Best Propellor for 05 Sea Ray 185 Sport

It has the 4.3 Mercruiser and the Alpha one outboard. Got the prop pretty banged up trying to load the boat as a storm blew in last weekend, and I'm shopping for a replacement. The one on it now is aluminum...and I'm fine with replacing it with that.

I just wondered if you more knowledgable folks here might have some recommendations.

Thanks!

It depends. You haven't really given enough information to get an informed response. What are you looking to do with your boat? Are you looking for top speed? Holeshot/watersports performance? Somewhat of an all around kinda prop? What is your budget? Stainless steel props are much more expensive than aluminum props. You really also need to know what your WOT (wide open throttle) rpm was with your current prop as well as the pitch of your current prop. If you don't already know that, it may be hard to come by if you've dinged it up. If you can give us some more info, you'll get some good recommendations.

Reach out to Ken at Prop Gods:

Ken Reeves
KR@Propgods.com
941 735 5808

He's super knowledgeable and helpful. Helped me get my 19P High Five for my 19SPX.

A four blade 18 pitch would be my choice, and manually keep it from over-revving on the top. I prefer low end pulling power for watersports.

Right...so, I'm pretty sure the pitch on the one I have now is 23" and it's a three blade-re numbers on the prop say 23P.

I went with the three blade because, at the time, I didn't want to sacrifice top running speed. Now we are spending a lot of time on Lake Oconee in Georgia and, when the lake is really busy, it can get pretty choppy out there...so, I'm kind of not all that concerned with how fast I can run, but how well the boat handles in rougher conditions. At 19', she gets a little tossed around out there in the rougher water. But, yeah...generally, speaking, I'm just looking for best overall handling and best overall performance...the girls don't like to run at top speed, anyway.

Budget tops out at about 200.00, just because I've also got a major truck service due.

I should mention, too, that the prop isn't so banged up that the boat handles noticeably worse than before...I've thought about just taking my grinder to the edges and smoothing them out to buy me some time and maybe save up for a stainless steel one...

And thanks...I'll definitely give Ken a call to see what he thinks.

Cheers!

Your cheapest solution would probably be to find a local prop shop and have the prop you have now repaired. You'd be surprised how affordable it is to have a prop reconditioned. This assumes you're happy with that prop. I'm just guessing here, but I would think your boat would be a bit sluggish accelerating with a 23p prop, so if you wanted a little better holeshot and only give up a couple mph in top speed, I'd look at getting a 21p prop. Stay with aluminum to keep the cost down. Might even want to consider Mercury's 4 blade aluminum prop. It would have a bit more bite and help with low speed planning. Again, a good prop shop could really be your best resource here, if you can find one near you. They can make excellent recommendations and will usually let you try different props until you find the right one.

Tough to say without RPM and speed results but my suggestion would be to buy a 4 blade aluminum like the Merc/"Quicksilver Nemesis in a 19 or 21P. Then take your 3 blade and get it rebuilt. Use the one that gives you the best performance based on what you are looking for and keep the other as a spare. Based on your description of your use and lake conditions, I think you will really like the way the 4 blade performs. Ultimate goal is to be as close to the top end of your recommended rpm range with either of the two props. As was mentioned above a good prop shop should be able to help you with a recommendation.

Well, according to the books on my engine, top RPMs at WOT is between 4400 and 4800. To be honest, I'm not sure I've ever hit that--I'm usually taking the girls out and they don't like to run fast, so I don't really recall what the RPMs were the very few times I've been at full throttle...and certainly don't think I've ever gotten more than +/- 40 MPH with this thing. It IS pretty sluggish coming out of the hole, so I'm thinking maybe a 21P is the way to go...it's also a 14" diameter...should I go with less than that? I'll say this...the speedometer quit working for a bit and I just got it working again, but right now there seems to be about a 5MPH difference between what the RPMs are and what the speed on the boat speedometer is...but I also use the Navionics app on my iPhone for speed readings, and that number coincides more closely with the RPMs...if I'm at 3000 RPMs, it has me running around 29-30 MPH, but the speedometer on the boat has me around 25...could this be a problem with the prop, too?

The nearest prop shop to my location is about four hours away--but, I will be headed up that direction in a couple of weeks to visit friends on Lake Lanier and might just take them the boat and all and let them give me some recommendations. I really want to be able to get the boat on plane faster, am usually running with passengers who are not interested in going super-fast, and really need to get the boat to where it will absorb wake better. So, if you guys think the smaller pitch and maybe a four blade will do the trick, I'm about ready to try anything. Maybe this prop shop at Lanier will help.

Thanks, all!
CK

Going with the Quicksilver Nemesis 14X21P four blade...hope to get to try it out this coming weekend!!!

Thanks, all, for all the help!

Report back and let us know how it works out for you.

I definitely will.

One quick question-the videos that I've watched on changing out the props show the use of a specific prop wrench for the job and they encourage greasing the shaft.

Should I get one of those wrenches, or would a regular wrench work alright? And, is there a specific grease that I should use?

I regular socket works if you have one big enough. I use anti seize lube on the prop shaft. Without original numbers it just a guess but I think the 19P might be a better choice. Let us know how it turns out.

The prop shop I talked to recommended the 21P without hesitation. He said I'd notice almost no drop in top speed but would notice better planing and hope shot and handling in rougher waters immediately. We'll see-gotta be better than what I've been seeing.

Can I get that grease at an auto parts store, or should I go to a marine shop?

I use waterproof grease on my prop shaft. Should be available at most autoparts store along with anti-seize if you choose to go that route.

If your original prop was close to optimum then going to a 4 blade will drop your top end speed. What you will gain with the 4 blade is better hole shot, lower planing speed and better low speed control.