated for a 140? With the heavy load, you just may be over loading it.

See what the WOT RPM's are loaded with an average gear, fuel, passenger load and report back your WOT RPM's. If it is running below the recommended peak spec'd max RPM's for that outboard, then yes, you will drop to a 17 pitch and start the trial and error process.... If I had to guess, I would have agreed that trying to turn a 19P is a bit too steep for that boat. With extremely heavy loads, it is possible that you could need a 15P (but I doubt it). A 17P sounds about right.

Prop selection is an inexact science. Every hull/outboard combination is different.