1995 Evinrude 88spl - 2 props to choose from.....

[jchast]

Hello.

I have a 1997 Sunbird Spirit 170 vhull (1950# dry weight) running a 1995 Evinrude 88spl. I have 2 props that came with the boat. There is a black painted aluminum prop that is 13.25 17 pitch (as stamped on the prop). The prop that was installed on the boat is stainless steel, but it does not have a single letter or number anywhere on the inside or outside of the prop, so I don't know who makes it or what size or pitch it is. I do know it's slightly larger and considerably heavier than the aluminum prop.

With the SS prop, 3 people and gear, I was running 38mph WOT @ 5200 rpm.

I want to try out this alum. prop, but it just wont seem to stop raining here in western pa so I haven't had a chance to head out with it yet..... hoping to maybe head out tomorrow, but we'll have to see how the river is since it just stormed here today.

I was just wondering if anyone had any insight on the correct prop to run with this outboard. All of the boats I've ever been on had aluminum props. It would seem, with my limited experience, that this prop should spin much faster, but being about a half inch smaller in diameter at the blades it might not make for more power or speed, necessarily. I don't plan to tow any tubes or skiers.. just cruise around and do some fishing is my plan.

Thanks for any advice you can give.


-Jay

 

[steelespike]

Re: 1995 Evinrude 88spl - 2 props to choose from.....

We sure could get abetter idea if you test run the al prop.
How was the hole shot?
I would say that at 1950 lbs 3 people,gas and gear 38 is respectable.
My blind guess is the ss is a 17" pitch.
Most boats have al. props because ss costs about 3 times as much.While they can generally perform better than al.
many people won't go for ss.

 

[jchast]

Re: 1995 Evinrude 88spl - 2 props to choose from.....

Thanks for the reply, steelespike.

I agree, I do need to run the aluminum prop and report back, which I definitely will. I wish this rain would stop around here. The river is a mess right now. Kinda stinks.

From what I've been told and have read, They say that AL props are only good up until about 50mph? Then SS is the way to go.... I looked at some of the prices of SS props..... I can understand why people don't want to spend the buck on them. lol. I've also heard that AL props are better for the river and areas where impact can be an issue. I am plenty happy with the top speed of the SS prop. The holeshot is.... from what I can gather... pretty decent... not head snapping good... but it will put your head back a little, if that makes sense. I just want to make sure I'm running the right set up... what ever it may be. Do you think a prop can be identified just by looking at it? If so, I can take some pictures of the SS prop and post them if you think it might help.... but I have looked a couple times, even after cleaning the prop, with light and a magnifying glass... and I can see no numbers, letters or marks of any kind on that SS prop.... weird.

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: 1995 Evinrude 88spl - 2 props to choose from.....

Well...... if you made two identical props.... one aluminum and one stainless steel ........ the stainless steel prop will win every time. Aluminum flexes and stainless does not. 38 mph based on your loading is very good.

 

[steelespike]

Re: 1995 Evinrude 88spl - 2 props to choose from.....

I have to ask have you looked under the prop nut for numbers?
A real prop expert might be able to look at prop and say oh thats such and such brand or model,this is intended for heavy boats,light fast boats or to improve certain handling issues.
but when it comes to any number of
more generic props identification becomes more difficult.

 

[jchast]

Re: 1995 Evinrude 88spl - 2 props to choose from.....

I just double checked the SS prop.... I still don't see a single character anywhere on it... Here are a couple pictures, just for the heck of it. The pictures don't make the prop look too good... lol. It's definitely not shiney like what you see on bass boats, but it seems to do the job.

The "hub" is rounded and seems to have a rubber bushing of some sort in it. You can see it in the picture of the back of the prop. I took some measurements of the prop... but Im not sure if the measurements I took are of any use to you guys in determining the size.

 

[jchast]

Re: 1995 Evinrude 88spl - 2 props to choose from.....

1 more measurement pic.... 5 pics per post limit, sorry.

 

[steelespike]

Re: 1995 Evinrude 88spl - 2 props to choose from.....

You can get the diameter by measuring from the center of the bore to the tip of a blade and double it.
Won't be much help unless it appears to be way under or over size.
The typical prop has a hub pressed into the prop with a rubber sleeve,bushing when the prop strikes something it is supposed to slip
to save the gear case. It may fail all together or some times run for years afterwords.
Also an undamaged hub may fail with age.

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: 1995 Evinrude 88spl - 2 props to choose from.....

I just double checked the SS prop.... I still don't see a single character anywhere on it... Here are a couple pictures, just for the heck of it. The pictures don't make the prop look too good... lol. It's definitely not shiney like what you see on bass boats, but it seems to do the job.

The "hub" is rounded and seems to have a rubber bushing of some sort in it. You can see it in the picture of the back of the prop. I took some measurements of the prop... but Im not sure if the measurements I took are of any use to you guys in determining the size.

