Slalom water ski prop

Pecos1997

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I just bought a new 2019 Regal 1900es ,3100lbs, 4.3 G5 sx-a 2.18 14.3X21 aluminum 3 blade prop ,took the boat out this weekend for the break in and afterwords started the water sports while pulling a 150lb to 200lb slamon skier and wakeboards i noticed a very slow holehot .What would be a go to prop setup for this type of activity? standard load is 4 adults wot has been 5600-5800 rpm at 47mph.Not concerned about a loos of top end speed.
Thanks.
 

Kola16

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I think your tach is off, but if it is not then you need to lower your pitch significantly. The first thing to do would be to measure your WOT RPMs with an infrared tachometer or something of the like. Lowering the pitch 2" lowers your RPMs by roughly 300-400 RPMs. Your target will be about 5000 RPMs. You would then want a 17 pitch prop if your WOT was really 5800 RPMs. If your RPMs are actually 5400ish RPMs, then you would need a 19 pitch prop.

Turning Point makes a good 4-blade prop (Hustler). Both the aluminum or stainless steel will get you out of the hole a little faster. Trim tabs would help your hole shot too.
 

jimmbo

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Some, in fact all, of the new Volvo 4.3s are rated @5800 rpm and are putting out 240 - 280 HP. so until the OP posts a bit more info about his engine WOT RPM range...


Small engine revving fast to make the same HP the bigger engines made at lower RPMs. It not what I consider a great choice for Watersports, as lots of Low End grunt is preferred for pulling up Skiers and Wakeboarders
 
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Scott Danforth

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I just bought a new 2019 Regal 1900es ,3100lbs, 4.3 G5 sx-a 2.18 14.3X21 aluminum 3 blade prop ,took the boat out this weekend for the break in and afterwords started the water sports while pulling a 150lb to 200lb slamon skier and wakeboards i noticed a very slow holehot .What would be a go to prop setup for this type of activity? standard load is 4 adults wot has been 5600-5800 rpm at 47mph.Not concerned about a loos of top end speed.
Thanks.

move 2 of the adults to the bow to improve the hole shot when pulling a skier
 

Sea Rider

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If motor is healthy and tach is working good, it's a bad idea to pull a heavy slalom skier + 4 up at same time. When skiing you should have 3 people only, the skier, the skier spotter if in need to count with one and the driver and the motor running to their max wot rpm range factory stated to achieve a superb hole shot for the skier.

Can count with 2 props, the current one if runs at least middle wot revs with 4 up and a less pitch prop for max wot revs for top skiing performance with just 3 up.

Happy Boating
 

Starcraft5834

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put a 4 blade prop on it... if your not concerned with losing a few mph top end. drop down (1) in pitch.. your boat will jump on plane faster and stay there as slower speeds... best all around prop. my 2 c
 

Pecos1997

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Motor is new 12hours i just bought the Boat last week, 4.3 Gen 5 aluminum block Direct injection distributor less ignition,if i drop top end speed no problem,just need to pull hard on heavy loads and stay on plane at 18-20mph
 

jimmbo

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We need a few more specs, what is the engines recommended WOT range?
 

jimmbo

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You are at or near the upper end of you WOT rpm range. If you are willing to Kill it's top speed, then I guess you could go with a 4 blade(cold shudder runs through me) with a lower pitch, Probably about 3 inches less
 

Pecos1997

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Yes i can stand a drop in top end speed for the benefit of a better holeshot.
Thanks for the Help. I will report back once i have installed and run the boat with the new setup.
 

Scott Danforth

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have you tried moving people to the bow?

your boat as arse-heavy, and your slightly under-powered to get out the hole with that much aft weight

with all the people sitting in the back of the boat is super arse-heavy and takes a long time getting out of the hole especially when pulling a skier (which loads the boat more arse-heavy)

moving people to the front balances the pull from the skier a bit and allows the boat to climb out the hole.

and if this works like it always has in the past with marginally powered boats full of people, buy me a beer (much cheaper than a prop)

Hint: its how you pull a slalom skier out of the water with a 3.0 powered boat and 5 people on board - you move 3 of them to the front,
 

Kola16

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Does your boat have trim tabs? They really help getting a skier up and keeping your bow down.

Motor is new 12hours i just bought the Boat last week, 4.3 Gen 5 aluminum block Direct injection distributor less ignition,if i drop top end speed no problem,just need to pull hard on heavy loads and stay on plane at 18-20mph
Is there no break-in period on those engines? I would not be towing a skier 12 hours into my rebuilt motor, but maybe because I have an old 350.
 

jimmbo

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Does your boat have trim tabs? They really help getting a skier up and keeping your bow down.


Is there no break-in period on those engines? I would not be towing a skier 12 hours into my rebuilt motor, but maybe because I have an old 350.

Towing in the Break-in Period is not recommended, but after 10 hours, the last 8 or so at higher speeds, there shouldn't be any real concerns, unless the engine is overloaded
 

Scott06

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I'd try a Michigan vortex 4 blade in 20 pitch. Relatively cheap in aluminum, if you like what it does you can buck up for any of the stainless options out there. In my experince going 3 to 4 blade accomplished what your looking for
 

QBhoy

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I’m not sure I know which engine this is. Would there be a 4.3 in a 2019 boat ? Would it not be a 4.5 ? Would explain the higher rpm.
 

jimmbo

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In the first post, he said is was a SX-A. Which would mean VP. Volvo isn't using the 4.5, instead they have a new high revving 4.3
 
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