Wrong props installed update.

Carpediem44DB

Carpediem44DB

Well-Known Member
Aug 18, 2015
3,230
Sanfransico Bay area
Boat Info
2000 Carver 506
2006 44 DB Sedan Bridge
Engines
Volvo TAMD 74 P
I started to tell the saga of having the wrong props on my 06 44DB last week. Here is an update with some back ground.
Long story short, I am the second owner of the boat and I never questioned which props were installed until I noticed fellow cruisers with virtually the same boats were getting considerably better performance than I am. After a little digging I found that I have 24/27s installed and my WOT RPM is 2680. According to Searay's records, the boat left the factory with the 26/27s and should see o my 2600 at WOT, but the 24/27s were an option. I verified with Michigan wheel that the serial numbers on my wrong props were purchased by Searay in July of 05. My boat was finished in August of 05. There is no record of the original owner ordering the boat with other than standard props so I am guessing that someone at Searay blew it and installed the wrong props. I have begun the dialogue with searay to see what if any responsibility they will accept and work with me to get a set of props installed that will make the boat perform as advertised. If anyone has any input or suggestions that would be helpful I'd love to hear it.
Rusty
 
I know it's $$, but buying a new set and keeping these as spares would be an option - if the budget allows, this is what I would do.
Change the pitch on your current props - 2" of pitch might be too much to change, I'm not sure.

Swap your current props for the ones you want - did you talk with Michigan Wheel / SeaRay about that? Maybe the same conversation with a local prop shop.
(Worth a try, but doubt you will get much from SeaRay on an 11yr old 2nd owner boat - I would not expect them to do anything)
 
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Were the props on the boat when you bought it?
Did the surveyor note a lack of performance, or over RPM situation?

Ethically I can't see blaming SR....
 
Atleast you know the engines have been underpropped for the life of the boat and not overloaded. Most boats need to have pitch reduced over the years due to all the junk we carry, layers of bottom paint etc... so you may not be far off. Will you still be able to make rated RPM after adding 2" of pitch?

IMHO - I don't think SR should be involved.
 
quality time said:
Atleast you know the engines have been underpropped for the life of the boat and not overloaded. Most boats need to have pitch reduced over the years due to all the junk we carry, layers of bottom paint etc... so you may not be far off. Will you still be able to make rated RPM after adding 2" of pitch?

IMHO - I don't think SR should be involved.
Click to expand...
We'll see how the engines perform if I end up replacing the props. My guess is they will be closer to the book numbers as the two 430s I cruise with have way more time on them and they see numbers very close to Factory numbers. I don't see why a few of you guys don't think Searay should step up. By their own records a mistake was made in putting the small props on. It shouldn't matter how long ago the over site occurred. I calculate that we have spent about $6000 more in fuel over the years never suspicious of the props. I chalked it up to the several other factors that affect performance. Once we uncovered the mistake I'm just giving Searay the opportunity to step up and prove that they are a quality company. I certainly wouldn't sue for new props. Frankly I'd think they would want to know that we had a problem so they can make sure it hasn't happened to some else or doesn't in the future. I'll update if they stand up and replace the props.
 
Wow! If Sea Ray were to get involved with this scenario I think it would more than show their support for their product. It would show they want to be taken advantage of and are desperate.
 
Carpediem44DB said:
I started to tell the saga of having the wrong props on my 06 44DB last week. Here is an update with some back ground.
Long story short, I am the second owner of the boat and I never questioned which props were installed until I noticed fellow cruisers with virtually the same boats were getting considerably better performance than I am. After a little digging I found that I have 24/27s installed and my WOT RPM is 2680. According to Searay's records, the boat left the factory with the 26/27s and should see o my 2600 at WOT, but the 24/27s were an option. I verified with Michigan wheel that the serial numbers on my wrong props were purchased by Searay in July of 05. My boat was finished in August of 05. There is no record of the original owner ordering the boat with other than standard props so I am guessing that someone at Searay blew it and installed the wrong props. I have begun the dialogue with searay to see what if any responsibility they will accept and work with me to get a set of props installed that will make the boat perform as advertised. If anyone has any input or suggestions that would be helpful I'd love to hear it.
Rusty
Click to expand...
Your WOT rpm is about where it should be. Specifically what model boats and with which engines are you comparing to?
 
