Performance data 1990 wellcraft eclipse 196

[QBhoy]

I feel your pain. I took the boat out last weekend. Horrible long 5/6 months to see through !
I?ve never messed with any of my Props. Not many folk that can do that near me. Does is make a noticeable difference ? I might start a separate post on this to get people?s past result with cupping

 

[porscheguy]

One of the big problems with props is there seems to be significant variations from one to the next, or at least it seems that way to me. Many places that sell props dont keep a huge number of $500 props or the same model and pitch to compare for consistency. And the place where I got my Q4 which is my only prop where I was the first and only person to lay hands on it since it left the foundry, seemed bothered to have to fetch this one, much less bring a second for comparison. Then again, they dont want to have to reseal those boxes. But what I even noticed on the Q4 is that there are inconsistencies from one blade to the next. These probably arise during the polishing phase which is done by hand and by sight.

Today I was at the marina, and I saw a stingray which I remembered had a 23P mirage plus. His had a AXX suffix on the p/n indicating a newer prop. His blades were a little chewed, but I looked at it to see how much cup it had and it was a bit more than what they added to my 23. It was about the same as whats on my 21.

So it begs the question. Did his prop go to the shop for more cup? Did mercury add more from the factory once they switched to the AXX suffix in the p/n? Did the shop actually add cup to my 23 last week, or did they simply match it to the pitch block?

In theory cup should bring your slip number down by reducing rpm or increasing speed.

So I wont really know if this change will make a difference until April at the earliest.

 

[QBhoy]

Sounds good. I?m not sure my slip can improve anymore...without defying physics. Haha.

 

[porscheguy]

Bumping because I picked up a Quicksilver mirage (not a plus) in 23P. It’s an older model, but it does have a press in rubber hub. I’ll take it to the prop shop for a polish and to have a new hub pressed in. I’m not going to risk a spin hub because it’s old. Bought it from letgo for $25.

 

[porscheguy]

Bumping because the 2018 season is well under way and I’m still wanting to try more props. I’ve only had the boat out twice. I took the time to get my Bimini top sorted and adjusted right which makes boating much nicer without the sun beating down. It’s also a Taylor made Bimini and the tag says to not exceed 30-35mph. On the first outing I stuck to my tried and true 21P mirage plus. Didn’t do top speed runs. I just wanted to be on the water.

The second outing I put on the Q4. Because it was a Saturday, on the Severn, and Memorial Day weekend, it was pure chop, and high traffic. Top was up, so no high speed running. I really wanted to like this prop. I bought it brand spanking new last fall when I was in Florida. It looks really cool too. But here’s the thing. It offers no performance advantage over the 21P mirage plus. The Q4/rev4 is meant to run near the surface in aerated water. That’s where it shines. Alpha 1 drives sit relatively deep. I think it’s time to put the Q4 on the sale block and move on. It should move quick because the Q4 is in short supply this year.

On my my next outing I’ll run the 23P mirage plus I picked up and had tuned up last fall. I’ll see what it does and post the results. Its performance will help determine the pitch I’ll go with on the next prop I pick up. I suspect the 23P mirage plus will also end up for sale.

The Quicksilver lightspeed 23P was the first SS prop I bought. Never much cared for it. Time for it to go.

Ive got a small gearcase laser 2 in 22P. It’s a bit beat up. I’m not sure if there’s much demand for these small gearcase props or if I can recoup my costs if I have it refurbed and rehubbed.

lastly I’ve got the 23P mirage (not a plus) that I picked up for almost nothing. I need to see if I should sell as is, or refurb.

For much of the winter I’ve been thinking about the Tempest plus. But this prop is really a 3 blade rev4/Q4. It too prefers to run right near the surface. The lack of a 4th blade might reduce drag enough to get the slip down, but I’m not eager to bet $500+ on that.

If I can clear the existing inventory, I think I’ll have a 22P enertia in my future.

 

[porscheguy]

Finally got my hands on a 22P Enertia. Thanks Scott06. Prop is in good enough shape to do some testing and get some data before I send it out to get polished and a once over at the prop shop.

The owner prior to Scott06 apparently ran it without pvs plugs, and then had the bright idea that it needed extra cup or pitch. It looks like someone beat on it without pitch blocks and used an adjustable wrench and a steel hammer to work on it. The most high tech, sophisticated prop in the mercury catalog and you let a second rate hack beat on it.

This thing has a tiny tiny diameter and A LOT of rake. I’m curious to see what it does. Will report back in a day or two with results.

 

[jimmbo]

"and then had the bright idea that it needed extra cup or pitch. It looks like someone beat on it without pitch blocks and used an adjustable wrench and a steel hammer to work on it. The most high tech, sophisticated prop in the mercury catalog and you let a second rate hack beat on it. "

Well the prop is not stock, so it is not representative of what the Enertia is. I would hardly say the Enertia has a "tiny tiny diameter" I'll place it next to my two Rakers and photograph them together
20" Raker, 20" Enertia, and 22" Raker.

 

[porscheguy]

Thank auto correct for adding the second tiny. But at 13.5” it has the smallest diameter of any prop I own. It does look small compared to a mirage. I know it’s not quite stock. I’ll have it repaired either way. It’s just a matter of when.

