Prop for a 1996 Merc 60 hp

[boomer2]

Anybody know what a good all around prop pitch/diameter would be for this engine? I realize it's sort of a loaded question. The engine is on a 1997 Starcraft Fishmaster 1660 deep v hull ..factory dry weight said to be 654 lbs. but with me and gear and batteries probably more in the vicinity of 950. I bought the boat recently and have only driven briefly on the tryout before buying. It jumped on plane pretty quickly with no straining. The ss prop on it says 14p. I have no clue the diameter...guess I really should measure it. I am thinking of gearing it up to a 16 or 17 but am a little leery of going too high. Anyone run a 60hp...what prop are you using? Anyone have experience propping a 60 in the ballpark of the specs I mentioned... weight, type of boat/hull etc?

 

[roscoe]

Have had several similar boats.

Of course the missing info is what are your wide open throttle (wot) rpm's.

I think you would be safe with a 16p, if going with a similar prop with similar blade design.

For me, having a great hole shot is worth more than 2-3 mph.

 

[bilge rat jim]

Yep, we need to know your current WOT RPM. Also, you don't mention if your outboard has a bigfoot or standard gear case. If you have a standard gear case, your current prop is probably 10 1/4 - 10 1/2" D. Your outboards' recommended WOT RPM is 5000 - 5500, and if your current set-up allows the outboard to run in the upper end of this range (5300+), you could probably increase the prop pitch by 2 inches without losing too much hole-shot and might even increase your WOT speed by a couple of MPH. If you're running 5000-5300 at WOT, this is a good prop match for your boat. Keep in mind- a 2" increase in pitch results in a 200-300 rpm decrease. Also, prop selection depends a lot on what your goal is- top speed, pulling a load, overall good performance, etc. There are a plethora of props on the market nowadays, and most are job-specific, so it's important to match the type with your requirements. There is a lot more to props than just pitch and diameter.

 

[boomer2]

Thanks for the input guy's. I don't have a tach, I need to check around for a portable one for testing purposes. Gearcase is standard. My goal is overall good performance without sacrificing hole shot or top end greatly and certainly without over-reving the engine. Hopefully staying just a tad under the WOT specs for this engine when operating at WOT. The comment about the 2-300 drop in rpm for each 2" of pitch increase is interesting. I am thinking of trying to find a 16 pitch prop of the same diameter I have to "test drive" before buying. If the holeshot isnt a dog and top end is near wot specs....I'd be a happy camper with a 16. I think I'm a little "stalled" at this point until I do something about a tach. I guess I could go tto my local Merc dealer and let em run it in a tank with a test load on it while trying different props..which probably would be pricey. Or just bite the bullet and install a tach and go from there.

 

[bilge rat jim]

It's a small bullet you'll have bite for a tach- look into "tiny tach". I'm not sure if iboats offers these, but they are available for about 45 bucks elsewhere, wire up easily, and will provide the info you need for proper prop selection.