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  1. ratdude747

    Mercruiser 888 Unexpected Prop behavior?

    Nice. This thread comes up in google searches for the subject, so at least this information is out there now (although Gemini still gets it wrong :D ) Also interesting that the 233 uses a rare ratio. And I thought my 1.50 ratio was a needle in a haystack... good thing I don't have that! Sounds...
  2. ratdude747

    Mercruiser 888 Unexpected Prop behavior?

    That's what I thought I remembered but when I looked it up again, I kept seeing 4000-4500. Maybe 19 is too shallow then... oh well. In any case, if the "new" blades don't come in, I may just leave the 21 on there and see what happens on calmer water.
  3. ratdude747

    best muffs to use on mercruisers?

    Agreed on the first point but I had the opposite experience with my MC-1 on the latter. I received a rectangular one from a buddy but bombed a new impeller using it. The bravo-style (with the center wire and a sheet metal clip) one works a lot better (just had to drill a hole in the water intake...
  4. ratdude747

    Mercruiser 888 Unexpected Prop behavior?

    Maybe none of the above. Poking around eBay, I found a new open box Piranha 3-blade A (same as my 21P I recently bought) with 14.5x19 RH blades (5 of them) for a steal (well, well under what Piranha charges for blades). Put in an offer but I may just nab it since it's cheap. The core's code...
  5. ratdude747

    Mercruiser 888 Unexpected Prop behavior?

    Got home and looked at the Michigan Wheel prop. It's an SMC378. Discovered some dry rot starting under the grease: Maybe not so good after all... The Solas prop actually is a 19 pitch 4 bladed prop. Specifically a 1513-143-19. A bit smaller in diameter though (14.25) but being 4 bladed makes...
  6. ratdude747

    Mercruiser 888 Unexpected Prop behavior?

    Nothing personal but I don't care for stainless. Too likely to blow my drive in the event of an impact (one of the lakes I semi-frequent has a bad spot that's eaten several Piranha blades!) and unnecessary at my power level.
  7. ratdude747

    Mercruiser 888 Unexpected Prop behavior?

    In any case, it sounds like 21 pitch is no good now, regardless on what it was then. I'm thinking of trying the 19 pitch Michigan wheel to see how we do. "Free" is free. Even if it feels like false advertising since I threw a vintage Piranha sticker on the stern (came with the NOS four-bladed...
  8. ratdude747

    Mercruiser 888 Unexpected Prop behavior?

    Technically, the boat (with the stock 2-barrel setup) was advertised by Starcraft as being capable of "over 50mph" in the catalog (and was the fastest offering they had in 1976). And the 888 (302) was the biggest engine they offered for the 16'; the 18' could have a 233 (351) but I'm told it was...
  9. ratdude747

    Mercruiser 888 Unexpected Prop behavior?

    Been playing with prop geometries this season and getting some unexpected results. The boat is a 1976 Starcraft Montego with a Mercruiser 888. Engine is mostly stock but has been upgraded with an Edelbrock performer 289 intake, a Holley Marine 4160 4-barrel (originally off a Mercruiser 5.0) and...
  10. ratdude747

    Rant: Can't catch a break with weekend weather...

    Today would have been a good day to boat... as was yesterday. But the weather reports looked like poo poo earlier in the week (and I usually don't boat more often than every other weekend). This coming Saturday is a stormy mess but the Sunday after looks promising. But that's subject to change...
  11. ratdude747

    Bearing buddy issues

    That's what I did, remembering what a pain they were to seat. The O-ring was in good shape. As was the grease that was in there... the only signs of moisture I found were on the snap ring itself. The grease still looked nice and dry (no water blobs or the like) and still had a good consistency...
  12. ratdude747

    Bearing buddy issues

    Mine took some heavy whacks from a 4lb dead blow to seat. Granted, that was on brand new brake drum/hub units... The plastic off-brand ones it had when I was gifted the boat were a much lighter fit and leaked grease. Yes. "Bra" is the term that Bearing Buddy prints on the covers: --- I...
  13. ratdude747

    Bearing buddy issues

    I know for a fact that happens. Putting the bra covers on warm (not hot!) bearing buddies at the ramp then dipping the trailer at the ramp causes the bra to get pulled in very far. Thus, even with no cover, the heat coming from the hub is enough to warm the air inside the opening of the bearing...
  14. ratdude747

    Bearing buddy issues

    I've been having a few issues with my trailer's bearing buddies (genuine chrome plated) that I installed last spring when I added electric drum brakes to my trailer. The "bra" covers pop off when in use. My assumption is that this is due to brake drum heating which is expanding the air inside...
  15. ratdude747

    Rant: Can't catch a break with weekend weather...

    No it is not. My boat is closed enough of a layout and stable enough in water around here that you'd have to be doing something very stupid (bow riding the illegal way, riding on the sun deck while underway, etc.) to risk ejection. To the point that it not having a kill lanyard (grandfathered)...
  16. ratdude747

    Rant: Can't catch a break with weekend weather...

    The "rule of 120" is that if the combined air and water temps are under 120f, one needs to be wearing special gear (wetsuit, drysuit, etc.) to not risk hypothermia if entering the water. By "boat related clothing" I'm referring to the clothing I wear to boat. UV-rated shirts (IIRC all are...
  17. ratdude747

    Rant: Can't catch a break with weekend weather...

    No intentional swimming. Or tubing. Just running the boat up and down the Ohio River and seeing if the new prop performs as expected (blade count and pitch change to match what the original prop had). Seeing if I can get closer to the 60mph this thing supposedly could do on said prop (instead of...
  18. ratdude747

    Rant: Can't catch a break with weekend weather...

    Rant: Compared to last year, it seems that weekends (at least in southern Indiana) are currently cursed to have bad or "forecasted as bad" weather on weekends. Seems we get rain on weekends and sun during the week. Or this weekend, which is cold (high 50's today, high of 64 tomorrow) and...
  19. ratdude747

    How to kill mold on billge/engine surfaces

    It's on braided fuel hose surfaces (filler and vent hoses), the painted fiberglass bilge wall, and a gasket joint between a painted cast iron thermostat housing and a cast aluminum intake manifold. Per further review some of this was "dormant" in the past... seems the current temperatures and...
  20. ratdude747

    How to kill mold on billge/engine surfaces

    Went to change my fuel filter today and discovered fluffy white mold all over the starboard side of the bilge around the gas tank and on the thermostat housing: For this situation, what's the best solution? Or will it resolve itself with time and use once the season starts?
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