Selecting the right Prop for my boat

Joined
Sep 16, 2009
Messages
13
I have a 1988 19' Larson Delta Conic Open Bow fish and ski that has a 4.3 litre Alpha One Mercrusier Inboard/Outboard Motor....My question is at 4800 rpm's the boat will only do 30 mph at 5000 ft in elevation....I assume that this boat should go atleast 40mph on flat water....The prop does have some nicks and ruff but not extremely bad...The guy I got the boat from had changed props a few times and from my experience with him I know now that he really didn't know much about boats to begin with so I'm not confident that the prop on my boat is even the right pitch or..?....I was also told that this boat would do 42 mph on flat water.....I don't do alot of skiing but some, and I'm just looking for something good all around and will not run the motor excessively....Believe it or not this boat is used but runs well and has always been covered so it's in really good shape.... I'm just looking for alittle more top speed, without sacrificing alot of my hole shot....What do you suggest I do knowing that at 4800 rpms I'm only getting about 30 mph out of this size of motor in this size of boat?;)
 

hwsiii

Commander
Joined
Jan 25, 2009
Messages
2,639
Re: Selecting the right Prop for my boat

Mister, I show a 1988 4.3L 6 cylinder to have 205 HP and a gear ratio of 1.65:1 and a WOT RPM of 4,800, please verify this. At an elevation of 5,000 feet you have to remember that you lose at least 30 HP and can lose a good bit more if the humidity is real high. You don't say what kind or size of prop you are running so I can't do a prop slip analysis or anything else with the information you give. You definitely have a problem somewhere though, because I show at sea level you should be doing over 40 MPH.

Please fill this form out and I will be glad to help you.

Iboats Boat and Motor Info

1. Year, make and model of boat
2. Length, width and base weight of boat, look for boat decal on back of boat
2a.What is the maximum recommended HP for your boat
3. Number of people and gallons of gas normally on boat
4. What do you use the boat for
5. Is it a Deep Vee and if so how many degrees of deadrise
6. Year, make. manufacturer and model of motor
7. HP and gear ratio of motor IMPORTANT
If you don?t know the ratio, you need to pull the plugs out and put a piece of tape across the prop and the lower unit and then cut it between the prop and the housing then do the same thing on the flywheel and turn the motor until the tape lines up with each other on the prop, it is easier if two people do this, so one can watch the prop while the other counts the revolutions of the motor
8. Manufacturer?s recommended Wide Open Throttle (WOT) range
9. Anti-ventilation Plate height above keel of boat if it is an outboard in inches, use a board under the keel and stiking out to the anti ventilation plate for a referene
10. Is it a bass boat or does it have a pad bottom
11. Does it have a hydrafoil, dolefin or trim tabs
12. Make, model, diameter, pitch, number of blades and whether SS or aluminum prop
13. WOT RPM and speed from your current prop and how much gas and how many people were in the boat for the test data and is the speed by GPS. Make sure you trim the prop up until it starts ventilating and then just trim in until it quits ventilating. If you do not have a tach you can buy a digital tavhometer and hour meter here:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Tachometer-Hour-Meter-Outboard-Jet-Ski-Quad-Go-Kart_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp4634Q2ec0Q2em14Q2e l1262QQhashZitem27ab0dee04QQitemZ170373541380QQptZ MotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories
RPM ___________ Speed ___________ No. of people ____________ Gal. Gas ________
14. Are you at sea level or a higher elevation, give us the elevation in feet
15. Has your motor been tuned up lately and have you checked that the carburetor butterfly is opening all the way, checked compression, and looked at the plugs and checked spark, all of the foregoing could be the reason your prop is not attaining full RPM
16. How long has this prop been on the boat and why, at this time, do you think it is the wrong prop
17. Does the prop show any damage that you can see
18. What problems are you trying to cure or what are you looking for the boat to do that it is not doing the way you think it should or to your expectations
19. If you are trying to attain a better cruising speed and fuel savings or trying to attain a faster speed I will want you to take your boat and run it with 1 or 2 people and give me the RPM and speed readings starting at 3,000 RPM in 500 RPM increments all the way to WOT.

