I recently posted a question in the pontoon section regarding prop selection and was advised to post in the prop section for better results:
We recently acquired a Sun Tracker 24' pontoon boat. Very nice condition as the PO really cared for it.....or seemed to.
The engine is a Mercury efi 90 hp which replaced the 40 hp it was originally equipped with. The boat scoots along nicely at (I'm guessing) a moderate 20-25 mph. My only concern is this is my first outboard (besides an old rowboat), and to see the engine cruising at 5000-5100 rpm seems excessive. WOT is about 6100 and seems to do this effortlessly too.
The OEM aluminum 13 pitch prop is in decent condition over all. Not beat from continually hitting objects and dirt, but does have a small ding and scrape on one of the blade edges from obviously hitting something. I thought that maybe I'd replace the OEM aluminum prop with a stainless 15 pitch to see if I can bring the cruise rpm down around 1000 rpm and possibly achieve WOT at around 5800-6000. Someone already mentioned that SS will add more weight to the prop which will cause more wear and tear on the lower unit during shifting, and cause potential damage to the lower unit if the prop ever hits something. I didnt think of the weight.....
Again, this is all kinda new to me so I'm here to learn if anyone has any experience and suggestions in doing such prop swaps on a pontoon boat of similar size and caliber. Also worth noting is I'm not trying to turn this pontoon boat into a "performance" boat either but merely just looking for maximum efficiency from the motor and cruise speeds. Thank you and look forward to reading threads looking for information.
We recently acquired a Sun Tracker 24' pontoon boat. Very nice condition as the PO really cared for it.....or seemed to.
The engine is a Mercury efi 90 hp which replaced the 40 hp it was originally equipped with. The boat scoots along nicely at (I'm guessing) a moderate 20-25 mph. My only concern is this is my first outboard (besides an old rowboat), and to see the engine cruising at 5000-5100 rpm seems excessive. WOT is about 6100 and seems to do this effortlessly too.
The OEM aluminum 13 pitch prop is in decent condition over all. Not beat from continually hitting objects and dirt, but does have a small ding and scrape on one of the blade edges from obviously hitting something. I thought that maybe I'd replace the OEM aluminum prop with a stainless 15 pitch to see if I can bring the cruise rpm down around 1000 rpm and possibly achieve WOT at around 5800-6000. Someone already mentioned that SS will add more weight to the prop which will cause more wear and tear on the lower unit during shifting, and cause potential damage to the lower unit if the prop ever hits something. I didnt think of the weight.....
Again, this is all kinda new to me so I'm here to learn if anyone has any experience and suggestions in doing such prop swaps on a pontoon boat of similar size and caliber. Also worth noting is I'm not trying to turn this pontoon boat into a "performance" boat either but merely just looking for maximum efficiency from the motor and cruise speeds. Thank you and look forward to reading threads looking for information.
