210 Larson LXI 5.0 220HP - My experience with 19 and 21 Pitch Props

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Erikste

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Aug 14, 2011
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For those that are looking for some feedback on 19 vs 21 inch props for a 21ft - 2004 Larson 210 LXI with a 220 HP 5.0 GL...

Bought my Larson 2004 Larson 210 LXI with a 220 HP 5.0 GL last year and it came standard with a 21 Pitch prop. First time out with all of my friends, I of course blew it up on a sunken log. Instead of replacing the 21, i opted for a 19 because I wanted more of a "whole-shot" for pulling skiers

After running that 19 pitch prop for a year and my bro-in-law destroying that one, I put a 21 back on to see which one I liked better. Below are my thoughts on the two.

19 Pitch (3) Blade
? Big increase in the "Whole-Shot" - Provided the much needed power when the boat was full of people and you needed to tow a "Big-Dude" out of the water on one ski. In fact, I was out the other day with the 21 pitch prop, 8 adults, full tank of gas, and the boat wouldn't get on plane with a 250lb man trying to get up on one ski. ? Very funny seeing him try and hold on for so long.
? Decreased Top Speed - as you've probably already read, the lower the pitch, the lower your top end will be. For me, I am on a smaller lake and top speed is not very important. I?ll try and get exact numbers for RPM vs Speed but I think it was around 5mph top end loss.
? Cavitation ? the 19 Pitch Prop was more prone to Cavitation and if I really put the hammer down from dead-stop, it would start to cavitate. Gradually increasing the throttle prevented cavitation and still provided the pulling power I needed
? RPM?s ?With a lower than standard pitch prop Make sure to watch your RPM?s and don?t exceed the normal operating range.

21 Pitch (3) Blade

Just as you would imagine, when I put the 21 pitch prop back on, I could immediately notice more top end and it became a little more fun in that regard. Just as I was thinking I liked the 21 pitch prop better, I had that skiing failure and realized that packing the boat full of friends for a day of skiing, tubing, and wakeboarding, was more fun than cruising a small lake at 40 MPH and no one can hear each other.

***Scientific points and engine stress aside, I feel it is about what is more important to you and experimenting is part of the trail and error. Props with hub kits also make trying different props less expensive but for those that want to have two different pitched props on hand and interchange them, the hub kits can be a pain if you have to hammer out the hub everytime. I like how easy OEM?s are to change in-and-out.

Hope this helps.
 

WI_boater

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Sep 20, 2020
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So what was your experience with the 19 over the 21? I have the 21 and the top speed is fine but i feel like it takes to long to plane out. What was top speed with your 19? Did it jump out of the water pretty fast?
 
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