prop question

[Erzulie]

my mechanic (who seems kind of lost sometimes) ordered a new prop for my boat. It was a solas 14.8 17 pitch. I have a 99 sea ray bowrider 180 3.0l. The old prop was a 19 pitch. Well long story short, after 3 times of calling me and saying my boat was ready when it was not, today i went down and the prop he ordered (the solas) still have not arrived. He went in the back room and found a prop he said was a perfect fit. Its an evinrude prop (marked) 14.8 17 pitch. He put it on and i was on my way. Getting home, i looked this up. Evinrude does not list my boat as one that their props fit. Is this something i should be worried about?

 

[Arminius]

Who knows? The hubs may damp vibration or slip when overloaded by an obstruction. I like to improvise but go with manufacturers' recommendations when high dollar components could be compromised.

 

[Lazy Daze]

Just because Evinrude doesn't list it, really doesn't mean anything. What matters is... DOES it fit correctly and how it performs for your boat. That said...

17" is WAY low. IIRC, those 180's used either a 21" or 23" depending on the model year. Go to Sea Ray's website and double check me - in the owner's section, prop matrix.

However, you can certainly use a lower pitch prop - you'll get a great hole shot but quite a lot of speed and will be running a much higher RPM during normal cruising speeds. You WILL have to make sure you don't over rev the engine (it will be easy to do with that prop) - but you are probably already used to that since you were already running a smaller pitch prop.

 

[Erzulie]

Just because Evinrude doesn't list it, really doesn't mean anything. What matters is... DOES it fit correctly and how it performs for your boat. That said...

17" is WAY low. IIRC, those 180's used either a 21" or 23" depending on the model year. Go to Sea Ray's website and double check me - in the owner's section, prop matrix.

However, you can certainly use a lower pitch prop - you'll get a great hole shot but quite a lot of speed and will be running a much higher RPM during normal cruising speeds. You WILL have to make sure you don't over rev the engine (it will be easy to do with that prop) - but you are probably already used to that since you were already running a smaller pitch prop.

Thanks so much for explaining that for me. I asked for a new prop because we use the boat mainly for recreation with 3-6 adults. I noticed when pulling my son on the tube it was sluggish. As far as speed, we are using the boat mainly on the River in town and there is a small area that is deep enough to run...((around 1/2 mile)). We have not gotten to a lake yet, but i wont be doing an LONG RANGE boating so speed is not really much of an issue. Im happy with 25-30 mph. ((boat went 35 or more with the old prop...i never topped it out)). It does fit. (i checked for free spin and fitment after he put it on) I will let you know how it performs after we get it out on the water this weekend. Thank you guys so much for your speedy reply.

 

[Lazy Daze]

I think what you're going to find is that running 25-30MPH with a 17" prop is going to put you pretty near max rpm, which isn't really a good thing for long run times... but it seems you don't have those so it may not be all that important. Good luck!

 

[Erzulie]

Had it out today for around 4 hours with my fiancee, and son, and all our gear. ((cooler filled with ice, snacks etc.)). I also brought a GPS speedo for accuracy. At around 2500 rpm i was able to plane well, and go 8 mph. Getting on plane took me 3-5 seconds tops with my son either in the bow or in the back, it did not matter. WOT i was turning 4600 rpm at close to 35mph. A more comfortable speed for me was 3500 rpm to 4000 rm and i was between 25 and 30mph. I also noticed it was much easier for me to dock the boat, it felt more responsive. You guys were pretty dead on with what i would expect and i thank you so much for the advice. I failed to mention that the mechanic went to a 14.8 size prop vs the 14.25 that was on it. All in all I think this prop is going to fill my needs pretty well.

 

[El Capitan]

Hmmm. I had (signature) a 2.5L 120hp with a SS prop 19" and I did 35+ at 4200-4300 rpm but I could cruise and get on plane at 2000-2200 rpm and approx 18mph. I tried a Solas 4-blade dropping to 17" and it was junk. Used it once and gave it away. My boat was a 1971-2 SRV180. It was heavy for its size since back then they used lots of wood on the boat. Best thing I did was install trim tabs. Great boat and I regret the day I sold it.

 

[Erzulie]

im sure this one would have done 35 mph+ with the old prop ((14.25x19)) but to be completely honest, 30 is fine for me, especially on a river. You never know when a log is going to "Magicaly" appear in front of you. ((saw one floating on a busy boat day floating down the river and tied one of my expensive colorful bumpers to it...cheaper for me than for a guy to hit it)). I grew up boating and we had big boats...(30ft-40ft) and little ones (fishing boats with small outboards)....this is what i call a "middle" boat. It doesnt handle like either, and there is a little learning curve when it comes to docking. After the last part of last season i think i got the hang of it though, and this new prop really makes a difference.