1997 Hurricane 22ft with Yamaha 115hp Outboard

[shaunlaf]

Hello all,

I'm trying to find the best prop for my new (new to me) boat. It's a 1997 Hurricane 22ft with Yamaha 115hp Outboard. I want good acceleration so I can get skiers up, I have the occasional 200lb+ male and I want to make sure not to struggle too much to get them out of the water.

I assume stainless steel, but what pitch and diameter should I get? 3 blade or 4 blade?

Thanks for your help!

 

[steelespike]

You need to read the stickys at the top of the prop page.
We need to know your present setup dry weight,Deep V? prop size(usually under the prop nut.
Light load Wot(wide open throttle) rpm and gps speed.
There are any number of props that can help without stainless.
The motor needs to be able to rev freely within the rated wot rpm range.

 

[shaunlaf]

[FONT=arial, helvetica, sans-serif]Ah, sorry. Well I just bought it and here's what I know:[/FONT]

[FONT=arial, helvetica, sans-serif]Weight: 2000lbs[/FONT]
[FONT=arial, helvetica, sans-serif]V: 10" draft[/FONT]
[FONT=arial, helvetica, sans-serif]Prop Size: [/FONT][FONT=arial, helvetica, sans-serif]13 - 1/4 - 17 (Aluminum)[/FONT]
Speed: [FONT=arial, helvetica, sans-serif]I don't know the exact speed, but we guesstimated about 35 mph.

Again, it's a 2 stroke, 115 Yamaha outboard (running at perfect compression as we just checked). Also, it does seem to rev freely with WOT and medium load.

I don't know if the RPM gauge even works, likely not.

Any thoughts?[/FONT]

 

[SkiDad]

It's best to dial it in by rpm if you can. You want your engine to run at 5500 wide open for the best ski pull. I have a boat that is about 500 lbs lighter and a 17 will pull a slalom skier out without too much issue. But if I get a full boat I can notice it. I run a 15 pitch and there is no struggles. There is a boat like yours at our lake and they run a Solas four blade aluminum.

 

[steelespike]

You can use a gps for speed. If the tach is suspect an induction tach will work.
If you get us a lightly loaded wot rpm and gps speed.We can evaluate your setup.
As stated it is important for the motor to rev freely with its wot range.
Once established you can operate at what ever throttle suits you.
Whan changing props you need to be able to check the rpm and speed results.

 

[robert graham]

What's the max. HP on the transom plate for your boat?....Seems to me that 115 HP might be marginally underpowered for a 22 ft. Hurricane(deck boat?),especially for pulling skiers tubers,etc........My guess is that boat could take a 150HP.....Good luck with your prop/set-up....

 

[shaunlaf]

This is all really helpful. Thanks all.

Yea, it was originally sold with a 190 out of the box. They might be blowing smoke, but they said they've regularly tubed and skied behind it with the boat as it. It's a tri-hull and did get up and go pretty well on the wet test.. compression is great on the motor, it's a V-4, 1997 Yahama 2-stroke.

I won't know until next year when I can really test it trying to tow someone. I got a great deal on it as she lived 2 hours away and needed it gone from the marina. It had a bunch of cosmetic work it needed, but the hull and motor were sound. It's a steal either way for me. I'm coming from a pretty beat up pontoon with a tired 90hp on it.

I'm letting the local boat shop know to keep an eye out for another motor with 150hp as the minimum I'd do towards an upgrade, and just trade mine in. I got such a steal on this it's more than worth the couple grand on top of the trade in for an upgrade.

Hopefully it'll be good for now, my kids mostly will just tube... but the wife really wants to water ski. So we'll see.

I'm taking it out tomorrow for a final test and will check the rpm's gauge more closely and the wire connections to it.

Thanks for the know how all, I'll report back with my findings.