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Fred said:
... It would show they want to be taken advantage of and are desperate.
Click to expand...

Kinda silly sounding.
What would they be desperate for?

I probably would not have faulted SR for not stepping up on an 11 year old boat on its second owner, but I think says a lot, and in a positive way for the brand and speaks volumes about their customer service.
 
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2680 is right where you want this boat propped to. Reducing down ( or below) 2600 will overload the engine. What is the total load on the engine at WOT. Have you mapped the fuel burn across the rpm range how does that compare to the engine specs? If you want to optimize, take the data you boat is performing at now and make adjustments. It is not going to perform how you want because a brochure says so. Trade lightly on this, you have expensive engines that run great now.
 
PMC said:
2680 is right where you want this boat propped to. Reducing down ( or below) 2600 will overload the engine. What is the total load on the engine at WOT. Have you mapped the fuel burn across the rpm range how does that compare to the engine specs? If you want to optimize, take the data you boat is performing at now and make adjustments. It is not going to perform how you want because a brochure says so. Trade lightly on this, you have expensive engines that run great now.
Click to expand...
I took the boat out today and mapped the RPM/Load/speed and fuel burn for RPMs from 1100 thru WOT.
At 1700 RPM we saw 39% load 14 mph and 18Gph
at 2300 RPM we saw 66 %load 24.5 mph and 34 gph
At WOT 2680 RPM we saw 90% load 30mph and 48 gph
Test conditions: Temp 72, tide 1.0 on the stern, wind 12 quartering on the bow. 1/2 tanks fuel, full H2o and three souls on board.
Id be interested in what kind of numbers other 44DB /cummins QSC 8.3 500 HD captains are experiencing and how their boats are propped.
 
You are very slightly under-propped, you could add 1" of pitch and still be in the "safe zone", 2" will push you above the fuel curve.

Personally unless you really need that 1 extra knot of speed I would stick with what you have. Your engines have been lightly loaded their whole life and that is a VERY good thing, I just reduced my pitch by 1" to get under the fuel curve, mine have been overloaded and I am now much happier being under the curve. Loosing 1 knot of speed is a great trade off to major engine expenses!
 
Thanks for the input Swaterhouse. For sure I'd rather buy a little more fuel than prematurely wear out my engines. Big picture... fuel really is the smaller factor in owning and caring for the boat. A knot here or there is actually no factor at all for the distances we cruise in the bay and delta.
Rusty Mayes
 
Correct!

My starboard engine has probably (before I reduced pitch) been slightly overloaded for many years (new to us three years ago), so far in its life it has had:

alternator
front seal
turbo
aftercooler

the port engine was "perfectly" loaded (per the official curve) and has had nothing other than routine maintenance.

The above list was in excess of $5,000 in parts and labor. I'll take 1 knot less to save that every few years!
 
How many hours are on your engines, I've got 250 on mine, 150 of those are in the last two years. I was nervous about buying a boat with only average of ten hours/ year for ten years but so far with regular service I've seen no evidence of problems.
We will keep fingers and toes crossed.
 
It had 390 when I purchased, all the above was found and fixed before or immediately after purchase. Since then we have put on about 150 hours with zero issues. The first season we just ran a bit sower to reduce load (per surveyors and my mechanics recommendation) and then reduced pitch by 1" and all is now well within the fuel curve.
 
If Searay admitted or accepted any kind of error on their part, would that not open the door for them to be held accountable for future engine complications?
 
I think in this case they would simply be correcting a simple error in their production line/ order fulfillment protocol. They are not in anyway expected to provide custom pitched props to ensure the 11 year old boat performs to their specsheet. They may just swap my 24s for a set of 26s to equip my boat the way it was ordered. It was a stock boat ordered by Marinemax and sold as equipped according to the paperwork with 26/27 props.
ill keep posting updates as they occur. Not holding my breath
Rusty
 
thats an interesting story. i would assume nor searay neither any other boat manufacturer gives a quarantee on performance numbers like top speed , wot rpm or range - and in fact these numbers depend highly on load , sea conditions and much more. does searay even give official numbers on lets say top speed ?? i never saw this
 
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