5 Bladed Props
 

I'm running a 1997 Fountain 29 single with a Teague 509 blower motor. Has anyone with a single 29 tried out the new 5 bladed Hydromotive or Mercury Props yet?

I'm currently running a Hydromotive 28/29 4 blade at sea level and a Bravo One 26 4 blade at Lake Tahoe (6400 feet).

I'm mostly concerned about my Tahoe situation, where getting up on plane can be very difficult at times. Any ideas?

Fountaineer
Have run the Hydro 5 blades on a twin engine application. They will help you get on plane, and cruise speed is increased for a given rpm. But thats alot of money to spend to get on plane. Did you try one of the advertisers on the board, Throttle Up or Houston Prop. Given the application and what you want out of a prop, you would be suprised what improvements they can make to your existing prop. Unless you just want to buy another prop to try.

I'm actually sending one of my props in to Houston Propeller to get it worked on to see how that works. I think I'll try a 5 bladed one just to see how it works later on.

fountaineer, what kind of speed are you getting with your setup? Just bought a 29/525. I was wanting to increase speed and wondering what the safe ceiling is for the hull. I'm sure you are much faster than I.

thanks

My Gaffrig speedo shows a top speed of 89 MPH. I checked it with gps once at 87.

Once you get above 85 you really have to stay on it. Definitely a rush, though.

No Limits, how fast are you running? What year is your 29?

2004 525hp

I've seen 76 without being at WOT. Had the boat in water for 45 minutes in November. Fountain provides the "test" sheet for all new boats. The test sheet for my boat said 80 (at 5400 rpm - rev limiter issue) as did the gps/speedo tatle tale. (hit button and it jumps to highest speed). I am hoping to dial in a little higher 81 - 83... Prop labbed, synthetic drive fluid and oil and a set of shotguns for exhaust. Don't know though.

HP?
 

Fountaineer,

What kind of HP is your motor putting out? Prop rotation? Also any drive mods?

My 2000 29 with a whippled 500 efi, IMCO SC upper is running a 28 rh bravo 1 prop. GPS 84mph at sea level, 76mph at Tahoe with 6lb pulley, no prop change.

I feel there is more speed in this setup, and am looking at prop or x-dim. Curious to see what your setup is.

The X dimension on my 04 is 19 1/2 if that helps you.

nolimits,

Did you get the x dimension from your performance sheet, or did you measure? Thanks

502KC,

My motor is a Teague built 509 with a B&M 250 Blower, Superchiller intercooler, & MSD Ignition. I believe it is somewhere in the 700 - 750 HP range. I run 7 lbs of boost. My drive has been rebuilt by Teague using all new heavy duty gears, shafts, etc.

I run a 28 Hydromotive LH at sea level. When Teague set up the boat he said this particular boat ran better with a LH rotation.

At Tahoe I run a 26 Bravo One, and I see 80 on the speedo. I also use a smaller blower pully to get compensate for the altitude. I really want to try the new Hydromotive 5 bladed prop for Tahoe. They say it has a great hole shot and midrange, and at Tahoe I can certainly use the help getting on plane faster.

How is your boat getting on plane?

502k,
I got the number from the performance sheet, should that not be the same??

Fountaineer,
What is your X dimenssion?? It seems like you should be in the mid 90's, no? Thats alot of power...

To be honest, I do not know my X dimension. I do know that the X dimension on my 97 is lower than the later models. Reggie got a little more aggressive as time went by.

No limits, how does your boat get up on plane?

Fountaineer,

Getting on plane in Tahoe is not too bad. I get alot of blowout in Tahoe if I get aggressive out of the hole. But I am pretty easy on it out of the hole, so I can keep it hooked up till she rolls over. The low and mid end of the whipple really helps. But in general, four people, full of fuel is reasonable. I don't experience the blowout at sea level, a little curious why?

Also, you should be able to get your performance report by giving the factory your hull ID. This will give you your x-dimension. The rumor is when Reggie switched from lefty hydros to the righty Bravos he raised the x-dim to get the speeds back up. This happend in 2001.

In Tahoe, what RPM's are you spinning with your 26? How often do you boat up here?

