rookie looking for a new prop

[Eriejosh]

At the end of last summer got my first boat 1986 searay 230 wekender, 5.7 260 hp wot 4400-4600. 50 gallons of fuel 3 - 4 people, beer food and 200 pounds of gear. not sure what it weighs
I have two props the 1st came mounted on the boat 48 78 118 17 (the 118 is hard to read so it could say 128)and a 2nd 48 78 120 a40l 19p.

The 1st prop seemed to run ok but being a rookie im not sure. It was all beat up (bent chipped and pitted) so i took it off and put the second on. Then I started reading post and called the local shop. the second prop my wot would only get to 4100-4200 (bad for motor i heard).
the first prop I never got #s because of my rookie status.

I was thinking 4blade prop because all the post here describe quicker plane faster hole shot and i am not worried about crazy speed. so I picked up a mich vortex 15x16 from my local shop. The local shop guy did not speak highley of four blades but thought by droping a pitch from the first prop it should work out with the comparison of the 2nd prop #s. sorry so confusing!

Questions what kind of props do I have and am I on the rite track with the michigan 4 15x16. I see alot of solas amita talk and began to doubt the michigan vortex choice.
thanks
eriejosh

 

[countvlad]

Re: rookie looking for a new prop

At the end of last summer got my first boat 1986 searay 230 wekender, 5.7 260 hp wot 4400-4600. 50 gallons of fuel 3 - 4 people, beer food and 200 pounds of gear. not sure what it weighs
I have two props the 1st came mounted on the boat 48 78 118 17 (the 118 is hard to read so it could say 128)and a 2nd 48 78 120 a40l 19p.

The 1st prop seemed to run ok but being a rookie im not sure. It was all beat up (bent chipped and pitted) so i took it off and put the second on. Then I started reading post and called the local shop. the second prop my wot would only get to 4100-4200 (bad for motor i heard).
the first prop I never got #s because of my rookie status.

I was thinking 4blade prop because all the post here describe quicker plane faster hole shot and i am not worried about crazy speed. so I picked up a mich vortex 15x16 from my local shop. The local shop guy did not speak highley of four blades but thought by droping a pitch from the first prop it should work out with the comparison of the 2nd prop #s. sorry so confusing!

Questions what kind of props do I have and am I on the rite track with the michigan 4 15x16. I see alot of solas amita talk and began to doubt the michigan vortex choice.
thanks
eriejosh

what kind of props do you have? no idea...

are you on the right track? well, what are your max rps with the new prop? the goal here is to stay on the higher side of the recommended manufacturer RPM range. if the rpms with the new prop are under the manufacturer recommended rpm range then then go down in pitch to raise the rpms ... i know that with a 3 blade every pitch is +-200 RPM.... and going from a 3 to a 4 is a 200 rpm drop.... so initially you had a 17 and now a 16, correct? if thats the case you should be close to the recommended rpm range... sounds like the initial 17p prop was the right one...

one other thing... when you test the boat with the new prop or for a new prop, you want to have the usual equipment,people and load.... testing a prop with too many people and too much equipment will make the boat heavier thus low rpms...

good luck

 

[Eriejosh]

Re: rookie looking for a new prop

Thanks Countvlad.

I have not put the boat in the water for the season yet to test the new prop.

Is there alot of differences between prop companies and performance? Is michigan a good prop maker? are there better ? or is it personal preferance/what ever works the best for each boat.

 

[countvlad]

Re: rookie looking for a new prop

Thanks Countvlad.

I have not put the boat in the water for the season yet to test the new prop.

Is there alot of differences between prop companies and performance? Is michigan a good prop maker? are there better ? or is it personal preferance/what ever works the best for each boat.

yes there are a lot of differences between props... and a prop that you might have on your boat might not perform the same way on a different boat... there are a lot of variables: weight, hull, speed, motor size etc...

some props are better than other but also it depends what you are looking for... just remember: if the prop is expensive that doesn't mean is great.....

i personally do a lot of fishing so hole shot is not important to me... what i need in a prop is a good speed and gas mileage...

are there better? yes.. look around, there are tons of info on props....

since you have a now prop i would take the boat out and test it out... like i've said: test the prop with the usual load.... you want to be at WOT in the higher range of the recommended manufacturer rpms. if you hit that number and think that you still some throttle drop a pitch and go from there....

theres no perfect prop and no one will be able to tell you which is the perfect prop... everything is through trial and error

good luck