I too am interested in the Spitfire Prop. I've had a 2 year saga of props since purchasing my 19 foot Hurricane Sundeck w/ Merc 4.3 IO 220 hp, Alpha Drive. The boat runs heavy at about 4500 lbs with fuel, 3-4 persons on board. I primarily use the boat for skiing, wakeboarding and tubing. I started with a black max 14.5 x 19 (came with boat). Got 50 mph at 4900 RMP (rev limited kicked in with throttle to spare). Then I went to a 4 blade 18 pitch stainless stiletto. The boat was a slug... I used it once and then went to a local prop guy who suggested the merc Alpha 4 aluminum prop. I did this and added trim tabs and my pick up was good but at WOT 4800 (rev limited kicked in), I was down to about 43 mph. In search of the holy grail of props, I got a 19 pitch stainless high-five refurbished. I tried it out recently this last weekend. It seems like the boat was labored with the weight of the stainless prop and my low end 0-12 mph was no different (maybe even slower) than the 4 blade aluminum. This was problematic for skiing as the first 10-15 mph are what gets the skier popped up quick. The high five shined when pulling a tube, after about 2000 rpms, it would pull like a freight train. However, my top end was down to about 40-41 mph and my cruising RPMs went from about 3500 at 30 MPH pulling a skier with the 4 blade alpha to about 4100 RMP at 30 MPH. This equates to burning a lot more fuel and more strain on the engine.
The spitfire appeals to me as the Alpha 4 prop seemed like the best fit for my boat so far, and if the spitfire brings the acceleration and brings back some top end, it might be the prop for me.
Has anyone had the Alpha 4 prop and then switched to a Spitfire? Did you notice a difference... better acceleration and top speed?? Also would I stay with the same pitch as the 19 pitch blackmax that came with the original boat and gave me the best top end?
