driving myself crazy here

trying to decide on a new SS prop for my 2001 188 caravelle, 4.3 190hp. currently has original 21p aluminum merc prop ( unsure of diameter). according to tach it spins 5000 rpms at about 48 mph with just me and the wife in boat. it will still spin up to 5k rpms until we get about 6 people in the boat. it wanders at no-wake speeds, seems to take a decent amount of speed to stay on plane say when pulling a tube, and blows out in turns quite alot. for these reasons i'm thinking a 4 blade would solve alot of my issues. i don't want to lose alot of top end though. are there any 3 blades out there that will plane at lower speeds, blow out less on turns, and give me good top end? my local supplier gets good deals on solas, but also sells stilletto, turning point, and michigan wheel props. he's willing to do a trade program but i don't want to make him order every prop under the sun till one satisfies me. this is my first boat and i have no experience with swapping props and the differences between them, just what i've read online and from scouring this forum. theres a ton of info on here but making sense of it all is about driving me crazy. recommendation on a starting point of props to try would be greatly appreciated. looking for what will be the best all around

Re: driving myself crazy here

See what the Mercury prop selector 'app' on their web site recommends. Since your RPM is a bit on the high side, you could probably stay with a 21p and go to a 4-blsde. You will have better low-end pull for wakeboarders and skiiers, but maybe a little less high-end for speed demons. V-hull wandering at idling speeds will still be there, but it is more due to the hull and not the prop.

Re: driving myself crazy here

Within the last couple of weeks a guy did just what you are contemplating. Dig around here in the prop section and get your answer first hand. The 4 blade did the trick for him. On wandering about at slow speeds, that is usually the hulls (shape of) doings. If you like your hull for all the other things it brings you, just tolerate the wandering. I never heard of it being a prop problem.

Mark

Re: driving myself crazy here

Or of course you could install smart tabs to help your wandering and planing issue. They work wonders for that. Theoretically if you switched to a 4 blade 21p and installed smart tabs you could retain your same top speed and solve your low speed and planing issues too.

Re: driving myself crazy here

I recommend the Solas Rubex 14 X 21 4blade aluminum prop for your application, since you can afford to drop a little rpm. When going from 3 to 4 blades, it's usually recommended to drop an inch of pitch; but since you're a couple hundred over, it should put you spot on.

I use one of these Solas 4 blades on my boat for serious water sports and it works great. Better acceleration, speed holding, holds a plane at lower speed, resists blow out in turns, and is the smoothest running prop I believe I ever used; no vibration.

Re: driving myself crazy here

i'd like to go with a stainless prop, i've been really leaning toward the solas rubex HR4. i had read somewhere that the 4 blades tend to track better and wander a little less, but like i said this is my first boat and i don't have firshand experience between the different props. i'll give the solas a shot and since my dealer is willing to let me swap pitches i'll go ahead and try the 21p and see how that does on rpm. I can pick one up for right at 300 locally

Re: driving myself crazy here

I have the same engine and your performance sounds very similar to mine the years when I still used the original Black Max 21", aluminum prop. It did 51.8 gps top speed with low gas but would blow out like crazy and the rpm's would go about 5100 if you let it. I moved on to the Turning Point Hustlers, the 21" 3blade aluminum variety. The differences are that it won't blow out no matter what, and you can trim up to an illegal level and it keeps biting and the speed just goes up while it shoots a long tail. Another difference is that because the Prop is cupped unlike the black max, and because in reality the v6 isn't that strong you loose all the excess rpms. I now max at 4850 and have dropped about 3mphs's but have stronger out of the hole performance and it is slightly louder by design. The hustlers are a hundred bucks but they tend to chip easier even on a little sand compared to the black max. I now change props depending on the lake so as to keep some props like new and use the chipped ones on lakes with shallow ramp approaches. I will note that my boat is over 400lbs heavier than the Caravelle 188 with a large 33 gallon tank so presumably you would have more dramatic improvements.

As for the SS, I don't bother for two reasons. One because I go to so many different lakes and a ground strike with ss has the potential to be damaging to the outdrive gears as compared to aluminum that will quickly sacrifice itself. That is a hot topic but you should always carry a spare prop and hub and tools to change it regardless. Two because my engine is maxed by the wet weight of the boat and I get full rpm's out of it now with excellent performance for a slow poke Chaparral. There is a reason the optional engine was a 270hp v8.

Re: driving myself crazy here

trying to decide on a new SS prop for my 2001 188 caravelle, 4.3 190hp. currently has original 21p aluminum merc prop ( unsure of diameter). according to tach it spins 5000 rpms at about 48 mph with just me and the wife in boat. it will still spin up to 5k rpms until we get about 6 people in the boat.

Now that's intresting....5k with 6 people...how much does the boat slow down??? As to wander nothing you do will eliminate it ...it can be tamed with tabs...One of these days i am going to make a vid of my old tub wandering...Gypsy woman is a fitting name for her.

Re: driving myself crazy here

Tail_Gunner said:

trying to decide on a new SS prop for my 2001 188 caravelle, 4.3 190hp. currently has original 21p aluminum merc prop ( unsure of diameter). according to tach it spins 5000 rpms at about 48 mph with just me and the wife in boat. it will still spin up to 5k rpms until we get about 6 people in the boat.

Now that's intresting....5k with 6 people...how much does the boat slow down??? As to wander nothing you do will eliminate it ...it can be tamed with tabs...One of these days i am going to make a vid of my old tub wandering...Gypsy woman is a fitting name for her.

Click to expand...

it will still run about 44-45 mph, i'd say with 6 people on board it will run about 4900 rpm.

Re: driving myself crazy here

If your post the gearing which is stamped on the leg of the outdrive a guess can be made. But i really believe you need to check your tach and use gps to verify the accuracy of your number's.Loding a boat with 6 people and running a 21p prop at 5000 rpm is a bit strong

Re: driving myself crazy here

its a 1.81 gear. the prop on it now isn't in perfect condition either that could be some of it

Re: driving myself crazy here

If your current prop is banged up that could be why you're blowing out in the turns. I had a prop that was a stock 19" pitch and after a few groundings in sand... my WOT RPMs went from 4600 to nearly 5000. I got a stock replacement before I invested in a SS 4 blade. I use the SS for pulling a tube and the aluminum 3 blade for unknown water.