Right Prop for Bennington 2575RLX?

[gitnby]

2001 Bennington 2575RLX with 200 HP Merc Optimax.

current prop is a 5 blade which will only get me about 4800 RPM's at WOT with 1 passenger.

We often carry 6-10 passengers, and need better performance at cruising speed (20-25). Don't care too much about top end speed. It'll go 36 with 2 passengers now.
Also will occasionally pull a skier or tuber.
Pretty heavy boat with 3 batteries, 35 gallons of gas, 3 anchors, 2 large coolers, etc.

Mercury prop selector gives me anywhere from a 13-15 pitch, which seems too low to me! My dealer says a 18 or 19 . Other users have recommended a 15 or 16 Enertia. One user recommended a 4 blade Piranha 16 pitch.

Need to decide!

I'm leaning towards the Enertia based on the good reviews here.

Can someone explain the performance issues with the different pitches, and/or recommend a prop they have on a similar pontoon?

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Right Prop for Bennington 2575RLX?

You don't indicate what the pitch of the current prop is. Without that we have nothing to use as a baseline. Whatever that prop is, you need to drop a blade but retain same pitch, or use another five blade with less pitch, or do whatever is necessary to get the revs up a little.

 

[gitnby]

Re: Right Prop for Bennington 2575RLX?

Not sure why previous owner had a 5 blade on it?
I think the pitch is a 21, but that's irrelevant as I don't want another 5 blade.

Was hoping someone had the same or similar boat so I could compare.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Right Prop for Bennington 2575RLX?

Current pitch is very relevant as it provides the baseline for performance. If you drop to a four blade or even a three blade and retain 21P on each of those props, engine revs will come up a bit with each blade dropped, but 21P should retain nearly the same speed. However, a four or three blade prop will likely hook up worse than the five blade so you need to look for more efficient blade design and/or lower the engine a bit to allow more bite.

 

[gitnby]

Re: Right Prop for Bennington 2575RLX?

I guess what I'm asking is:

Does anyone else have a similar set-up?

And if so, what prop are you using?

 

[gitnby]

Re: Right Prop for Bennington 2575RLX?

turns out my 5 blade is a 23 pitch!

If I go to a 3 blade, the rule is I'll pick up another 200-300 RPM's with the same pitch.

So, to get to max RPM's(5000-5750), I would still need at least 600 more.

That translates to about a 19 Pitch, which is what a buddy of mine has on the same boat, only he has a 225, mine's a 200.

I tend to get the boat heavy with people, coolers, etc, so maybe I should go a bit lower to maybe a 17 or 18?