192 Captiva not 195
Just tried going there myself..."no longer availiable" is what keeps popping up
Solas props are infamous for being horribly inefficient.. I try to steer people away from them (yes that is from personal experience)... They are half the price for a reason...
Gonna stay with the BM. Is there a 4b aluminum that you would recommend ? Don’t know if it would be any better than the 3b. Thanks for the info.
I had a 4 blade aluminum prop (before a reef ate it
). It was a Merc 'Alpha4'. Unfortunately Merc no longer make it, or any 4 blade alis. It was also the perfect size for my boat, 18", as 17" takes me into rev limit territory and a 19" is making the engine work just a bit harder than I want (also tends to fall out of the bottom of the power band at a slow cruise).. I've had to bite the bullet and go to stainless to get back into a 4 blade. I was shooting for a 17" (or 18" 
) Revolution4. Couldn't justify the cost of a new one, so scoured the secondhand market and ended up with a 17" 'Offshore' (predecessor to the Vensura, which is the predecessor to the Revolution4)....Probably just stay with the BM, due to cost, and, availability to try others. Hope it handles a tube, won’t be doing that much, but, will definitely have more than 2 aboard. ThanksI had a 4 blade aluminum prop (before a reef ate it
Very very happy with the performance.
Michigan Wheel makes a Vortex 4 blade AL that is very similar to the Alpha 4.
If you're pulling tubes/skiers drop 2" in pitch. IE, you'll need 2 props, or you'll hurt the engine...
I’d start with a 19” black max or a good used 19” stainless merc prop, if you get a good deal on it. You’ll always be able to sell a good quality 19” merc prop on. It will be somewhere between there and a 21” for all round use, I’d say. You may r”even turn a 23” in the bottom of the rpm range…but I wouldn’t recommend that. The 5.0 mpi is a little weak down low. Plenty of power up top usually…but being a little lazy down low with higher pitch…it won’t be too great with passengers or for general use. All the above is an assumption of course. Just sourced from knowledge gained with similar set ups.
Not sure why Merc got rid of the Alpha 4. Having 18/20 pitch available was nice. They replaced it with Nemesis/Spitfire 4bl alum odd pitch. 8m0055534/35/36I had a 4 blade aluminum prop (before a reef ate it
Very very happy with the performance.
I think they saw it as taking market from the stainless props.
That makes sense. I think Turnung Point props have done a number on Merc prop sales. Rumor has it Brunswick boat brands with 150+hp and up mercs are shipping from the factories with stainless props. Almost all of Mercurys stainless prop part numbers are changing,they're coming with balancing weights in them and no longer include HubKits in the box.
