230 Weekenders with 5.7 Mercruiser 260 hp--What Pitch Prop are you running?

[malajoy]

Hello Fellow Weekender Owners,
I am wondering what pitch prop you guys are running on your 230 WE with the 5.7 Mercruiser.

Can you tell me what pitch you are running as well as your WOT RPM?

I am running a 17 pitch Mercruiser OEM aluminum prop, but am only turning 4200 RPM at WOT. The boat performs just fine, but I believe I am falling well below the power band which should be 4600-4800 at WOT. The holeshot is pretty decent, but I would like it better for when I have more people in the boat. I am thinking about switching to a 15P, but want to know if you guys are running that size on this boat. Dropping to a 15 should give me more holeshot, and increase the WOT RPM at the same time.
Matt

 

[Nehalennia]

Yes you are correct in stating that by dropping in pitch from 17 to 15 will provide a better hole shot but you want to make sure your engine is running well and can get to that higher RPM before the swap. IF you're all tuned up and running right, the jump to a 15" may be the way to go and keep the 17" for a spare. Many prop shops (or at least the one I use) offers test props to figure out what you want before you buy. Good luck.

 

[malajoy]

UPDATE: I installed an OEM 15P Mercruiser aluminum prop, and I gained bigtime holeshot and also gained top end. My holeshot is very fast, quick to plane even with a load of people. Also, my max RPM at wide open throttle is now 4800RPM. Just where it should be. Have not run the boat against the GPS, but I assume it is in the 45mph range. The boat previously ran 41mph on GPS at only 4200 RPM max with a 17P and a load of people. I will try to GPS it before the season is over. I am very happy with the 15P prop.

 

[EricW]

Good to hear that your performance improved with the 15" pitch. But if your hitting 4800 at WOT, you are technically overrevving your older 260 hp/350.

The older Mercruiser 260 hp/350 cid had a recommended WOT range of 4200-4600. I'm not sure if being able to hit 4800 will be a problem for your engine ---- it may not be a concern because most of us rarely run at WOT much. I just wanted to let you know that the max recommended RPMs on the older 5.7 260s was 4600.