4 Blade Vs 3 blade

JimFromMD said:
Ok so I called and have a message in to two guys there at hill, and anticipate a call back within the next hour or 2. Early reports are that they may be able to work something for us.
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I spoke with Chad from Hill Marine and he said that they would offer a 10% discount if you mention that you are coming from clubsearay.

Looks like you guys with Alpha drives will have a less expensive upgrade from them. Bravo II props are significantly more, but in talking with Chad and discussing my performance (out of the hole, and minimum RPMs to hold plane), he thinks I will see quite a significant improvement. He said in comparison to my 17.75x21 pitch aluminum 3-blade props, I could expect a quicker hole shot, hold plane longer at a lower RPM, and also see improved maneuverability around the pier and in general. I'm really excited to give it a go. Just have to verify my current prop size/pitch, and get some speed/RPM readings for him to double check his recommendations.
 
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Interesting read (I should have not opened it!).

It would seem most of you guys have outdrives. What do you think would be the results with 4-blades for a V-drive? I have an 86 300DB with twin mercs. According to the chart I have 17 X 15 3-bladed props.
 
JimFromMD said:
I spoke with Chad from Hill Marine and he said that they would offer a 10% discount if you mention that you are coming from clubsearay.

Looks like you guys with Alpha drives will have a less expensive upgrade from them. Bravo II props are significantly more, but in talking with Chad and discussing my performance (out of the hole, and minimum RPMs to hold plane), he thinks I will see quite a significant improvement. He said in comparison to my 17.75x21 pitch aluminum 3-blade props, I could expect a quicker hole shot, hold plane longer at a lower RPM, and also see improved maneuverability around the pier and in general. I'm really excited to give it a go. Just have to verify my current prop size/pitch, and get some speed/RPM readings for him to double check his recommendations.
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So do you just tell them what you have and they tell you what you need? I want to make sure I don't suffer too much top end speed loss.
 
I think I lost about 3 MPH off WOT by switching to a 4 blade prop. I switched because I have a 15 year old that likes to go tubing with his friends and I wanted something to get me up on plane faster. However my mpg seems to have increased at mid range and cruising speeds.
 
floriduramax1 said:
So do you just tell them what you have and they tell you what you need? I want to make sure I don't suffer too much top end speed loss.
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You should call Hill Marine and talk to them. Ron Hill lays claim to having been in the propeller business for 35 years.
 
floriduramax1 said:
So do you just tell them what you have and they tell you what you need? I want to make sure I don't suffer too much top end speed loss.
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Hey Donnie,
You tell them what you have now on your boat. They will want to know what your WOT RPMs are, WOT speed, and then also your RPMs/speed for getting on and holding plane. He also asked what performance issue(s) I was trying to correct/improve (hole shot, staying on plane slower, etc).

Chad was banging away on a calculator or computer program in the background based on the info I gave, calculating slip ratios and working on improvements. He asked me to go verify all my running data this weekend and also (since I did not buy my current props and am not the original owner of the boat) to see if the props had been repaired or modified in any way size/pitch wise from what their original markings were. (Measure from the center of the spline to the edge of the prop to be sure that the diameter is correct and not shaved to remove a ding etc).

Based on that he had some initial recommendations for pitch and prop diameter to compensate for the extra blade and keep me within the recommended WOT range for my motors.

Without another experience to go on, I was really impressed with what I was hearing and the process so far.



Phlorida said:
You should call Hill Marine and talk to them. Ron Hill lays claim to having been in the propeller business for 35 years.
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Correct... Chad and Ron are the guru guys to talk to apparently at Hill. Make sure you also mention that you're part of the discussion going on here at CSR so that you can hopefully get a discount and also confirm that it's been quite a lively discussion as I told them.
 
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Chad who is the or one of the owners is very easy to get hold of on phone. very nice and knowledgeable. He is very good at what he does because that is all he does. Hoping for at least at 10-20% increase in fuel and if I don't get that much just the handling improvements on the boat I think are worth the change. He also swaps them out if he doesn't nail it on the first pass. The other thing I noticed is you corner better/more effectively without the stern sinking into the hole and dropping lots of speed. I am eager to continue test as soon as I can get out in some open water but first impressions seem very good! Rob
 
Phlorida said:
The Bravo II prop weighs nearly 35 pounds, that is a lot of stainless.
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Good point! I missed that, and it explains the additional expense over Alpha props. Now im curious to go back and look at their bravo III options and see what they weigh / cost. (Then maybe count my blessings I have a BII).
 
floriduramax1 said:
Looks like he had good luck! Now we need to find out what size replaces ours in a 4 blade! I'm ready to pull the trigger!
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Yes, great news to hear, thanks for the update! Impressive. I was planning on upgrading the stereo system, but this may be money better spent....:)
 
This looks like an upgrade too good to ignore. Thanks for this thread!
 
