Pat McPherson

T-Mone and I ran a few props last night.
First was a 25p Mec Rev 4. I must say that it is a great prop for our hulls right out of the box; better than a stock B1 or any other stock 4 blade I've tried.
The prop carries the boat great with out trimming too far.
Top speed was good; I saw 74.5mph holding the throttle off the limiter at 5100 or so.
Anthony said he saw 80 and also loved the prop.
Other props I tried last night included my 28p Mach stern driver and Anthony's 24p P5-X.
The Mach was OK, my boat reached 75.2 @ 4700rpm. The handling was not as good as the Rev 4 and it has a bit too much pitch.
The P-5X is the best accelerating and best in the rough water prop I've had on my boat. I saw 71-72 @ 5100rpm with a lot of throttle left.
We ran out of sun light before I had a chance to run my newly Labbed by BBlades 27p M+. Anthony did run it and liked it; I think he said he saw 82 at one point.
Got to Love those week nights on the CT River!

krakmeup

Good data, thanks Pat. Were these all RH or did you get to try a lefty? Do you need to consider a lefty?

Pat McPherson

All right hand props; my boat runs flat with just me in her no tabs.

jayhawk261

Good info on the props Pat. I'm on the list at BBlades to try ot the new Rev 4 25P. I'm hoping that will be enough pitch as I hope to get a prop that works well on these boats. I guess we'll see!

Pat McPherson

Your hull is different than mine, but it is surely worth a try.
Anthony's boat ran 80mph @ 5500rpm full of fuel.
Stock 26pB1, 28pB1, and 25p Rev4 props would be my suggestions for testing.

Pure Energy

Pat, I've done somemore work with mine. I had the diffuser ring cut off and the diameter reduced 1/4" on the 30 B1. It maid a huge difference!! My boat always feels alittle heavy and stuck to the water. Now it is "loose as a goose"! Actually a little too loose. I can now "dance" the boat with the wheel, but is also a little flighty. The prop had been adjusted previously for more bow lift, now it has too much. Also lost 4 mph all around. Have yet to determine what has caused what. Prop guy thinks it is blowing out.

Also did the 29 Hydro QIV for bow lift, and thinned those fat blades. Deffinately got good results. Picked up cruise speed, RPM, and a little more loose. Top end 1.5 mph more.

Putting on a nose cone as we speak.

Damn this is exciting!!!!!

Pat McPherson

This is fun stuff!
I think the smaller diameter and higher rake of the Rev 4 works better on my hull vs. the B1.
Taking diameter out of the B1 reduces the stern lift, which is why you feel more bow lift. Taking diameter off has probably lowered the efficiency of the prop because you have less overall lift too. I'm not so sure that was a good idea on a 30' single. I believe on a boat like yours you need all the blade area you can get and just change the geometry for adjustments.
Good luck with the nose cone.
We'll see you in October K...

Pure Energy

I heard since my boat is a true V it would respond well to less diameter and more pitch. It's tough to keep all this prop info straight but my prop guy has been great, I just need more time to talk with him.

Pat McPherson

Is it all a delicate balance I suppose?
I’m learning that the best path to dialing in a prop is to start with the one that works best in its stock form.
Also, you have to have your goals defined.
On my boat, a 3 blade (Mirage +) is the fastest but the handling is not vary good unless I run on calm water.
A 5 blade (P5-X) is awesome in the rough and handles well in all conditions, but the speed is not there; not to mention 5 blade props are expensive.
4 blade props (B1, Rev4) are the best all around with decent speed and handling.
I’m going to keep trying different props because I find it fun to run the boat with a tweak here and there.
Happy Boating!

Pat McPherson

I was able to sneak out for a solo run this morning after breakfast with the kids to test my newly labbed 27p Mirage +.
Fueled her up with 40 gal of 89 and dumped her in...
The wind is blowing pretty good today so there is a nice 1' chop on the river.
Checked the tide with the GPS and it showed about a .5mph coming in and against the north wind.
I did 3 speed runs, 2 with the wind and 1 into the wind.
The boat hit 87 on the speedo and I saw 78+ on the GPS running with the wind. My GPS does not have a tattletale so I’m not sure how much above 78, but I did see 78. Running into the wind I was not able to trim up quite as much but still got 85+ on the speedo and 76+ on the GPS...
The boat ran 2 mph faster than I’ve ever run her before going by the speedo. My speedo normally reads 83-84 at 75+ GPS when she running strong with my labbed 28p Barvo 1. The best I had seen to date was 85 on the speedo and 77+ GPS.
BBlades delivered again with the prop. 78mph @ 4900rpm and smooth as silk...
The boat ran vary stable at WOT and did not require as much trim as my B1. No chine walk at any time during the runs. Out of the hole with the three blade does take a little feathering at times. I found if I just hold 3000rpm with the drive down, she comes up on plan without blowing out.
I’m hoping for a little more speed when I run the fuel down and unload all the extra crap off the boat. We shall see…