My first outting 185 Sport.

M

Maddmike

New Member
Apr 16, 2017
17
Raleigh, NC
Boat Info
2008 185 Sport
Engines
Mercury 4.3 TKS
New to Sea Ray and to boats. Convinced my wife that having a boat will give us something to do together on the weekends. Bought a used '08 185 Sport with a Mercury 4.3. The only thing wrong with it was the skag was a little bent which caused a slight list at speed during sea trials. A SS skag guard and a rubber mallet fixed that.

Yesterday was a perfect 83 degrees and partly cloudy. Took the very pregnant wife and one of the dogs out for the day. Boat rode great. Wife and dog loved it. Wife said that it was the best day she can remember.

The prop is original and I do want to upgrade that to SS and would love some suggestions.

I'll let the pics do the rest of the talking.














 
Well that looks like the perfect day on the water. Warm, sunshine, no wind, warm water to swim in. Now THOSE are the reasons why you bought your boat. Bringing up kids on a boat is a great way to bond as a family. Keep those pics coming 'cause you're making memories along the way.
 
Nice, what lake are you at? Have not gotten in the water yet at Lake Norman, but it's about time.
 
This was at Falls lake. Since I live in North Raleigh, the closest launch is 7 minutes from my house.
 
I would definitely upgrade to a stainless prop. I would try a 3 blade 23" it will be a little slow to plane but will give you excellent top end speed. If your going to pull skiers or have the boat loaded down maybe try a 21" it will be a lot quicker but your top end will suffer. Good luck.
 
Maggieiscrazy said:
I would definitely upgrade to a stainless prop. I would try a 3 blade 23" it will be a little slow to plane but will give you excellent top end speed. If your going to pull skiers or have the boat loaded down maybe try a 21" it will be a lot quicker but your top end will suffer. Good luck.
Click to expand...

I think that is what I'll do. Any specific recommendations?
 
I like the laser II 13.75 x 21 or 23 if you go with the 21 it will come out of the hole like a rocket but you really have to be careful you don't over rev the engine and it will top out at 45-50 mph if you go with the 23 you won't have to worry about it over revving and it will top out at 60+mph. When was the last time your raw water impeller was replaced? A bad impeller can turn a good day into a really bad day In a hurry. Been there done that.
 
I have a 1999 model of that boat with the 190hp 4.3 and usually run a 14.25x21 (WOT 4900rpm / 46mph) and occasionally run a 14x23 (WOT 4600rpm / 49mph). Both are aluminum. I SS is definitely better and more $$. They do hold up better when you hit something, BUT are more likely to do damage to the outdrive. The aluminum propellers use a FloTorque hub system that is cheap to replace and will break before you do drive damage. We don't have kids around wanting to do water sports, so for cruising the aluminum propellers are just fine. Just be careful to ensure the prop allows the motor to run i n the recommended RPMS (4400-4800), under revving is just as bad as over revving.
 
I picked up a Solas Rubex 21. It should help a little with the whole shot and not affect the top end too much. They had a rubber hub that is supposed to save the out drive. I found the prop for as cheap as $200 without the hub kit (Black Bear). Add the hub kit, thrust washer, floating wrench, etc, you are at $300 which is really not bad.

I'll keep my 23 as a spare.

Edit: I went to the Mercury site and they recommend a 15" 21 prop, so I canceled the order for the 14" and ordered the 15. $50 more.
 
Last edited:
I put on the new prop last week and took it out for a spin this weekend with the wife and two dogs this time. I don't have a GPS, so I can only give indicated speed.

My previous aluminum prop was a little knicked up but nothing too serious. The fastest I got on that was 47 with about 4 seconds to plane. SS went to an indicated 54 and does plane quicker. Overall, I'm happy with it and the investment was minimal, besides it looks pretty ;).



 
To be honest, I did not capture the WOT RPM. I was too busy playing with the trim angle and concerned for my pregnant wife's comfort as it was a bit choppy yesterday. It was above 4k so maybe around 4,300 but I would have to do it again to be sure.

I found lots of speed to be gained by trimming up which tells me that I probably had more speed on the old prop but I don't want to put it back on to test that. I do like the rubber insert which is essentially a square of rubber that mounts to the shaft and matches to the inside of the square prop. The idea being that the rubber will be what gives if you hit something.
 
Yeah, so trim has a lot of effect on speed and RPM, basically trim up = less boat / drag in the water and will allow the engine to rev higher. But, there is also a sweet spot that varies depending on water conditions, load in the boat etc. WOT rpm is important, you want to make sure you are reaching it, ideally the uppend (ie if the range is 4400-4800rpm, should be able to reach 4800rpm). Running with a high pitch prop that won't allow top RPM is like driving a car around in 5th gear all the time and letting it lug along. Best thing to do is get out there and play around with the trim to see how the boat reacts.

Sounds like you and the wife are enjoying the new boat, that's the important part!
 
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