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Thread: Prop pitch - need help

  1. #1
    FingerTight
    Hi all, hope everyone is having a great summer! I had a question about choosing a prop for my boat and thought you all here would be a great resource. So, here goes.
    Details:
    - '89 Ultra open bow
    - 20 feet long
    - Shallow V
    - '89 175 Mercury Black Max
    - 12 inch setback mount
    I have been running a TorqueShift prop on the boat for a number of years now and absolutely love it. Unfortunately the company that sells them is out of business and the prop has seen one too many runs through the sand...needs a rebuild. This leaves me in the market for a fixed blade prop with no idea where to start.
    The boat is used 100% for water skiing on the river so pulling power is my goal, couldn't really care less about top speed. That being said I don't want a prop that will allow me to over rev too bad.
    Questions:
    - How many blades to go with and the advantages / disadvantages of each?
    - What diameter prop do I need, assume this is set by what will fit the engine?
    - The big one, what pitch should I run to achieve my goals?
    Thanks in advance!
    - Rick

  2. #2
    dicudmore
    try talking with Kevin at R&R prop shop (Henderson, NV) great guy with a wealth of prop and set up knowledge. He is an outboard guy and will probably have a good guesstimate off the top of his head. 702-564-7502

  3. #3
    FingerTight
    try talking with Kevin at R&R prop shop (Henderson, NV) great guy with a wealth of prop and set up knowledge. He is an outboard guy and will probably have a good guesstimate off the top of his head. 702-564-7502
    Awesome! Just spoke with Kevin, thanks for the tip, great guy and full of knowledge. Here is their website for anyone that might be looking for the same info: http://www.randrpropshop.com/ For anyone reading and looking for the same info, here is what I have so far:
    - How many blades to go with and the advantages / disadvantages of each?
    More surface area = acceleration, buy as many blades as you can afford.
    - What diameter prop do I need, assume this is set by what will fit the engine?
    Engine can fit up to a 16", would probably be too much, 15" is likely where I want to be.
    - The big one, what pitch should I run to achieve my goals?
    A 19 or 20 pitch will give me the pulling power and still have reasonable top end.
    Cheers,
    - Rick

  4. #4
    STVBOY
    19p merc high 5 would be your best bet!

  5. #5
    FingerTight
    19p merc high 5 would be your best bet!
    Was looking at those but they only come in one (13 1/4) diameter, is this because they are 5 blade props? (less diameter with the same or more blade area)
    Anyone have one they want to get rid of?

  6. #6
    bilgewiper
    I have a simular sized boat with a '89 200 black max. I have a High 5 (21" pitch for watersports) it is a awesome ski prop. Won't blow out/cavitate in corners and really hooks up coming out of the hole. But, it is a total bore above 45mph. Trim really has no effect and it "sounds" like all the those blades are getting in the way of themselves . Oh yea, and reverse sucks the big one with a 5 blade but thats really a non-issue. My fun prop is a Merc Trophy Plus 4 blade 24" which is a dog out of the hole but response to trim is really fun and it runs a honest 10 mph faster on the top end. I really wish I had the same 4blade in 22 pitch for all around use.

  7. #7
    FingerTight
    I have a simular sized boat with a '89 200 black max. I have a High 5 (21" pitch for watersports) it is a awesome ski prop. Won't blow out/cavitate in corners and really hooks up coming out of the hole. But, it is a total bore above 45mph. Trim really has no effect and it "sounds" like all the those blades are getting in the way of themselves . Oh yea, and reverse sucks the big one with a 5 blade but thats really a non-issue. My fun prop is a Merc Trophy Plus 4 blade 24" which is a dog out of the hole but response to trim is really fun and it runs a honest 10 mph faster on the top end. I really wish I had the same 4blade in 22 pitch for all around use.
    Thanks for the reply, sounds like a 20 or 21 High 5 is what I am looking for. That really only gets you to 45 though? Man...I can run 60+ with my TorqueShift 3 blade (set to a max of 24 or so I think). Must be all that extra rotating mass in the High 5... What causes reverse to suck with a 5 blade?

  8. #8
    bilgewiper
    Actually the High Five on mine will run about 52-54mph but anything past 45 sounds bad as the prop makes a "whirring?" sound with trim being pretty much useless. Might be because my prop height is a little too high for that prop at that speed. My engine is on a 16" setback running on the 3rd hole up. It's so underpropped that I can only use full throttle for about 3 seconds and I'm over-revving at 6200+ rpm. With boat loaded with 6+ people pulling water toys etc it is a perfect prop though. With my Trophy Plus it's always low to mid 60's pending load/weather.etc. Your old Touque shift had the best of both worlds. If you switch to a High Five pitched to your skiing needs you will probably lose some top end no matter what, but at skiing speeds you will be much happier. Good luck......it's only money (ouch!)

  9. #9
    bilgewiper
    Oh, I didn't answer the "reverse" question. ..........I would assume by looking at the High Five prop that it just can't get a good bite in reverse because the next blades are too close to each other with the rake angle(?) compounding the problem. Reverse does work but it is noticably not hooking up like a 3blade.

  10. #10
    FingerTight
    Ouch indeed, those High 5s aren't cheap! Thanks for the info bildewiper, appreciate it! Your thought on the reverse thing makes sense, how bad does it suck? (Can you, say, hold against current / back up current in the river?)

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