longshanks
Petty Officer 2nd Class
- Joined
- Jun 12, 2006
- Messages
- 188
My boat is a 15' heavy-duty centre console aluminum with a 6 degree vee and a shallow tunnel. I use it often for river running and the bottom is not in pristine shape. The whole package weighs about 1400lbs fully loaded. I have a jack plate and I've tested all props as high up as I can without them losing bite. My motor is a 90HP Mercury 2-stroke, 2003 model.
First prop I tried was a stainless Mercury Laser 2 in 22 pitch. It performed reasonably well, but I could only get about 5100 RPMs out of it. Quite a rough runner at low RPMs, on account of the large heavy blades. But it would stretch out to about 41mph at 5100 RPMs, and cornering and holeshot were acceptable.
To try and gain some RPMs I bought an aluminum Hustler Prop in 19 pitch. Surprise, it only gave me about 5100 to 5200 RPMs, and top speed around 39mph. Despite the 3" pitch change, my guess is that the cupping on this prop limits the RPMS it can spin to, compared to the previous prop. The nicest thing about this prop (besides the price) was no more clutch dog rattle, and I'd say it performed nearly as well as the more expensive Laser 2. I did notice when I hammered on the throttle in the mid-ranges, this prop didn't have the same instantaneous pickup as the stainless Laser 2.
Last winter I picked up a Solas HR Titan, based on some of the good info that I read on here. I went with a 17-pitch, and without a doubt it is THE prop for my setup. I'm getting 5500-5700 RPMs, and the holeshot is as fast as I could imagine. The 4 blades are very smooth running and there is no more vibration at any speed. My wife even commented on this... The Merc 90 still seems a bit rough under 2000RPMS but that's the nature of the beast. The boat now corners very tightly and doesn't break free, and stays on plane at about 2800 RPMS. Very responsive through all throttle positions, and the best thing is that as I trim the motor in and out, this prop allows me to control the height of the bow, whereas my previous props had little influence. I'm so happy with these characteristics that I haven't clocked it at top speed yet.
My main use is cruising/fishing, mixed with a healthy dose of skiing and tubing.
First prop I tried was a stainless Mercury Laser 2 in 22 pitch. It performed reasonably well, but I could only get about 5100 RPMs out of it. Quite a rough runner at low RPMs, on account of the large heavy blades. But it would stretch out to about 41mph at 5100 RPMs, and cornering and holeshot were acceptable.
To try and gain some RPMs I bought an aluminum Hustler Prop in 19 pitch. Surprise, it only gave me about 5100 to 5200 RPMs, and top speed around 39mph. Despite the 3" pitch change, my guess is that the cupping on this prop limits the RPMS it can spin to, compared to the previous prop. The nicest thing about this prop (besides the price) was no more clutch dog rattle, and I'd say it performed nearly as well as the more expensive Laser 2. I did notice when I hammered on the throttle in the mid-ranges, this prop didn't have the same instantaneous pickup as the stainless Laser 2.
Last winter I picked up a Solas HR Titan, based on some of the good info that I read on here. I went with a 17-pitch, and without a doubt it is THE prop for my setup. I'm getting 5500-5700 RPMs, and the holeshot is as fast as I could imagine. The 4 blades are very smooth running and there is no more vibration at any speed. My wife even commented on this... The Merc 90 still seems a bit rough under 2000RPMS but that's the nature of the beast. The boat now corners very tightly and doesn't break free, and stays on plane at about 2800 RPMS. Very responsive through all throttle positions, and the best thing is that as I trim the motor in and out, this prop allows me to control the height of the bow, whereas my previous props had little influence. I'm so happy with these characteristics that I haven't clocked it at top speed yet.
My main use is cruising/fishing, mixed with a healthy dose of skiing and tubing.