Hi everyone. I have read a LOT of posts here about people wanting more speed or more power out of a prop. My question is just the opposite. I want LESS speed. I realize that this is probably akin to sacrilege, but get over it! 
I have a 1987 Reinell 215c with 5.7L Cobra for power and a 15x17p prop. A couple of days ago SWMBO and I went to one of the local lakes for some fun and fishin. The lake was Lake Berryessa in northern California at an elevation of only about 200'. The fishin part was to try out some new downriggers that I had just spent two or three weeks working out a mounting system for.
Anyway, while doing a little trolling my boat speed while idling at 450-500 rpm (or trolling if you prefer) was about 2.3 - 2.5 mph gps. Since I was trolling for Kokanee, that was a little too fast. I would like to get down to around 1.5 - 1.8 mph. I tried raising the outdrive to see what effect that would have, but not nearly enough. Even with the drive WAAy up, speed was still over 2 mph. What do you suppose my idle speed would be if I went down in pitch, say to a 15x16p, or maybe a 15x15p?
And before you say it, I am not too worried about what it would do to my WOT rpm's since I RARELY ever run that fast anyway. As long as I can still get 25-30 mph and not go much over 3500 rpm I would be satisfied. My current 15x17 will give me about 27-28 mph at 3000 rpm. Also, I occasionally get up to higher elevation lakes around 7000', so I could use a prop with less pitch at altitude anyway.
I also know that there are alternatives such as sea anchors and trolling brakes, but they are all a pita. Besides, I have not seen any trolling brakes rated for anything over 200hp and I probably have over 300 now (just had the engine "redone"). So re-propping seems like a nice relatively clean option if it will slow me down enough.
So what say ye? Any and all opinions welcome,
Wayne
I have a 1987 Reinell 215c with 5.7L Cobra for power and a 15x17p prop. A couple of days ago SWMBO and I went to one of the local lakes for some fun and fishin. The lake was Lake Berryessa in northern California at an elevation of only about 200'. The fishin part was to try out some new downriggers that I had just spent two or three weeks working out a mounting system for.
Anyway, while doing a little trolling my boat speed while idling at 450-500 rpm (or trolling if you prefer) was about 2.3 - 2.5 mph gps. Since I was trolling for Kokanee, that was a little too fast. I would like to get down to around 1.5 - 1.8 mph. I tried raising the outdrive to see what effect that would have, but not nearly enough. Even with the drive WAAy up, speed was still over 2 mph. What do you suppose my idle speed would be if I went down in pitch, say to a 15x16p, or maybe a 15x15p?
And before you say it, I am not too worried about what it would do to my WOT rpm's since I RARELY ever run that fast anyway. As long as I can still get 25-30 mph and not go much over 3500 rpm I would be satisfied. My current 15x17 will give me about 27-28 mph at 3000 rpm. Also, I occasionally get up to higher elevation lakes around 7000', so I could use a prop with less pitch at altitude anyway.
I also know that there are alternatives such as sea anchors and trolling brakes, but they are all a pita. Besides, I have not seen any trolling brakes rated for anything over 200hp and I probably have over 300 now (just had the engine "redone"). So re-propping seems like a nice relatively clean option if it will slow me down enough.
So what say ye? Any and all opinions welcome,
Wayne
