tarheelebbtide
Petty Officer 3rd Class
- Joined
- Jul 4, 2008
- Messages
- 94
I have a 1992 Ebbtide 204 Campione bowrider with a carburated Mercruiser 5.7L 350 Mag motor and Alpha 1 sterndrive. I had the engine completely rebuilt last year and due to a long story (if you really wanna know, I'll tell ya), my outdrive was lost and so the repair folks replaced it with a rebuilt 1995 model. However, lost with the drive was my Laser II stainless prop of unknown (because it was on the boat when i got it and I'm just now learning about such things) size and pitch. They do have a stainless prop on there but I'm over revving with it if I'm not careful. I tried to do WOT tests with it the other day, but got scared at 5000 RPM and didn't want to push it any harder. My sense is that it would have gotten to 5100-5200 at WOT. Therefore, I know I'm underpropped, but don't know how far to go with it. The prop on there now is stainless, three blade 14x19. I'm not so ultra concerned with top speed, though of course I don't want to sacrifice a ton of it (At 4600 RPM now, it'll run a GPS verified 50 even with the under propping). I'd like a good solid across the board prop that's going to offer good hole shot (I'm also seriously considering smart tabs, so if you have advice on those, I'm all ears), good acceleration and a nice top speed. Should I go up to 14 3/4 diameter? Is a 21" pitch enough or should I jump to 23"? Also, are the Quicksilvers that much better than say the Apollo by Michigan Wheel? One final question is that when shopping I note that some props say rubber hub while others don't, what's the difference and are both interchangeable or do I have to know which one my Alpha 1 takes? Thanks and sorry for the long post.
