very green to boating

[graphixx]

I was presented with an opportunity I could not pass to buy a boat!! its a 1993 Bayliner Capri 1851 with a 4.3 190 hp V6.
This is the first boat that I have ever owned and am very new to boats!! I could not be happier with the boat!! Great shape seems to run strong (I knew the owner and he took maticulous care of the boat).
this is just going to be a boat for fun pulling a tube or a wake board. I wanted to know if changing the prop would give me a better hole shot. It seems to me that I could get a little more pulling power.
The reason for this post is I know I am going to have questions about prop selection I wanted to know if there are things I can do before coming on here and asking help with getting the right prop. I know I have the plane fins above the prop.
if you could help me help you guys with gathering information so that you SEASONED boaters can help a greenhorn like myself maximize the fun of this boat.

THANK YOU IN ADVANCE!!!!

 

[craze1cars]

Re: very green to boating

Welcom to Iboats! In order for folks here to help you out, you need to first do a simple test.

Go boating!

1. While boating with typical weight load on board, see how fast the boat will go...wide open throttle, play with the trim until your speedo maxes out. Now look at the tach and remember the RPM number you see at top speed.

2. Open your engine compartment (while stopped!) and look at the sticker on top of the engine. Find a number that says "MAX WOT RPM", and there will be a number range like "4,200 to 4,600", or maybe "4,400 to 4,800."

3. We need to know what kind of prop you currently have. So look over it carefully, write down any numbers you can find stamped on it, and note the number of blades on it.

Report back with above info, and you'll get plenty of advice here. Without said info, little valuable assistance can be provided.

Enjoy the test!

 

[stevens]

Re: very green to boating

This is the first boat that I have ever owned and am very new to boats!!

...before you even start to think about props and performance and such, do yourself and everyone else a favour by taking a boating safety class. Then, pay someone knowledgable to show you for a few hours how to handle the boat safely. Then practice a bit by yourself before you take a bunch of people out. Then you can start to fiddle with props and such - which can be an addiction in itself. Happy boating!

 

[tmh]

Re: very green to boating

Read a lot of threads here in the prop forum - that will get you better educated on the basics of what changes may do to your performance. Pitch, # of blades, WOT RPM, etc. are terms to understand. there may even be a "sticky" here explaining it all. Then do as was recommended on the above posts. You'll get plenty of help after that.

 

[MikDee]

Re: very green to boating

Welcome, I recommend you do as others suggested a safe boating course, but to answer your question, You may want to switch to a 4 blade prop for extra hole shot, tubing or skiing, and when fully loaded with people, & gear. You will lose a few mph on top end, no big deal, your boat should be pretty fast as is. Use the original 3 blade prop for average running, keep the 4 blade as a spare also. The prop pitch you need will be determined by your Wide Open Throttle (WOT) RPM, with normal average load, and the pitch number of your present prop. One more item, when pulling a tube, it's not safe to go over 20-25mph! I don't know about a wakeboard, but probably the same rule applies. Good Luck, Mike

 

[Tacklewasher]

Re: very green to boating

Glad to see you're "Very green to boating" and not "very green from boating"




Good advice above on figuring out what your setup is now before changing things.