Anyone tried a Turning Point Hustler prop.

[Shabah 182]

I was very close to buying a Stiletto 21 inch stainless prop for my boat as a light load speed prop. At 300 dollars, a bit pricey for the 2-3 mph I will likely get out of it. Since it is winter, I have had time to surf the net comparing props. Now I am thinking that a Turning Point high performance aluminum prop might get me near the same performance as the Stiletto for 1/3 the cost. Lots of testimonials on their website....but I am sure they are biased. Anyone out there using one that can give me real life experience? I have an 18 ft bow rider with a 4.3 mercruiser turning a 19p standard aluminum at 4900 rpms and about 47 mph. Any feedback pro or con will help!

 

[steelespike]

Re: Anyone tried a Turning Point Hustler prop.

I have no personal experience with the Hustler.I like the concept but::
They seem to have vastly varying results. To the point of some wondering if miss labeled.
When right they usually have improvement across the board. You might contact their web site
about this inconsistency see if they will allow a return if performance isn't as it should be.
If I was wanting to improve performance I would try a Hustler or Rascal after I was sure my setup was right.Before investing in a prop be sure your motor has good compression,is in excellent tune, the throttle opens all the way.Also the bottom clean and smooth.
I'm no expert on a 4.3 but in an 18 footer it seems to me it would be a little faster and run a slightly higher pitch.for max speed.Possibly speeds in the low 50s.Of course these results would depend on what boat you have.If you tell us the year model,weight, horsepower and max rpm we could tell better how well your setup is working.

 

[Shabah 182]

Re: Anyone tried a Turning Point Hustler prop.

Thanks for the advice Steel. My boat is a Mariah Shabah bow rider that weighs 2200 lbs and runs a carbureted 4.3 mercruiser sterndrive. She is recently tuned up and runs at 4900 WOT, just above the 4400-4800 recommended range. I was hoping to get over the 50 mph top speed.

 

[dsmmace]

Re: Anyone tried a Turning Point Hustler prop.

I have the 21pitch aluminum hustler on my 18.5 Bayliner with the 4.3L. It has an awesome holeshot over the tradition quicksilver 21 pitch prop, more bite in cornering too. My carb issues have prevented me from testing the top end though.

I would recommend the 21 pitch based on your provided specs and WOT.

 

[steelespike]

Re: Anyone tried a Turning Point Hustler prop.

There ya go. But I'm thinking a 19 would keep you nearer the 4800 rpm.The Hustler is very agressive;the 21 might lower your rpm too much.

 

[Shabah 182]

Re: Anyone tried a Turning Point Hustler prop.

Damn, now I am on the fence AGAIN on this. Steel brought up what I was kicking around in my mind.....that the Huster 19 might be enough to get me top performance through its more aggressive engineering. Hmmm...21 or 19? Eenie meenie miney mo.

 

[dsmmace]

Re: Anyone tried a Turning Point Hustler prop.

Damn, now I am on the fence AGAIN on this. Steel brought up what I was kicking around in my mind.....that the Huster 19 might be enough to get me top performance through its more aggressive engineering. Hmmm...21 or 19? Eenie meenie miney mo.

I was told that rpms would go up a couple hundred from a 3 blade 21 pitch to a 4 blade 21 pitch.

 

[steelespike]

Re: Anyone tried a Turning Point Hustler prop.

The Hustler is a 3 blade.
Generally going to the same size 4 blade will reduce rpm slightly.
Usually suggested to drop an inch to maintain rpm.

 

[dsmmace]

Re: Anyone tried a Turning Point Hustler prop.

I was told the opposite with this prop.

 

[Shabah 182]

Re: Anyone tried a Turning Point Hustler prop. (I made a decision)

Re: Anyone tried a Turning Point Hustler prop. (I made a decision)

So after listening to a lot of advice here.....I am going to buy a Turning Pont Hustler prop. The big change I decided on was to stay with the 19 pitch rather than move up to a 21. A couple of educated boaters on this site recommended to me that based on my current rpms using a stock 19....I would likely see best performance with the same pitch on a TP prop. So that is what I will do....and let the cupping and progressive pitch do what they do. I will report in the spring when the 2 feet of snow on the ground here in Massachusetts finally melts! Thank you to all that helped with this decision.

