Prop for 21 ft Aquasport 215 Explorer

Visionary

Recruit
Joined
Mar 26, 2010
Messages
2
Recently bought a used 21 ft 2000 Aquasport 215 Explorer. It has a 220 hp mercruiser 5.0. It came with a four blade aluminum 20 pitch. I could only get 2200 rpm and about 12 mph. What type of prop should I use. I'm told I should get 40 mph.
 

83Evinrude

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Sep 3, 2008
Messages
290
Re: Prop for 21 ft Aquasport 215 Explorer

Prop might have a bit to much pitch depending on hull weight but it should not perform that bad. 40mph sounds reasonable for that boat and engine, is the bottom of the hull covered in marine growth?

If its not and your rpm/mph figures are accurate then something is wrong with the engine. Start with a compression test, if that looks good check the simple stuff like all cylinders are getting spark and the throttle is opening all the way. Does it idle smoothly?
 

Bondo

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Apr 17, 2002
Messages
70,524
Re: Prop for 21 ft Aquasport 215 Explorer

Ayuh,... I Agree,... You've got Motor,+/ or Drive issues... Not just the Prop...
It should be Flying with that prop...
 

hwsiii

Commander
Joined
Jan 25, 2009
Messages
2,639
Re: Prop for 21 ft Aquasport 215 Explorer

Visionary, I have to agree with what Bond-o and 83, something is definitely not right.

You might try reading this for a better understanding of changing props for better performance, and for the major differences between aluminum props and stainless steel.

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=369057

If you would prefer to not go to this much trouble there are many other people who will come along and gladly help you.

Welcome to the forum, I will try to help you as much as I can but without more information no one can help you, and I will tell you I need more information than anyone else. But if you would like my help fill this form out the best you can and I will help you as much as humanly possible. My expectations are that you are willing to expend as much time and energy as I will to find a better prop for your boat.

Just copy this form to your computer and paste it into a word processing program and fill it out, then paste it into your post or just use the numbers for reference in your reply and type in your information.

Iboats Boat and Motor Info

1. Year, make and model of boat

2. Length, width and base weight of boat, look for boat decal on boat

2a.What is the maximum recommended HP for your boat

3. Number of people and gallons of gas normally on boat

4. What do you use the boat for

5. Is it a Deep Vee and if so how many degrees of Deadrise

6. Year, manufacturer and model of motor

7. HP and gear ratio of outdrive IMPORTANT
If you don?t know the gear ratio, you can pull the plugs out of the motor and put a piece of tape across the prop and the lower unit and then cut it between the prop and the housing then do the same thing on the flywheel and turn the motor until the tape lines up with each other on the prop, it is easier if two people do this, so one can watch the prop while the other counts the revolutions of the motor

8. Manufacturer?s recommended Wide Open Throttle (WOT) range

9. Anti-ventilation Plate height above the bottom of the transom of boat if it is an outboard in inches, use a straight edge or a board under the keel and sticking out to the anti ventilation plate for a reference, and take about 4 pictures for us to see.

AntiventilationPlateStraightEdge-1.jpg


10. Is it a bass boat or does it have a pad bottom and is it on a bracket, if so how far does the bracket extend from the stern.

11. Does it have a hydrafoil, dolefin, whale tail or trim tabs

12. Manufacturer, model, diameter, pitch, number of blades and whether SS or aluminum props.
IMPORTANT
1.
2.

13. WOT RPM and speed from your current prop and how much gas and how many people were in the boat for the test data and is the speed by GPS. Make sure you trim the prop up until it starts ventilating and then just trim in until it quits ventilating. If you do not have a tach you can buy a Tiny Tach for less than $ 50
RPM ___________ Speed (GPS)___________ No. of people ____________ Gal. Gas ________

14. Are you at sea level or a higher elevation, give us the elevation in feet __________

15. Has your motor been tuned up lately and have you checked that the carburetor butterfly is opening all the way by only using the control on the console, checked compression, looked at the plugs and checked spark, is the bottom of the boat clean and barnacle free, and have you checked the Tachometer against a mechanics tach, all of the foregoing could be the reason your prop is not attaining full RPM, or too many RPM.

16. How long has this prop been on the boat and why, at this time, do you think it is the wrong prop.

17. Does the prop show any damage that you can see or feel.

18. What problems are you trying to cure or what are you looking for the boat to do that it is not doing the way you think it should or to your expectations

REMEMBER, The prop I recommend will be NO better than the information you give me.​

The only thing I ask of you is to come back and give me a report of WOT RPM and speed for my database.


H
 

reelnative

Petty Officer 3rd Class
Joined
Mar 28, 2010
Messages
92
Re: Prop for 21 ft Aquasport 215 Explorer

try a 3 blade 19p prop and you will prob see 42mph if your hull is clean and your motor is running right
 
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