Fountaineer,
The boat planes ok. I ease it to somewhere between half and three quarter throttle until the nose is up and then ease back when she starts to lunge foward. She sits right moments later. I'm never in a rush to pop the boat out, so maybe I am a little conservative.

A buddy of mine drove it and commented that he felt he had to give more throttle than he would have thought. But then again he is running a blower motor about 830 hp... So I just discounted his thoughts to what he is used too.

502KC,

UP at Tahoe it's kind of a dog getting on plane. It takes about 4000 RPM to get it "over the top" and start planing. Once I start planing everything is fine. My speedo reads 80 at the lake, with my RPM around 5100. What is your RPM?

The boat is normally at the Lake during all of August and half of September. Where on the Lake are you?

No Limits,

I am definitely conservative also when getting up on plane. At sea level I usually nose over around 3100-3500 RPM.

What RPM do you show when nosing over?

Not sure, my 1 hour behind the wheel was about feel. I know I need to pay attention to RPM's more and will in a few weeks when I splash again..

Fountaineer,

I am on Tahoe all summer, live in Truckee. Last year was buoyed on the west shore by Hurricane Bay. This year may be the same, not sure yet. How about you?

I am running around 5200-5300 at WOT. Have seen 75.9 on GPS, but 74.5-75 GPS is the average. My speedo was broken last year, and replaced it with a Digital Gaffrig GPS speedo. The Gaffrig and my handheld are with 0.5 mph.

Your numbers are what I feel my boat should be running. Our boats should be essentially the same hull, possibly the same x, and our HP is in the same range.

Do you get any listing due to prop torque? I get quite a bit when not using much trim. Tabs help, and when trimmed out, the list pretty much goes away.

502KC,

We're on the South Shore.

The way I see it, we are really close in speed. If my Gaffrig speedo is reading 80, the actual speed is probably 78. We're probably within 2 mph of each other.

I don't see too bad of a listing problem. I usually keep my tabs set on 3, which keeps the tabs about level with the bottom at the stern. I don't lose any speed at this setting, but it sure helps with stability at full throttle.

I usually set my drive at around 4, and don't see a difference in speed if I set is any higher. What are your typical settings?

Maybe I'm just expecting too much when it comes to getting the boat on plane, but it sure seems like it coule be better. I'd like to sit in your boat and compare the two to see if there is a difference.

Fountaineer,

Yeah, we are probably pretty close, but there is only one way to find out.....

I can trim the drive to 5 for max speed. That is one of the beauties of digital GPS, you can reaaly see the fine difference in settings. I actually lose a little speed with the tabs at 3, 2-2.5 keeps it pretty stable without scrubbing speed.

I can say the diffrence between 75 and 80+ is quite dramatic. I am pretty relaxed at 75 on Tahoe, on a good water day. At lower elevations, above 80 mph, I am up on that wheel driving the heck out of it.

Did you own the boat prior to the Teague motor? What motor and prop did you run and what was your top speed?

2004 29 Fever 525 81 gps
 

I just delivered a 2004 525 XR ITS not broke in and in fresh water we saw 81 gps. Don't go for the i ITS it was a 4500.00 mistake. No gains but great steering and no rams on transom. PS stock prop.

502 KC,
Let's go out and have some fun later this summer!

When we bought the boat new we built up a fairly mild 502 blower motor and used it for about a year and a half. At that time the top speed at sea level was 78, 70 at Tahoe. Back then we were using Mach Sterndrive props, which did not work all that well. I just didn't know any better.

Then I broke a couple valve springs, and before I fixed it, decided that I wanted a little more power and took the boat down to Teague. He's pricey, but does a nice job.

I definitely agree with you. Up to 75 is a dream. After that if starts to get interesting. And at sea level getting close to 90 you really have to stay on it.

How did you decide to use a Whipple?

Well at the time it was Whipple or Procharger for the 500efi. I went with Whipple based on the setup which provides all new manifold, injectors, fuel pump, regulator, intercooler, map, sensor ECU reprogram, etc. The big benefit to me is all that stuff just sits on top of the motor. The procharger has the interccoler, tubes and other stuff snaking around since the 500efi intake is at the front. I didn't have to do any seat modifications either.

I PM'd you my email address, so lets try and hook up this summer.