 

[Rellik546]

Re: Anyone tried a Turning Point Hustler prop. (I made a decision)

Re: Anyone tried a Turning Point Hustler prop. (I made a decision)

shabah im from western mass, MORE SNOW here lol not a good thing... my brother and i were interested in a turning point hustler prop. once you use it let me know your results. we have a 19 pitch aluminum and were thinking about getting the 19 pitch hustler as well...we will be having 6 to 9 people in the boat on a 3.0l mercruiser alpha 1 gen 1. but we wanted a better holeshot and acceleration. also now thinking about a 19" four blade a inch smaller in diameter

 

[jkust]

Re: Anyone tried a Turning Point Hustler prop. (I made a decision)

Re: Anyone tried a Turning Point Hustler prop. (I made a decision)

Yes I have a TP hustler on my Chaparral with the 4.3 liter carb in it. I replaced my oem 21 pitch, Black Max prop with a 21 pitch TP. Here are my experiences but keep in mind my 18 foot Chaparral is 2900lbs dry, has a 33gallon gas tank, a hundred pounds of gear and varies from 2 to 4 passengers.
The TP is a bit louder at idle and vibrates just a bit due to the exhaust holes which the manual tells you to expect. Previously with my Black Max I could spin 5100 rpms with just me and low gas which almost never happened. The TP couldn't quite get to 4850 no matter what so was alway several clicks slower. To really get speed in my slow poke, heavy Chap with the BM, I'd trim it up a bit then it would quit biting. Literally the TP would never loose its bite no matter the trim or the turn and so could throw a cool rooster tail previously unattainable. Basically then the TP is slower, bites better, louder but not faster on top end and didn't notice an out of the hole difference either. To top it off the TP chips on the edges way too easy compared to my original prop material.
I will say that my carbed 4.3 is really pushing its limits compared to what most 18 footers weigh. My boat really needed the 270hp v8 option but sadly wasn't selected by the original owner. I would only buy the tp again because they are so cheap.

 

[steelespike]

Re: Anyone tried a Turning Point Hustler prop. (I made a decision)

Re: Anyone tried a Turning Point Hustler prop. (I made a decision)

jkust,Thanks for your experience.The Hustler is a very agressive prop so its not surprising it turned slower than your blackmax.Also not surprised the Huster sometimes dissapoints. Is your rpm rating 4850? You could see if a prop shop could remove a little cup I've seen that improve both rpm and speed.You could also try plugging the vents; vented props are said not to work well on an I/O.

 

[sublauxation]

Re: Anyone tried a Turning Point Hustler prop.

I replaced a stock AL OMC 17 pitch prop with a Hustler 17P and lost a couple hundred RPM's. I wouldn't recommend a 21 pitch unless you want to lose a bunch of RPMs. It did get a little better bite than the OMC prop but I wish I had bought a 15 pitch.

 

[Shabah 182]

Re: Anyone tried a Turning Point Hustler prop.

Okay I have to make a confession. Even though I reported last night that I had decided to get a 19 pitch Turning Point Hustler to replace my 19 pitch stock aluminum....once I got to actually placing the order (and used the "prop wizard" on their site), I changed my mind and ordered the 21! I started thinking that I would always wonder what a move up to 21 would deliver. Now I see the post from Lieutenant Junior above and his Chaparral not working out too well with a TP 21. My 18 footer is lighter but who knows.....and at $101 it is not an expensive gamble. If it turns out to be a dog, I will just make it my spare. I can not wait to try it out and will definitely report results when I try it out. Hope I made the right decision!

 

[steelespike]

Re: Anyone tried a Turning Point Hustler prop.

Good luck hope it works well;be sure to let us know how it goes. We can add the info to the hustler info on here.

