Bayliner Deck Boat Prop Selection

[racingvert]

I just bought a 1999 Bayliner 2159 Rendezvous and need some help selecting a prop. The boat is a 21 foot fiberglass deck boat that weighs approximately 3800 lbs dry. It has the 305 mercruiser with a 1.62 gear ratio.
It seems to be pretty sluggish out of the hole and takes quite a while to plane out.
It currently has a Stilletto 14x19 stainless prop on it.
I did some WOT runs yesterday but I think the speedometer might be off some. At WOT it was running about 3800 RPM and 35 MPH.
I was thinking that going to a 14.5 x 17 aluminum might help get it on plane quicker and give me a little more power out of the hole. Does this sound like a good choice or should i change it to something else?
Thanks for any input.

 

[steelespike]

Re: Bayliner Deck Boat Prop Selection

You may want to confirm the tach is accurate your a long way from the max rated of I believe 4,800 check on your motor for a label.Maybe you can borrow a shop tach.

 

[racingvert]

Re: Bayliner Deck Boat Prop Selection

I am pretty sure that the tach is accurate but I will double check it. I was thinking that the 19 pitch could be causing the RPMs to be low. Does this make any sense? I ran some of the prop calculators and they are suggesting a 15 pitch or even a 14 pitch prop.
Thanks.

 

[racingvert]

Re: Bayliner Deck Boat Prop Selection

Tested a new prop last night and worked great. I went with a 15x15 pitch Solas Amita 3 blade. Boat comes out of the hole great now. Gets on plane quick and has much better throttle response when on plane. RPMs are at 4800 WOT, trimmed up with 1 person in the boat. Top speed on my GPS was 36.7 MPH.

 

[steelespike]

Re: Bayliner Deck Boat Prop Selection

Boy thats a great result looks like you hit right on the nose and I had a hole in my hat.