4 blade prop on 97 250DA

I'm looking for some advice from anyone already using a 4 blade prop on their 250's. Mine is a 1997 with a 5.7L mated to a bravo 2. Seems to work good considering it's size but I read a lot of positive comments around swapping to a 4 blade prop on these cruisers. I've been mostly staying in the off idle or just beyond planing speed range for our rides and from what I've read the 4 blade prop really improves these areas. Can anyone share experiences with this or even let me know what prop they ended up with? Not really sure where to go for advice on buying a prop and dont really want to experiment considering what they cost.
Thanks

Water Boy said:

I'm looking for some advice from anyone already using a 4 blade prop on their 250's. Mine is a 1997 with a 5.7L mated to a bravo 2. Seems to work good considering it's size but I read a lot of positive comments around swapping to a 4 blade prop on these cruisers. I've been mostly staying in the off idle or just beyond planing speed range for our rides and from what I've read the 4 blade prop really improves these areas. Can anyone share experiences with this or even let me know what prop they ended up with? Not really sure where to go for advice on buying a prop and dont really want to experiment considering what they cost.
Thanks

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Following I have an old 268 with a 7.4 and B1 drive with the price of fuel we need to economize

Well does anyone know what the specs are for the stock prop on a 97 250? Mine has no real markings on it. Diameter appears to be 17" but not sure of the pitch.

You will need to know the gear ratio in your outdrive before you want to change anything.
I replaced the pre alpha in my 245 with a '98 Bravo 2 with 5.7. Love it! It has the 2:1 ratio and is fitted with a SS 17.75 x 21 Merc prop. Not a 4 blade but here is the numbers I get and would not want to change them.
https://www.generalpropeller.com/48-18616A6
Will easily hold boat on step (19-20 knts) at 3000 rpm. Found cruising at 3300 (24-26 knts) 11.8 GPH average. The WOT is about 4300. We are usually running around at 7000-7500 lbs.

My brother in law and I went through this also and going to a 4 blade Bravo 1 19 greatly improved the performance and attitude of our boats. They had a 89' 268 DA with 7.4/bravo 1 and we had a 90' 270DA with the same combo. I was able toget try a few different props through a local prop shop and had mixed results. Mirage 17(Factory prop) Mirage 19, Solas 4 15 and 17 Titan, and a couple others I cant recall. None seemed to be the 1. The boat would either not quite get nosed over on plane or would get up and have a nice attitude but cruise at +/-4000rpms and that was no fun for riders or our wallet! The Solas Hr4 titan 17 seemed to be the best of them.......and then my brother inlaw said try my prop. Hos boat was out for the season so what could it hurt? It's a Mercruiser Bravo 1 4 blade 19 with all the cav plugs out. What a difference. Came up out of the water nice and planed out around 33-3400 rpms. The stern rode higher ,Top speed went from 26 knots to 31 and it was a much nicer overall experience for all on board. The downfall is they are experience but over the course of a season we saved money on fuel and enjoyed the ride much more. A much friendlier experience! Good luck!

Thanks for the reply. From what I've read so far my boat and our riding style is a good fit for a 4 blade prop. I just have to figure out what to try. I'm thinking the factory prop on my boat is a 17.5 x 23. I found one 4 blade that's a 18.25 x 20. From what I've read that sounds like it makes sense because I would want to go down in pitch for the extra blade and diameter.