View attachment 205448View attachment 205449View attachment 205450View attachment 205451View attachment 205452

That is an original SST OEM prop from Johnson/evinrude and actually an excellent prop. If it has be re-hubbed the numbers will not appear. When they are new from the factory.....the numbers are actually cast into the rubber on the Nut side of the prop.

 

[Fleetwin]

Re: 1995 Evinrude 88spl - 2 props to choose from.....

Agree with Bob VT. The OMC SST's were great props, especially for their engines. They're NOT shiny because the black coating was Teflon. Thus the "T" in SST.

That prop is worth saving or having rebuilt.

 

[jchast]

Re: 1995 Evinrude 88spl - 2 props to choose from.....

Excellent information on the prop. Thanks everyone! It must have been rebuilt, as there are no identifying marks on it. In regards to having a prop rebuilt, or re-hubbed.... Any suggestions on a reputable company to send it to? Or is that mostly a local prop shop thing to do?

The rubber still seems fairly soft and plyable from what I can tell, so It might just need polished up or the edges cleaned up...

Still waiting to test that aluminum prop out.... I promise to post with the results as soon as Im able to, and I appreciate everybody's efforts and information to help me!

 

[jchast]

Re: 1995 Evinrude 88spl - 2 props to choose from.....

Ok.... Yesterday was a beautiful day so we had a chance to spend a few hours out on the ohio river. I came back more confused that I thought I'd be.... lol

Per my onboard tach, WOT RPMs with the AL prop (13.25 / 17") was only at 4700 - 4800 rpm and the max speed at WOT with the same load (same 3 people as last time, same amount of gear and actually 1/4 tank less fuel this time) was 34mph per the on board speedo. I didn't bring a gps, I actually don't own one that is portable.

When I ran the SS prop I got 5200 rpm and 38mph WOT same load.

The boat still seems to have a decent hole shot at WOT with the AL prop and it still gets up on plane pretty well. The one thing I did notice is when starting out slowly and maintaining slow speed, just above no wake speed the boat didn't seem to have much pep and took a bit to get moving, if that makes any sense... but if you punch it, it goes well.

I think this prop is too small... I know the SS prop is physically larger than this AL prop. My neighbor 2 doors down has an older Ranger with a Johnson 88spl on it. He says his prop is 13.25/19" He also runs AL. Maybe I'll ask him to borrow his spare 13.25/19" next time I go out with the promise to replace it if anything happens.

What do you guys think? Guess the bottom line is, this is a process of elimination.

P.S... I measured the SS prop as steelespike suggested and from the center of the hub to the tip of each blade is 6.5"



Thank you for the continued help and support!

 

[steelespike]

Re: 1995 Evinrude 88spl - 2 props to choose from.....

The prop calculator indicates the ss is a 17". 5200rpm,2.00 ratio,Guess 12% slip @ 38 = 17.54 pitch. it's safe to assume it is a 17.A 17 is a reasonable number for a 88 spl.
I believe the hp is rated at 5,000; 5500 is a reasonable wot rpm and 5200 with that load seems reasonable.If you go to a 19 you will probably lose some hole shot and will drop out of wot hp range 5,000.

 

[phillnjack2]

Re: 1995 Evinrude 88spl - 2 props to choose from.....

high guys
well the omc sst prop does have numbers on it stamped into it, but believe me its hard to see them.
i had to get some wet n dry and rub around the centre by the prop nut (with prop removed from engine) to find these faint digits.
the numbers are faint and are stamped around the prop nut end on the metal, not the rubber.
you will probably find this is a 13x19 pitch that also has cupping to it. Brilliant prop even by todays standards.
probably find the numbers like 38414 etc
best thing to do with that prop is clean all that teflon crap off and clean it up.
the teflon is now so old its useless and will only cause drag and i bet it even has a tiny amount of rust on it too.

here is a pic of my sst before and after getting the rubbish teflon off it, teflon was THE gimic of the early 1970s ha ha .
the outer ring on the end(converging ring is made of manganese bronze.

if you find your sst is 13x17 then your motor is worn out, that engine can easy push a 19 pitch sst and still have decent hole shot, a 17 pitch would see the rpm go way above 5500 but be good for pulling skiers and tubes.
clean the prop and sharpen it then watch the rpm go a touch higher, also get the engine up atleast 1 hole so it can breath a bit.
the ali prop is probably miss shaped and its also bigger diameter so will cause rpm to be lower by a good few hundred rpm..
the 88spl is same a s a 90hp over here and they can and do run with 19 pitch on spirits and get around 40 to 45mph with 2 people, so your not far off
.

 

[phillnjack2]

Re: 1995 Evinrude 88spl - 2 props to choose from.....

also have you checked to see if the throttle is opening all the way ? are the butterflys in the carbs fully open ?
is timming correct, is the boat trimmed out right, and how is the anti-ventilation plate compared to bottom of the hull.
the sst can run good even with engine up a few inches, i know this as been trying mine out recently up 3 inches and still good.