REMEMBER, The numbers I give you will be NO better than the information you give me

The only thing I ask of you is to come back and give me a report of WOT RPM and speed for my database.



H
 
Joined
Sep 16, 2009
Messages
13
Re: Selecting the right Prop for my boat

Sir, I really appreciate your time and effort..... Manufacturer's suggested WOT is as you say...4800rpm and my 4.3L is 175hp ....the 4.3L you quoted in your comment is an 4.3LX with 205....The prop that is on my boat now is a 15X17 ....992007 is the numbers on the prop that the previous owner put on it....I use this boat for some recreation but mostly fishing, I was alone in my boat with ruffly 12 gallons of gasoline in it at 4800 rpm's doing 30mph on my GPS not the boat speedometer.... the boat itself reads 5 mph slower.... that's the reason I took my GPS....I knew I was going faster than 25 mph,.... at one point when I first got the boat I was doing 32mph with 2 other people in the boat with me and a full tank of gasoline just last week....in warmer weather....and we have hardly any humidity here!...and I am right at a Mile High in elevation....5200 ft!

Oh, and this is a deep V-haul....Some of the other questions you asked me will take some time....This boat is all as sold new, meaning no motor or outdrive changes.....The weight I've been asked before and have checked but can't find it on the boat anywhere, even on the back plate...The motor seems to run fine real smooth and out of the water fast, I put wires on it but the plugs looked like new so I didn't change them...will do a complete tune up soon though once I get some more time.....and I'm just thinking this boat should have a higher top speed, all my friends boats do here....the speed limit is 45mph put it that way...lol....but I don't want it to dog out of the whole either.....The prop does show a little bumps and brushes, nothing like bent in half or anything though....I'm thinking it needs a new one but I want to know the right one to get.....From the small amount of research I have done this prop seems to be larger than normal for this size of boat and the pitch a bit low....but what do I know that's why I'm here asking people like you that know what's going on.......
 

Attachments

  • IMG_0309.jpg
    IMG_0309.jpg
    41.5 KB · Views: 0
Joined
Sep 16, 2009
Messages
13
Re: Selecting the right Prop for my boat

Also, I just found more information on the prop on my boat
It's a Michigan Wheel...992003...15X17 Vortex XHS Aluminum prop..
The maximum rpm of the boat is different than manufactureres recommended
WOT rpm.....I'd say this motor will wind up to 5200 0r more but not
getting much more speed from 4800 to 5200....
 

wajajaja02

Senior Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Apr 21, 2008
Messages
667
Re: Selecting the right Prop for my boat

remember the boats foam may have absorbed some water weight, so the boat might be a little bit heavier than new or what the book say, might want to weight it at a scale as part of the science.
 

hwsiii

Commander
Joined
Jan 25, 2009
Messages
2,639
Re: Selecting the right Prop for my boat

Mister, does this statement mean that you have run this prop up to 5,200 RPM, because I will be basing my recommendation on these RPM.
The maximum rpm of the boat is different than manufactureres recommended
WOT rpm.....I'd say this motor will wind up to 5200 0r more but not
getting much more speed from 4800 to 5200....


H
 
Joined
Sep 16, 2009
Messages
13
Re: Selecting the right Prop for my boat

Mister, does this statement mean that you have run this prop up to 5,200 RPM, because I will be basing my recommendation on these RPM.



H

The manufactured suggested WOT is 4800 rpm's so that is what you should base your recomendation on....thanks sorry for the confusion
 
Joined
Sep 16, 2009
Messages
13
Re: Selecting the right Prop for my boat

Also, if weight seems to be an issue where would I find that out?
I mean it's on on the registration, and I don't know where I could take
it to get weighed....Is there a book?
 
Top