Ballistic prop any good ?

[quebec#1]

I just bought a used 13 1/2 by 17 Prop for my cxv 16 with a merc inline 6 cyl 115 hp. Do you guys think this is a good prop. I bought it more for general use , maybe more for cruising and sking.

 

[stevens]

Re: Ballistic prop any good ?

Do a search on this forum. Opinions are split; some think it's a great prop (i.e. very fast in some applications), others think it lacks some (i.e. prone to easily blow out/ventilate). Now that you have it, give it a try and let us all know what you think.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Ballistic prop any good ?

You do realize that the two applications you stated (cruising and skiing) are at opposite ends of the performance spectrum. It may work very well for cruising and lousy for skiing, or vice versa. Somewhere in the middle is called compromise and that means it may be ok but not the best for either application. Only testing will prove how it performs.

 

[quebec#1]

Re: Ballistic prop any good ?

You do realize that the two applications you stated (cruising and skiing) are at opposite ends of the performance spectrum. It may work very well for cruising and lousy for skiing, or vice versa. Somewhere in the middle is called compromise and that means it may be ok but not the best for either application. Only testing will prove how it performs.

What i mean by cruising is 0 to 10 mph...

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Ballistic prop any good ?

Almost any prop will allow you cruise at 5 - 10 mph but it may not work well for skiing. But then again it might so the only way to know is to try it. The down side to a good skiing/water toy prop is it may allow over reving the engine at wide open throttle. But if you do a lot of water sports, you can always throttle back a little to avoid that when you are not towing anything/anyone.

 

[jevery]

Re: Ballistic prop any good ?

I had a Ballistic on a 5.7 Alpha 1. It was fast, likely because it was correctly matched to the application, but it did seem to vent prematurely in turns requiring lots of down trim down before starting the turn. But again the hull was a very deep v and I never had a less aggressive prop on the boat to compare it to.

 

[deejaycee_2000]

Re: Ballistic prop any good ?

yes this is a great prop .... i race with one of these ....

 

[Texasmark]

Re: Ballistic prop any good ?

I have 3 and have run a 17' reasonably heavy, alum, bass boat to 50 mph GPS (in winter) with a 90 Merc. The hull has 3 steps in it making a pad and all the way down the centerline is a keel of sorts; piece of angle iron making a V. This is a big source of turbulence in turns since it continues to the transom.

Additionally my engine is jacked up 1 notch, no setback.

I can be at WOT, reduce rpm's a thousand, start into a tight turn and half way through, firewall it; trim still set where it was.

The prop will obviously ventilate, but it doesn't blow out. The 24P is the highest pitch, largest diameter, and is the most prone as the blades are closest to the surface.

Anyhew, the engine will pickup 2-300 rpms in the turn, and hold it; like I will be running 5600, cut to 4000-4500 area, get in the turn, hammer it and the tach will run up around 5900 and hold steady. As I come out of the turn, changing nothing, it takes about 15-20 seconds for the air to clear out and the rpm's come back to 5600.

Have never been able to completely blow out with one of these.

I'll do this several times and then settle down like a mature adult and go fishing in the normal manner.

Do I like 'em??????????????? Nah!

Mark

 

[quebec#1]

Re: Ballistic prop any good ?

Thanks for the good info !