Prop selection for a 2001 Sea Ray (Wakeboarding)

[Jasonandjess]

Hey again, not another one for the group. I have a 2001 Sea Ray 185 Bow Rider with a 4.3L Mercruiser Alpha 1 and I think i need a new prop.

The prop thats on it is a 3 blade, 14.25X21P. It runs great and get up on plane ok but when I pull a wakeboarder I have to have it pitched all the way down and everyone in the boat go to the bow or it will take forever to plane, even at full throttle. Oh, the WOT is about 4600 RPM.

I am thinking about going to a 4 blade, 14.25"X19P. I know it will take some from my top end and I might over rev it full open but getting out of the hole fast, for pulling a wakeboarder, is more important, I think.

Any insight or help with this would be great.

Jason and Jess

 

[hblock72]

It'd be worth your time to also look into a Mercury High5 prop. It's a stainless steel 5 blade prop made specifically for watersports. I put one on my 4.3l 185 and now have holeshot to spare.

 

[Weave]

The way I understand your scenario you would benefit from the 4 or 5 blade prop...Typically the provide more stern lift, faster planing and lower planing speeds.

 

[julians]

I have a hifive prop on my 200 select, holeshot is significantly better, planing speed is lower, its easier to hold speed.

Downsides are slightly lower top speed, by maybe 2 mph, and slightly worse fuel economy.

Worth it for the wakeboarding improvement.

 

[AR185]

A more effective and much less expensive solution would be to install the Nauticus Smartabs.

I installed the tabs and a new prop, but got much more noticeable results from the tabs

 

[hblock72]

I've not seen it with my own eyes, but have heard that trim tabs will "wash out" the wake, which may be counterproductive for wakeboarding. Again, I'm not sure, but it'd be worth researching.

 

[brad56]

After lots of research we opted for the high 5 19p Prop on our 190hp 185 sport as we wakeboard with the boat 95% of the time. The results have been fantastic better out of the hole, it handles better and the fuel economy has improved.The top end may have dropped off a little but we never go there.
We have also found that without passengers in the front a ballast bag brings the wake up nicely

 

[Sluggo33]

The water seems warm here so I'm going to jump right in. I've done a search and whatnot, but I'm looking for some pretty specific info. I have a 2008 175 Sport. It has the stock 14.5 x 19P prop on it. I've had to have the prop repaired 2 times in the last three years. The first time my pops (30+ year boater ran over something) then last weekend while out, I took my turn. I don't know what I hit, but the damage was pretty insignificant. Only minor damage to one of the blades, but that got me to thinking about getting a more durable prop.

As I said before, my current prop is a 14.5 x 19P (Aluminum), and a local guy here has a almost new (no damage at all) Apollo SS 4 blade 14.25 x 20P for $225. What kind of changes can I expect, and am I messing with fire here? I've heard some people say they prefer the aluminum because it's more forgiving when you hit something, however, I'm tired of repairing props.

We do some tubing, and wakeboarding, and I'm planning on getting a tower this summer or next, although the boat is primarily for crusing and parking. Here are some questions, but feel free to add whatever info you want...

1. Even though the prop is 20P, since it's a 4 blade will it plane out faster and have lower planing speeds?

2. Does the 1/4" difference in diameter affect anything?

3. I hear that 4 blades get a little better few economy. This true?

4. My current WOT with the 19P and and 3 passengers is about 5100rpm (I never "run" it above 4800). Will this raise or lower that? And should I be concerned?

Thanks!

Here's the damage...only on one blade??? I'm not getting any vibrations or anything so I guess it's not TOO bad, I just know I don't want to run it like this much...

 

[Jasonandjess]

So it's split between the lower pitch 4 blade prop and the smart tabs but I think I'm gonna try the tabs first. We have one sport boat place in town so I'll stop by this weekend and see if they have any in stock. Thanks again for your help guys. I'll post the results when I get everything installed and tested.

 

[Sluggo33]

Prop Update for those interested....

I went ahead and purchased the Apollo SS 4 Blade 14.125"x20P prop and installed and ran it this weekend. The water was a bit choppy, so I didn't really have a chance to play with it much. It didn't get on plane as fast as I had hoped, but I did have the boat fairly weighted down with about 4 passengers and a full tank of gas. I'm looking forward to getting it out this week on better water (weather permitting) and only 3 passengers. I'll take both props to the lake and record plane times, rpms, plane speeds, and top speeds.

Stay tuned...

:thumbsup:

 

[julians]

I'd expect a 4 blade 20p prop to be slower out of the hole than a 3 blade 19p prop.

 

[Jasonandjess]

Smart tabs are installed, after a little back and forth with the company about how to mount the SX tabs on a curves transom. I let everyone know how it works out. Still thinking of biting the bullet and getting a Merc High Five but we will see.

 

[Sluggo33]

Okay so the results are in. For the record, I had about 3/4 fuel and 3 passengers (500lbs-ish). The water wasn't glass, but it was good enough to get a couple of good runs in.

What I found was the 3 blade was out of the hole quicker (not surprised) but topped out slower (not surprised), and the rpms @ WOT would approach 5100 all trimmed out. My guess is with a couple of more people in the boat it would settle in right at 4800rpm @ WOT.

3 Blade Aluminum Prop 14.5"x19P (OEM)

Start to Plane - 6 secs (Avg by stopwatch)
Plane held - 18mph to 20mph (inconsistent)
Top Speed @ 4800rpm - 45mph (speedo)

What I found with the 4 blade was a little slower out of the hole but at WOT the boat was dead nuts 4800rpm. The boat at slow speeds seemed to manuever MUCH better. Backing was a dream and navigation around the docks was night and day.

4 Blade SS Prop 14.125"x20P (Apollo XHS)

Start to Plane - 7 secs (aver by stopwatch)
Plane held - 18mph to 20mph (inconsistent)
Top Speed @ 4800rpm - 48mph (speedo)

That said, I may start looking for an 18P in a 4 blade prop. I'm not worried at all about top speed, but would still like to get out of the hole a little quicker for pulling the occassional wakeboarder/tube and typically I have atleast 3 in the boat. Like I said before, some of the references I got off the web said that a 4 blade + 1" of pitch will equal a 3 blade (4 blade 20P = 3 blade 19P). My guess is a 4 blade 18P will operate about the same as a 3 blade 17P? I'm pretty sure I don't want to go below that. I'd prefer stainless, but may settle on aluminum. With this low of a hp boat is there really a performance difference or is it just a durability difference?

I'm looking on ebay and craigslist for this. If anyone runs across a 4 blade 14"x18P to 14.5"x18P SS or Alum that's a "good" deal, let me know!

And anyone interested, I'll be selling my current Apollo XHS 14.125"x20P SS for the $225 I have in it. Seems about perfect for someone that only has 1 or two passengers with little to no watersports. Or may be the perfect fit for a 4.3L?

Thanks and hope this helps with the recent influx of prop/3.0L questions!