Prop for Mercury 150 Outboard on a 2018 ‘19 SPX?

[gkuypers]

Wondering if anyone has changed the stock Mercury 150 aluminum prop on a 2018 ‘19 SPX OB? I’ve read some online and it seems most fisherman switch to a 19 pitch Tempest or Enertia, but haven’t seen much information about a prop change on Sea Ray outboards? Thanks in advance for the suggestions.

 

[Bridog]

Why the change? Hole shot, speed?

 

[gkuypers]

We take it through cuts in the lake and it seems when making sharp sudden turns we lose a bunch of speed. It also seems to have a lot of cavitation (at least that’s what I’d call it). Also wouldn’t mind a bit more top end speed. Out of the hole even with 6-8 people it seems to do pretty good getting on plane.

 

[Bridog]

Seems like a common occurrence on this boat. There are quite a few others on the 19-21SPX thread that have had similiar problems with their OB. Our boat was delivered with the outboard positioned slightly lower in the water. Later a service bulletin was issued to have it raised. It was explained to me through the bulletin, and verified through my dealer MM, that it wasn't a safety issue but rather a performance related bulletin. Since my performance was great, I decided to not have it corrected. This will not help with your top end however. Actually, it may reduce it. I've hit 47-49 and to be honest, I don't feel comfortable on this size boat going any faster than that. Always jumped quick on plane. What is your WOT now? If no one else chimes in you may want to see if lowering the outboard some solves the problem you are experiencing. Good luck, Brian

 

[gkuypers]

Thanks for the information Bridog. I believe my top speed so far WOT is around 44-45 mph. Probably not as concerned with going much faster as I am with cornering performance through the cuts. I was hoping a change to a stainless prop would help with this performance without losing top speed.