prop pitch

[Rude]

i'm thinking of trying to get dylan on a tube and/or skis this summer. the problem is my boat is a total pig coming out of the hole. under normal conditions at mead i'll run a 28. at powell or heavy load at mead i'll run a
26. neither prop has much umph from idle. if i run a 24, will that allow me to stay on plan at a lower speed and hopefully give me enough torque to pull a skier up? whatchya think?

i looked at putting a set of sponson tabs on it, which would GREAT!!! but it's going to cost north of 3k for the pieces and install. that's going to have to wait a while :(

[kevnmcd]

I would think a 24p would do the trick for what you are trying to accomplish, especially if you normally run a 28.

[Liquid Courage]

The boat will always plane at the same speed, but a lower prop will allow you to hold it much easier without working the throttle. I am sure someone has a 24 you could try. I have some but, but they are BravoIII. If not the prop shop will loan you one to try, you have to pay up front. If you are not running hard you may really like the feel of a 22p, you will gain a ton of low end, and mid range, but your top end will be shot. A 22 would probably put you on the rev limiter, but it sure would be fun getting there.

[STV_Keith]

James, lemme know. I have a Bravo 1 24 right you can try.

[Liquid Courage]

James, lemme know. I have a Bravo 1 24 right you can try.

See looky there.:thumb:

[Rude]

keith, if you're going to be at the regatta, would you mind bringing it with you? i'll probably have the 28 on the boat and i'll bring the 26. if the opportunity present itself maybe i'll be able to check all 3 back to back. i talked to D4$ last night. he suggested i might get similar results by labbing one of the two props i already have. also, try a 5 blade if i can find one. do the merc 5 blades work on tunnels or are they primarily made for V hulls?

[kevnmcd]

From what I have heard the 5 blades will work on tunnels but one word of caution...those wheels put a lot of torque on a drive. Be easy on the sticks. They do wonders for hole shots and mid range, though.

[Rude]

i've heard the same thing. that's why i've never looked too hard to find one. unfortunately, my boat was not built with the XR, it has the XZ drive. besides that, they are SPENDY! if i have to, i'll just use one prop to get to where we're going and switch the "shorty" prop for water toys and switch back before the trip home. pain in the ass, but it's the nature of the beast unless i'm willing to sell the daytona and buy a ski nautique......don't see that happening.

[kevnmcd]

Rude - I don't think it is necessary to change props while on the water just to do different activities. I think you just need to find the right prop that fits a majority of your needs.

Take me for example...I currently run a 26p which works for wakeboarding and for cruising around the lake. I could probably run a 28p and get a few more mph out of mine for those high speed runs but then I would lose the wakeboarding part. 99% of my boating is just cruising so the 28p just doesn't make sense to run all the time.

You say you use the 26p on Mead for heavy loads but have you tried pulling a skier with it? I would think that a 26p would be good for that, if not, a 24p for sure. You could always leave a 24p or 26p on there for your whole trip. You wouldn't hurt anything and would only loose a little speed on your top end.

Just my .02

[STV_Keith]

Call Kevin and see if he has something on the wall you could try. He might even be coming to the Regatta. I have told him several times, including last Thursday, when it is. 564-7502.

[Rude]

i'm hoping to try them back to back at some point this season just to see the difference. i'm just concerned that running around with a 24p prop would be like (in the words of D4$) driving your car around in 3 gear all the time. i've never tried to pull anything (other than PH's boat once :) ). the 26 may work, i'll just have to experiment with it. the big difference between your boat and mine is that your cockpit is much farther forward than mine and i would guess you don't even lose site of the horizon when you throttle up from idle, correct? i COMPLETELY lose sight of everything. for all i know, i've been using the wrong prop from day one. that's why i'd like to see where i'm at with each prop. if i'm not on the rev limiter i should probably be running the 26 anyway. i don't spend enough time on the big end that i need to be that worried about losing that last mph hour, i'm more concerned with a good cruising speed.

[kevnmcd]

I do lose sight of the horizon briefly depending on how fast I push the sticks forward. If you can never hit the rev limiter with your current prop (28p) then you are running to big of a prop. The way I understand it, is that you should run the biggest prop you can to just touch the rev limiter. With my 26p I can tap the rev limiter in the cooler months and get close in the hotter months which I believe is right where I need to be.

