Vent holes and propeller pitch

[Titanium48]

I noticed that the Turning Point "Hustler" props above 17 pitch come vented, while the 15 pitch and lower do not. Is this because the lower pitch props don't benefit from venting or because they are more often used in applications that don't benefit from venting?

I just bought a 15 pitch for my "poor man's wakeboard boat" (1976 14.5 foot Glasspar with 70 hp Evinrude of the same year). It is replacing a well worn 19 pitch stainless prop that didn't have the holeshot to pull a 200+ lb wakeboarder out of the water and only had the engine turning 5200 rpm at WOT. I was wondering if drilling some vent holes might be beneficial if the new prop doesn't deliver the holeshot I'm looking for.

 

[guy74]

Re: Vent holes and propeller pitch

I drilled vent holes in my 13 3/4 X 15 hustler prop that I use on my 1988 60hp Johnson. It certainly helped it pull my 200lb cousin out of the water on his slalom ski. You can't drill the vent holes in the location noted by OMC, the spokes of the prop are directly under that location. I had to drill 1" from the root of the blade on mine, 5/8" back from the step down that goes into the gearcase. I ended up going all the way to 5/16 holes, but I recommend starting with 3/16" holes and see how it works for your setup before going larger. I enlarged the vents on mine untill the motor would instanly spool up to 4000rpm when pulling up a skiier, that enabled it to develope the hp it needed.