reelfishin
Captain
- Joined
- Mar 19, 2007
- Messages
- 3,050
I am repowering my 17' Starcraft Capri with a very low hours 1995 Mercury 115 ELPTO outboard. The old motor was a 50 hp Mercury 500 so I have no starting point and no prop to begin with as the guy that I'm getting the motor from is keeping his high dollar stainless prop. The boat it came from was much heavier, a 24' glass cuddy cabin, and he was running a 14 1/2" x 19 prop and the boat seemed pretty lame with that combo but he was at 5900 RPM at wide open throttle on plane.
My boat is less than 1/4 the weight, I'd say 1800 tops loaded. (The hull weighs only 682lbs minus fuel, motor and two passengers. I figure the weight like this, (I weighed the boat and trailer, subtracted the known weight of the trailer. Got 682 lbs, the motor weighs 372 with a full tank of oil and the controls on a hook, it's got a 12 gallon fuel tank and remote filter, so figure about a 100 pounds in fuel and fuel system. So that makes 1154 plus two guys, for about 650 pounds with rods, reels, and tackle boxes. That makes roughly 1800 lbs in the water. The boat was heavier, but I gutted out all the fancy interior, replaced the deck with new wood and glass, the transom and stringers are stock and in good shape. The forward seats are gone, the back to back seats are gone, as are the two rear jump seats and all the side padding and carpet. I reinforced the length of the gunwales with two hidden strips of 1/4" aluminum strap bolted behind the gunwales to allow walking on the gunwales when boarding the boat at the dock.
I took out over 450 lbs of interior, put back only two aluminum pedestals, two 10lb poly seats, and 17 pounds of aluminum, and some paint. The boat lost about 375 lbs from stock before the motor was hung. The new motor is heavier but still less than the 120 max it's rated for. I figured 115 would be fine as a period motor would be even less hp at the prop than the modern 115 Merc.
The problem is I have no starting point, and don't have the motor back here yet, I do have a prop that was meant for an older boat, a 1972 trihull with a Mercruiser 120. I have a new prop that I bought for that boat and never used, it's a 15x17P Vortex XHS. The prop flange diameter measures 4 5/16". Will this fit on the newer 115 outboard? If so I have a starting point. I won't have the motor for a week, but want to have something to test run as soon as it gets here. If not, what diameter prop hub will the 1995 115 motor need?
The Vortex hubs have interchangeable bushing kits and are listed to fit many motors, but it don't list which one's, it only lists what OEM props it replaces. None of those OEM numbers are any good anymore.
The prop number I have is Michigan Wheel Vortex 992003 15x17 this is cast right on the prop. It's a new prop that has never even had it's bushing installed.
Any idea as to what diameter and pitch I may need for a 1800 lb trihull with this motor?
My boat is less than 1/4 the weight, I'd say 1800 tops loaded. (The hull weighs only 682lbs minus fuel, motor and two passengers. I figure the weight like this, (I weighed the boat and trailer, subtracted the known weight of the trailer. Got 682 lbs, the motor weighs 372 with a full tank of oil and the controls on a hook, it's got a 12 gallon fuel tank and remote filter, so figure about a 100 pounds in fuel and fuel system. So that makes 1154 plus two guys, for about 650 pounds with rods, reels, and tackle boxes. That makes roughly 1800 lbs in the water. The boat was heavier, but I gutted out all the fancy interior, replaced the deck with new wood and glass, the transom and stringers are stock and in good shape. The forward seats are gone, the back to back seats are gone, as are the two rear jump seats and all the side padding and carpet. I reinforced the length of the gunwales with two hidden strips of 1/4" aluminum strap bolted behind the gunwales to allow walking on the gunwales when boarding the boat at the dock.
I took out over 450 lbs of interior, put back only two aluminum pedestals, two 10lb poly seats, and 17 pounds of aluminum, and some paint. The boat lost about 375 lbs from stock before the motor was hung. The new motor is heavier but still less than the 120 max it's rated for. I figured 115 would be fine as a period motor would be even less hp at the prop than the modern 115 Merc.
The problem is I have no starting point, and don't have the motor back here yet, I do have a prop that was meant for an older boat, a 1972 trihull with a Mercruiser 120. I have a new prop that I bought for that boat and never used, it's a 15x17P Vortex XHS. The prop flange diameter measures 4 5/16". Will this fit on the newer 115 outboard? If so I have a starting point. I won't have the motor for a week, but want to have something to test run as soon as it gets here. If not, what diameter prop hub will the 1995 115 motor need?
The Vortex hubs have interchangeable bushing kits and are listed to fit many motors, but it don't list which one's, it only lists what OEM props it replaces. None of those OEM numbers are any good anymore.
The prop number I have is Michigan Wheel Vortex 992003 15x17 this is cast right on the prop. It's a new prop that has never even had it's bushing installed.
Any idea as to what diameter and pitch I may need for a 1800 lb trihull with this motor?