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Did the OP ever upgrade ?? I have the same boat and was wondering how it worked out
 
So Bummed! The wind was blowing the water out of the river all weekend and kept the water level so low I couldnt get the boat off the lift to go get my performance statistics for Hill to diagnose and use for recommendations on new 4-blades.
 
JimFromMD said:
So Bummed! The wind was blowing the water out of the river all weekend and kept the water level so low I couldnt get the boat off the lift to go get my performance statistics for Hill to diagnose and use for recommendations on new 4-blades.
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That sux! This weather pattern is terrible. I wanted to go out also...but noooo!! Now I'm loaded up at the shop and it looks like at lease 2 months of 7 days/week of work and no play :(
 
Did anyone else gets the composite from Piranha other one mentioned it here? I'm interested to get some for my yet-to-buy boat, hopefully a Regal 2760 or Sundancer 280.

Thanks.

Nhi
 
Hai Nhi said:
Did anyone else gets the composite from Piranha other one mentioned it here? I'm interested to get some for my yet-to-buy boat, hopefully a Regal 2760 or Sundancer 280.

Thanks.

Nhi
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I used a Piranha 4 blade on my Regal 2465 w/ a Volvo 5.0L 220HP Carb linked to an SX Drive. The prop was tremendous. The company was a pleasure to work with. When I worked with them, they had a blade exchange program that would allow you to dial in your prop to your boat. I was fortunate in that the first prop they recommended worked perfectly. I like the prop for a couple of reasons. There is far less unsprung weight to deal with at the shaft which means more power to move the boat. Also, a freind hit a "turtle" with his stainless props on his Regal. Stainless has no give. IIRC, he did over $7K in damage to his outdrives. The breakaway blades would have precluded that.

I have nothing but good to say about the company. I wish they made inboard props.

FTR, I have no interest in the company financially or otherwise. I am just a satisfied customer.

WRT your boat choice, If it's the Regal I'm thinking of, I believe you will be happier with it over the SR providing it has the slotted hull and Volvo's. The mileage is better and Volvo water pumps are easier to get to and replace. If it has Volvos and they are the plastic drives, stay away. They suck and Volvo offers no support.

My 2 cents.
 
How you recognize plastic drive or not?

the regal I looked at had been opoxied. So that's not plastic for sure, right?

I'm checking out the sea ray one today.

Nhi
 
dpmulvey said:
I used a Piranha 4 blade on my Regal 2465 w/ a Volvo 5.0L 220HP Carb linked to an SX Drive. The prop was tremendous. The company was a pleasure to work with. When I worked with them, they had a blade exchange program that would allow you to dial in your prop to your boat. I was fortunate in that the first prop they recommended worked perfectly. I like the prop for a couple of reasons. There is far less unsprung weight to deal with at the shaft which means more power to move the boat. Also, a freind hit a "turtle" with his stainless props on his Regal. Stainless has no give. IIRC, he did over $7K in damage to his outdrives. The breakaway blades would have precluded that.

I have nothing but good to say about the company. I wish they made inboard props.

FTR, I have no interest in the company financially or otherwise. I am just a satisfied customer.

WRT your boat choice, If it's the Regal I'm thinking of, I believe you will be happier with it over the SR providing it has the slotted hull and Volvo's. The mileage is better and Volvo water pumps are easier to get to and replace. If it has Volvos and they are the plastic drives, stay away. They suck and Volvo offers no support.

My 2 cents.
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You are saying the Volvo's are better than Merc's and Alpha's? Around here, we prefer Alpha's....
 
Hai Nhi said:
How you recognize plastic drive or not?

the regal I looked at had been opoxied. So that's not plastic for sure, right?

I'm checking out the sea ray one today.

Nhi
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The drive to stay away from is the Volvo Ocean Series Composite Drives. Note they are NOT the Ocean X drives.

Ocean Series Composite $(KGrHqJ,!hQE6,HENk-9BOv,zoit9g~~60_35.JPG Ocean Xvolvo_oceanx-NL.jpg


Note the fins on the composite and smooth back on the X.
 
floriduramax1 said:
You are saying the Volvo's are better than Merc's and Alpha's? Around here, we prefer Alpha's....
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The engines are all GM origin today. Unless something's changed, I believe you have to disassemble the lower unit to change the water pump on an Alpha. What were they thinking when they designed that? The Volvo raw water impeller is mounted in the front of the engine. It's a 1 hour DIY the first time. Maybe 20 minutes after that and can be done in the boat in the water.
 
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