 

[cjjjdeck]

That motor is a bit light for your model boat. The Hurricane 18 ft models start with 115 HP and many up grade to 150 HP (up to 200 HP), especially if they are going to be active doing watersports. The hull has a 12.5 degree deadrise, pretty flat hull, which helps in getting on plane. As with the great advise from others that responded, check that you are achieving WOT. My sense is that you are going to probably perform watersports better with a least a 4 blade prop, you just give up some top end.

You may also want to check out the Hurricane Owners Forum on the Hurricane website and get the perspective of other Hurricane owners.

 

[Suachris]

I read that getting the perfect prop is often more art than science and I agree with that.

For what its worth, I run a 115hp two stroke Yamaha on a 5m RIB. I wanted to replace the prop as the one on the boat was quite beat up.

After a lot of research and many calculations, replaced the 13 x 17 three blade aluminium prop with a four blade stainless steel 13 x 19 prop, that in theory should have been perfect. The original prop allowed revs about 300rpm above maximum at WOT and the four blader was therefore based on that. This 13 x 19 four blade stainless prop gave a top speed of 49mph, which meant almost no slip, but it had no power for skiing.

It was replaced with a 13 1/4 x 15 four blade stainless steel that is a great match and perfect for what we do with the boat, mostly watersport and cruising.

Ideally, find a dealer with demo props you can swap out as getting the right prop makes a huge difference.

 

[shaunlaf]

Ok, finally got the numbers. At wot I was at 5k rpm's at a top speed of 30mph.

I want the better acceleration, without losing too much top speed. Any suggestions?

Also, I was at medium load with three full size males (about 650lbs) and 29 gallons of gas.

 

[SkiDad]

I think you will be happy with a 15 pitch. Something with some good diameter to push your boat better. Top speed probably will be close - It might actually go up bc it seems you are slipping more than normal.

 

[steelespike]

Your numbers calculate at about 25% slip. 12 % is more typical.We'll see what the new prop does.
I agree a 15" pitch with a good diameter should solve your problem.It may retain your top speed.
I would like to see a" lightly loaded" wot rpm and speed.
The 15 with a light load may over rev.Just adjust your throttle to stay within rpm range.

 

[shaunlaf]

15 inch 3 blade or 4 blade?

Any suggestions on which one from this page: http://boatpropellers.iboats.com/Ya...15.00-Pitch_Propellers/410/?cart_id=755340195

 

[shaunlaf]

Steelespike, how did you calculate the slipage? I won't be able to give a light load WOT until next season.

And likely any prop I buy, I'm stuck with, there's no dealer around here that will allow me to try ones out sadly.

 

[steelespike]

Steelespike, how did you calculate the slipage? I won't be able to give a light load WOT until next season.

And likely any prop I buy, I'm stuck with, there's no dealer around here that will allow me to try ones out sadly.

I use the Polson Enterprises prop calculator Its a green page.If you google search prop calculator several will come up.
Usually you can put in prop size, gear ratio, rpm and gps speed and calculate for slip.The tach is suspect when slip is high or low of 10 to 12%.
Prop size,gear ratio and gps speed are usually accurate figures You can calculate for any of the figures by leaving one out of the calculation.
But then you have to guess about slip I usually use 10 or 12%.
Calculating for slip will usually help to tell if the numbers make sense.
If you must buy a prop now I like the Solas amita or rubex 3 blade 15" if a choice of diameter get the larger one.
The rubex is the same as the amita but has a removable hub.
The lightly loaded test run tells better how your present setup works and may reveal an underlying problem.
Wait till you can test it for water sports. Do the lightly loaded test,note hole shot and any problems towing folks.

 

[shaunlaf]

Yea, looks like I should wait until next year (and at least 20 gallons of gas later) before I can get light load test specs. I'll know a lot more about towing ability at that point too.

For now, it's out of the water and getting covered soon, we have our first frost coming tonight and I still need some gel coat work!

Thanks for the help, I'll reply back in a about 7-8 months with more details.