What's happening???

[TheNoachSHO]

I just bought a new 09 175 and this past weekend was my first time out. I'm trying to be very careful in the first 20 hours but I did a u turn at 3/4 throttle and after halfway though the turn it's like the prop stops pushing water and the rpms climb. If I back off the gas it'll, for lack of a better term, grip and go. It scared me when my rpm's hit almost 5k!!!

What's happening when i'm turning? I've heard the term "cavitation"???

Also how bad was it that the rpms jumped like that? I really want my boat to last and would really prefer not to do anythign that'll hurt it.

Any help to a new boater would be great.

 

[NYBo]

Re: What's happening???

Welcome to iboats!

What you experienced is prop blowout. A combination of too much throttle and too much trim is the usual culprit. I think I've read that a 4-blade prop may reduce this tendency, but slowing/trimming down a little is free! You'll figure out how you need to set things for turns as you get used to the boat.

Here's an explanation of blowout from Merc.

You certainly don't want to make a habit of exceeding the recommended maximum engine speed. Fortunately, it doesn't sound like you went way over.