 

[jkust]

Re: Anyone tried a Turning Point Hustler prop. (I made a decision)

Re: Anyone tried a Turning Point Hustler prop. (I made a decision)

jkust,Thanks for your experience.The Hustler is a very agressive prop so its not surprising it turned slower than your blackmax.Also not surprised the Huster sometimes dissapoints. Is your rpm rating 4850? You could see if a prop shop could remove a little cup I've seen that improve both rpm and speed.You could also try plugging the vents; vented props are said not to work well on an I/O.

Yes, my recollection in the winter is 4850 but my memory fades as the cold drags on. I was excited to replace the Black Max which was starting to get chipped and a couple of small dings plus I knew it was stupid to boat as much as we did without a spare. I actually thought vent plugs were supposed to come with the TP but they did not. At the appropriate max book rpm's with the black max I could get 52mph on the gps on selective occassions and the Hustler could get mid to upper 40's. If we towed anything other than a tuber a couple times I may have noticed some benefit but the kids are still small and my wife is afraid to pull me so I don't have any of that feedback other than that single tube which doesn't even phase the boat with any prop on it. As for the OP, I truly believe the extra weight being put on the back of the 4.3 contributes to it performing a couple clicks slower than other 18 footers. Just the difference between a full 33 gallon gas tank and letting it run down to 5 gallons really gins up the performance so I've gotta imagine a boat that weighs say 600lbs less and has maybe a 22 gallon tank adds to the peformance all around and could deal with the aggressiveness of the TP better than my boat. As for a prop shop taking some cup off, On our final vacation of the year, I hit something in reverse at the boat launch so need to get that taken care of as well. It's amazing I can have the original prop for years with just standard wear and tear and almost immediately ding the heck out of my new prop.

 

[sublauxation]

Re: Anyone tried a Turning Point Hustler prop.

Hope it works, you never know until you try. Definitely post your results. Worst case scenario the hub is about $25 either way, so you can still use that for a 19 if the 21 doesn't do what you want.

 

[steelespike]

Re: Anyone tried a Turning Point Hustler prop. (I made a decision)

Re: Anyone tried a Turning Point Hustler prop. (I made a decision)

Yes, my recollection in the winter is 4850 but my memory fades as the cold drags on. I was excited to replace the Black Max which was starting to get chipped and a couple of small dings plus I knew it was stupid to boat as much as we did without a spare. I actually thought vent plugs were supposed to come with the TP but they did not. At the appropriate max book rpm's with the black max I could get 52mph on the gps on selective occassions and the Hustler could get mid to upper 40's. If we towed anything other than a tuber a couple times I may have noticed some benefit but the kids are still small and my wife is afraid to pull me so I don't have any of that feedback other than that single tube which doesn't even phase the boat with any prop on it. As for the OP, I truly believe the extra weight being put on the back of the 4.3 contributes to it performing a couple clicks slower than other 18 footers. Just the difference between a full 33 gallon gas tank and letting it run down to 5 gallons really gins up the performance so I've gotta imagine a boat that weighs say 600lbs less and has maybe a 22 gallon tank adds to the peformance all around and could deal with the aggressiveness of the TP better than my boat. As for a prop shop taking some cup off, On our final vacation of the year, I hit something in reverse at the boat launch so need to get that taken care of as well. It's amazing I can have the original prop for years with just standard wear and tear and almost immediately ding the heck out of my new prop.

There is a magnetic attraction between new props and rocks.The more expensive the stronger it is. lol

 

[jkust]

Re: Anyone tried a Turning Point Hustler prop. (I made a decision)

Re: Anyone tried a Turning Point Hustler prop. (I made a decision)

There is a magnetic attraction between new props and rocks.The more expensive the stronger it is. lol

Truer words have never been typed. Last year, after I got the TP is when we decided to check out a bunch of unfamiliar lakes. I knew I should have kept the Black Max on but a new prop is just way too exciting a thing to not start using immediately. The next step for me is an ss prop but I don't think I can live with the potential disappointment and loss of several hundred dollars not to mention stress of knowing what a direct hit means to the out drive innards.