wrvond
Chief Petty Officer
- Joined
- Mar 2, 2010
- Messages
- 597
Hi, I have a 2002 Tracker Tahoe Q3 18 foot I/O bow rider with Mercruiser 3.0 and Alpha I out drive I bought new. It had some initial problems back then, such as inop fuel gauge, inop bilge pump, some kind of broken/missing line through the transom - this allowed the water to enter the engine compartment so fast the bilge pump wouldn't have been able to keep up even it it was working - and an engine that blew it's crankshaft through the oil pan. The dealer made everything right though, and it has been a great boat for us over the years. This past week end the battery gave up the ghost, but I can't complain, it is original to the boat, so I've gotten my money's worth out of it!
Anyway, one of the things the dealer did (without talking to me) was change the prop; I don't know what he changed it to, but upon launch it struck the out drive's trim tab resulting in mutual destruction. He replaced the tab and the prop, and it's been on there ever since. But I got curious and dug out my "spare" prop to try to figure out what prop I "should" have been using, what I've actually been using, and any pros and cons to using one over the other.
I've been able to determine they are both 19 pitch props but the factory prop is 15 inches (3X15.3X19R) on the side, while the prop that has been on there is 14X19 pitch. Both props are aluminum with three blades.
Would I benefit by installing the factory prop? There is only my wife and me on the boat and we tend to tool down the river (or up) just fast enough to maintain steerage way so hole shots and high top speeds are not important. Maximum recommended WOT is 4400-4800 RPM.
An explanation of the performance difference between these two props is most appreciated!
Anyway, one of the things the dealer did (without talking to me) was change the prop; I don't know what he changed it to, but upon launch it struck the out drive's trim tab resulting in mutual destruction. He replaced the tab and the prop, and it's been on there ever since. But I got curious and dug out my "spare" prop to try to figure out what prop I "should" have been using, what I've actually been using, and any pros and cons to using one over the other.
I've been able to determine they are both 19 pitch props but the factory prop is 15 inches (3X15.3X19R) on the side, while the prop that has been on there is 14X19 pitch. Both props are aluminum with three blades.
Would I benefit by installing the factory prop? There is only my wife and me on the boat and we tend to tool down the river (or up) just fast enough to maintain steerage way so hole shots and high top speeds are not important. Maximum recommended WOT is 4400-4800 RPM.
An explanation of the performance difference between these two props is most appreciated!
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