FliesAndFloats
Seaman Apprentice
- Joined
- Sep 6, 2015
- Messages
- 30
After much coaxing from others to switch to a stainless prop, I found a decent price on a used Mirage Plus on eBay and picked it up and installed it on my 24' bowrider with a single 260HP Mercruiser 5.0 MPI. The 19" aluminum prop that it had would allow me to run up to around 4800 RPM and 43 mph GPS speed. The "new" SS prop, also 19", did not include the PVS plugs.
On the hole shot the engine overrevs to 4000 RPM before coming back to around 3300-3400. I notice that at 3500 RPM I'm seeing around 35 mph instead of the 28-29 mph I was seeing with the aluminum prop, though the engine seemed to max out around 4200 RPM and 40-41 mph (as opposed to 43mph at 4800). I didn't stay on it for very long, but it felt like it may have still had another couple hundred RPM in it if I'd waited. I don't believe that the hole shot is as good as it was with the aluminum prop as I found the boat not yet on plane at the point when I would usually pull back on the throttle. With the old prop, I would start at idle and ease it all the way to full throttle and back off to keep the engine from exceeding 3600-3800 RPM as the boat would come on plane. Now it seems like it takes longer to "pop up" on plane and that peak to 4000 RPM on hole shot sounds like an airplane with a constant speed prop does if you advance the throttle too quickly and it just doesn't seem right. I figure I will go ahead and order the solid PVS plugs for the prop and call it a day, but I figure someone here could give me some competent advice/recommendations. I fear I might have purchased a prop that may be a bit oversized for my setup, though I don't think I'd lose any money on it if I had to sell it.
On the hole shot the engine overrevs to 4000 RPM before coming back to around 3300-3400. I notice that at 3500 RPM I'm seeing around 35 mph instead of the 28-29 mph I was seeing with the aluminum prop, though the engine seemed to max out around 4200 RPM and 40-41 mph (as opposed to 43mph at 4800). I didn't stay on it for very long, but it felt like it may have still had another couple hundred RPM in it if I'd waited. I don't believe that the hole shot is as good as it was with the aluminum prop as I found the boat not yet on plane at the point when I would usually pull back on the throttle. With the old prop, I would start at idle and ease it all the way to full throttle and back off to keep the engine from exceeding 3600-3800 RPM as the boat would come on plane. Now it seems like it takes longer to "pop up" on plane and that peak to 4000 RPM on hole shot sounds like an airplane with a constant speed prop does if you advance the throttle too quickly and it just doesn't seem right. I figure I will go ahead and order the solid PVS plugs for the prop and call it a day, but I figure someone here could give me some competent advice/recommendations. I fear I might have purchased a prop that may be a bit oversized for my setup, though I don't think I'd lose any money on it if I had to sell it.