[Rude]

that's the way i understand it as well. and honestly, i don't think i've ever hit the limiter. if i'm lucky, i'll be able to get some good info this weekend. either late sat. evening after i drop the fam off on the beach or maybe sunday morning before we load up to head back to the ramp. i should have done this 6 years ago when i bought the boat but just never got around to it. i don't like to rush into things :)

[kevnmcd]

i don't like to rush into things :)

We've noticed that! :smashfreak::thumb:

[Rude]

nuttin' gets by you :)

[STV_Keith]

With my load of people this weekend, I'll be running my 24's. If you already have a 28 and a 26, then I'll pull the RH and you can try it out. Kevin will be with me too, so maybe you can talk him into going for a ride and giving you his impressions.

Rule of thumb is 2" of pitch change = 3mph. So, if the 28 cruises at 3500rpm at 45mph, the 26 should be 42mph and the 24, 39mph. Also, 2" of pitch should mean about 200-300rpm on the top end. If the limiter is 5200rpm, and you get to 4800 with the 28, going to the 26 should get you to 5100ish. Remember that rpm will usually be down some in the heat vs the colder winter months.

[Rude]

thanx for the input keith!

[STV_Keith]

James, I'll have 24's and 26's with me tomorrow. Bring your prop wrench! :)

[kimswang]

Have you checked out this site?

http://www.go-fast.com/boat_speed_predictions.htm

[Rude]

James, I'll have 24's and 26's with me tomorrow. Bring your prop wrench! :)

already in the boat :thumb:

talked to kevin at R&R yesterday. if i didn't know better, i'd say he knows a thing or two about boats :Wow1: most likely, i've been running the wrong prop since i bought the boat. i guess i shouldn't say wrong prop, but the 26 would have been a better choice. his figures show i should be at approx. 4800 rpm at 80mph with the 28 which is the bottom end of the WOT operating range. the 26 should be at 5200 at 80mph which is where the limiter should kick in. he suggested even trying a 22. my hole shot should be great but i wouldn't want to use it for any long range cruising. the only thing left to do is try a couple of different wheels and see what happens.

[Rude]

Have you checked out this site?

http://www.go-fast.com/boat_speed_predictions.htm

i plugged in a couple of numbers and it says my boat should run 94. I WISH!! the fastest 25 daytona with a 500 efi i've seen was tested at 87 in havasu. i used 4000lbs, 470 horsepower, 275 as the constant and it spit out 94. while i would love to believe that, it's just not gonna happen.

[kevnmcd]

Rude - What happened with this? Did you try other props? What was the final decision?

Come on....don't leave us hangin' :D

[Rude]

i put one of keith's 24s on while we were at the regatta and took kevin for a ride. it has a GREAT hole shot and will still hit 70+ with full fuel, tons of camping gear, and 2 full coolers, and 2 adults. i never did hit the rev limiter. i ran it up to 5200 and nothing happened. i backed out and kevin said the 500EFIs are supposed to run out to 5400. i ran it up again to 5400 and still didn't hit it. he said sometimes the ECUs will be 100 rpm +/-. i'm sure it would have if i had kept it at WOT but i had seen what i was interested in. when keith handed me the prop i didn't think it would work because it had 4 ventilation holes. it worked very well with the holes. i'll probably pick up a new one from kevin over at R&R before too long. i didn't run the 26 or 28 that weekend. if we go out this weekend i'll try to run the 26 at WOT and see if it will bump the limiter and what kind of speeds it will hit. the 24 really put me at 70 in a hurry :)

[kevnmcd]

If you ran the 24p up to 5400 with all that gear in the boat you will probably be able to jump up to the 26p without all that gear. I would think that you should be pushing the upper 70's or low 80's with that HP500. Just my non educated guess, of course!

[Rude]

i've had the boat to 80+ at mead with the 28 but i don't remember what the tach said. i'm guessing it had to be about 4600-4800rpm. i have never run the 26 up that high. for some reason i was really thinking the 500's were tapped out 5250 but i guess i was wrong. and if that's the case the 28 is too big the way the boat is set up right now. it may be ok at havasu or yuma. if we make it out this weekend, i'll let you know what it does.

[kevnmcd]

if we make it out this weekend, i'll let you know what it does.

You mean "when" you make it out, right? :thumb: Let us know.