 

[porscheguy]

So I took the Enertia out today.
22P, but it’s been hammered on by a second rate prop shop.
4750rpm WOT
49mph
It appears to have the small vent plugs installed.
Due to the aforementioned “repairs and/or modifications” to this prop I had lowered expectations.

Its known that despite being stainless, the Enertia is a very lightweight prop. Those of us with those fine shifting alpha drives will appreciate the lighter weight as it doesn’t skip and crunch as much going into gear.

Moving around the dock was predictable and it worked reasonably well in reverse. OnE thing I did notice especially at idle speeds is the boat did not wander around too much.

Moving along it Has very good acceleration. It also felt like it had much better throttle response. This is likely due to its lower surface area and lighter weight. I don’t think it lifts as much as the mirage, but that’s fine for me. The boat felt controlled and much lighter. It seems that the faster it spins, the better it feels and grips. Overall, I’m quite pleased with it and just might find myself using it more than the mirage plus. I think that it will only get better after I get it polished and smoothed out.

 

[jimmbo]

You would be more impressed with an intact Enertia. As I don't know what Butchering was done to your copy... but I doubt it improved it in any way, shape, or form

 

[porscheguy]

The tips of the blades are a bit dull. I’m not sure if that’s from stirring it in sand and mud, or if that’s what cavitation does to stainless. Either way, it’ll polish out. There’s a few flat spits on the forward facing side of the blades. One of my mirage props had them as well. I assume it’s due to being hammered on. The trailing edge is a bit wavy. Like someone attempted to add cup to it. I’ll take it in and have it matched to the pitch blocks. The shop I use does excellent work. Id post some before and after pics of work they’ve done for me, but I don’t have any before pics.

Overall im quite pleased with it. I like how the boat rode. I liked the way it shifted into gear. It felt light but solid. I would certainly recommend it.

 

[jimmbo]

I've been recommending it for over 10 years, only thing is, people balk at the price. It isn't cheap, but sometimes the old Adage 'You get what you pay for' holds true. I found the whole boat was lifted vertically(my avatar certain shows it).
The blade around the tips has very sharply cut edges, not sharp like a knife edge, but sharp as in a 90 degree like edge

 

[porscheguy]

Maybe it did give mine some lift like yours, I don’t know. What I do know is that I liked the ride. The tips are sharp enough to skin a knuckle when the prop wrench slips.

As for the price, $800 is getting a bit obscene.

 

[porscheguy]

So the season is pretty much over at this point, and I’ll be pulling the boat off the lift this week. Most of the summer I was plagued with a bit of a fueling issue that seemed to rob me of a few hundred rpm. In addition my outdrive was crapping out. So I replaced the outdrive and about 6 weeks ago, I took another crack at rebuilding the carb and this time I was very methodical about cleaning every orifice and passage on it. Then we had lousy weather for a few weeks so the boat sat for most of September. Early last week the water temp was holding at 76F. It’s now down to 62. I had been using my tried and true 21P mirage+ for most of the summer. Early this week I went out and hit 49.6mph @ 4850rpm. That’s about where it was at the end of last year before the fueling issue arose. So yesterday I decided to have a go with the 23P rubber hub mirage. This prop is a disappointment. It hit the same rpm as the 21 mirage+, but only 48.4mph. That’s a huge difference that cupping makes.

After that run I went back on the lift and I put the 22 Enertia on. I still haven’t had it cleaned up. Today we’ve got gale warnings on the bay and all of the water has been blown out of the creek, so I can’t take the boat out. This should settle down in a day or two And I can go out and do one final run before putting it back on the trailer and in the yard for the winter.

 

[QBhoy]

Can’t wait to hear the results. I just recently got my hands on a used enertia. It has a slight ding on one of the blades and a few rough edges that a carefully filed. Not ideal and slight vibration at about 1200 rpm but oh my god what a prop.
Bearing in mind it’s the end of the season and the hull is scrubbing speed, it’s hands down the quickest prop I own or have tried. And what’s more it performs every time. Strange in that it has decent acceleration compared to the same pitch laser, ballistic or mirage (mirage was a total disappointment on my boat and nothing like as good as even the laser), but has a higher top end than them all. I posted the results in this section a week or two ago. Can’t quite remember them now but I’m sure it recorded a 66.9 gps. Slightly beating the ballistic and hammering the laser. The ballistic wasn’t consistently quick and only on a few certain occasions when conditions were right. The laser is still impressive and gives the best cruising rpm for economy with slightly lower rpm doing it.
The enertia managed to lift the boat much further out the water than even the ballistic and was able to lift the rpm almost to the max (suggested 5000 rpm, but will go slightly over and occasionally nudge the limiter. This is despite many reporting that the enertia will drop the rpm compared to the likes of a laser. Not true on my boat. Can’t speak highly enough of it and I’ll be buying a new one over winter. Might go up 1” in pitch.
Thanks to Jimmbo for the heads up.

 

[porscheguy]

I ran mine for the last time yesterday. It was a bit rough out. I managed 49.6 @ 4800 rpm. I’m done fore the season. The 21P mirage + got the most use this year and it’s starting to show. No real damage, just several nicks and scrapes. I’ll send it and the Enertia out to get polished and sorted out this winter.