4.3L Merc Prop Selection for skiing, wakeboarding

craigkal

Cadet
Joined
Jul 9, 2009
Messages
16
I have a 2001 Tahoe Q3. It's a 17ft 8in bow rider.

Engine: 4.3L Merc carb
Outdrive: Alpha One, 1.81 ratio

Current Prop: Mercury Vengenace, 23p, 3blade, stainless steel
WOT Rpm: 4500 in some chop
WOT Speed: my speedo broke but if i had to guess then around 45-50ish, so let's call it 47mph (2 people in boat)

Engine Spec WOT Range: 4400 - 4800rpm

I feel like the bow rises too high and takes a long time to plane off when i am pulling a skier. Our skiers are around 170 - 200lbs.

I'm looking for a prop with a better hole shot, that planes faster, and let's me hold a lower speed.

Right now we are cruising about 30mph for skiers but I want to start wakeboarding and heard this should be done at a slower speed, around 20mph or so and I doubt my boat will plane off and cruise at this speed.

I'm thinking about a Mercury High Five (5 blade prop) in a 21p or 20p. Our lake is small and only takes 10 - 15 min to shoot across so top speed isn't a huge concern but i'd like to still be able to top out in the low 40s mph.

I'm pretty certain I want the High Five, just trying to decide on the pitch. The lake is in the middle of nowhere so testing and swapping out props isn't really an option and i don't want to pay retail anyways.

I'm open to any suggestions. Thanks in advance for the help.
 

sleeper

Petty Officer 3rd Class
Joined
Aug 26, 2008
Messages
86
Re: 4.3L Merc Prop Selection for skiing, wakeboarding

Save yourself some money and get a good 4-blade SS prop like a stiletto or solas and get a set of smart tabs to help with the bow rise and lower the planing speed. You should be able to get both for less than a high 5 prop.

My stiletto bay-pro II 4-blade ans a set of SX smart tabs totally transformed my boat. I can hold plane down to 15-16 mph and the hole shot and midrange acceleration are amazing. I didn't lose much top end at all either.

I would think a 20p 4-blade SS would be a good choice, maybe even a 19p if you want max pulling power and don't mind watching your rpms when lightly loaded.
 

craigkal

Cadet
Joined
Jul 9, 2009
Messages
16
Re: 4.3L Merc Prop Selection for skiing, wakeboarding

I've been considering smart tabs. i heard they will kill your wake which is fine for skiing but not so good for wakeboarding.

Are the smart tabs retractable so I could just stop the boat and reach down and fold them up?

How hard is the smart tab install? Is it just drill some holes and mount? This is my first boat but I'm pretty mechanically inclined, just slightly afraid of drilling holes in my boat.

Also, I can find the High Five in my area for around $300 on craigslist. Is a Solas / Stiletto really that much cheaper?
 

sleeper

Petty Officer 3rd Class
Joined
Aug 26, 2008
Messages
86
Re: 4.3L Merc Prop Selection for skiing, wakeboarding

They can kill your wake, but you can buy the optional levers to retract them when you will be wakeboarding. They really didn't kill my wake too bad though. The installation is not that bad if you don't mind drilling a few holes in the boat. If you are mechanically inclined you will have no problem. You can buy a brand new solas/stiletto for around $300 if you look around. A high 5 for that price would probably be good, but you don't see much about them posted so I don't know how good they are.


link to smart tab retractors.
http://www.nauticusinc.com/pr500.htm


I've been considering smart tabs. i heard they will kill your wake which is fine for skiing but not so good for wakeboarding.

Are the smart tabs retractable so I could just stop the boat and reach down and fold them up?

How hard is the smart tab install? Is it just drill some holes and mount? This is my first boat but I'm pretty mechanically inclined, just slightly afraid of drilling holes in my boat.

Also, I can find the High Five in my area for around $300 on craigslist. Is a Solas / Stiletto really that much cheaper?
 

junior1113

Senior Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Jan 29, 2009
Messages
763
Re: 4.3L Merc Prop Selection for skiing, wakeboarding

21" 4 blade should bring rpms up a little and increase hole shot, be on plane at lower speeds and probably pick up some top end. might not even want tabs. check out turbo props web site there prop technology is second to none.
 

wca_tim

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
May 28, 2007
Messages
1,708
Re: 4.3L Merc Prop Selection for skiing, wakeboarding

21" 4 blade like a solas titan (bargain) would be perfect and will hook up so much better than your current prop you'll grin about it. The high fices just give up too much speed on top imo
 

craigkal

Cadet
Joined
Jul 9, 2009
Messages
16
Re: 4.3L Merc Prop Selection for skiing, wakeboarding

Well I went with the high five 21" prop. I installed it at the same time as Smart Tabs so I can't say how much the prop did alone but i love my boat so much more now.

The prop/tab combo almost instantly planes my boat. I run 47mph on GPS now and turn about 4900 with just me in the boat, and just below 4800 with 2 more people and a couple of dogs (normal load).

I'm very pleased with my results.
 
Top