WEELLLLLLLL...
 

I wasn't sure what to expect. I had that little hope (everyone does) that my top end cruise and acceleration were all going up 5 points. I know thats not realistic and the prop game is a give and take battle.

So now my mind starts to think ...Was it the humidity ..weight...pitch. after all they were 31's maybe 32-33 is the trick...Lab?? All the questions.

Tommorow is Herring day. What if they give me every thing I'm asking for? Big problem .....I'll have to order a pair! cause I won't be able sleep knowing that (free) speed is there.

Incognito. I think they might work well (very stable). All you can do is try.

Maximus,

A very good friend of mine just got some from Fountain three weeks ago and they are great. He has a 2002 Fountain Lightning with 575 sc's. It came with 30 Pitch 4-blades from the factory. He was not happy with top end. It was running high 80's. They traded him some labbed 32 pitch 4-blades which got him into the low 90's, but one big problem, it was a real ***** to get on plane. With a full load of fuel and six people, all of us had to get in the front of the cuddy and the boat shook like a son-of-a-*****.

I was over at his place last weekend and he was grinning from ear to ear. They traded him with boot of course for the 5 blades and the boat has never run better. The speedo it reading 94 MPH and it hops up on plane easy. Fountain has worked him him very well to help get this boat dailed in.

The boat is named "Heat Lightning", on Lake Norman.

Good Luck

Hi Friends,

Troutly, the slip factor on the Bravos was almost double on the pleasure boat (+20%) (as compared to the Q-5s.) That's with a conservative X dimension and pusing over 13,500 pounds. The Bravos on the Fountain race boat are pushing less than 7,800 pounds and slip is closer to 10% with a fairly high X dimension. Weight increases slip in these particular tests.

The Q-5's get on plane instantly with little to no cavitation on the race boat, and no cavitation at all on the pleasure boat. The Q-5 can be 2 inches smaller in pitch and deliver the same top end at the same RPM as the larger Bravo (Hence the impact of reduced slip). Of interest, cruise speed is faster (in these tests) with the Q-5 at the same RPM when compared to the Bravo 4 blades.

As to price, I believe retail on the Q-5 is about $1,100 (please check with Ben Robertson to be sure) while the Herring is closer to $1,600 +/-. (Contact Jim or Bob Herring for verification) The Herring does arrive labbed and it displays beautiful workmanship. The Q-5 arrives polished and also exhibits fine workmanship, but is not labbed.

Both the Q-5 and the Herring give the boat greater lateral stability and tend to keep the bow level in bigger water as compared to the 4 blade Bravo. We find with the race boat that we can maintain forward speed better with the 5 blades than with 4 blades. Just drop the tabs a hint and although you'll still get air in the right conditions, it's level with a good recovery and very little loss in speed.
BTW, I believe the standard Q-5 is a 15.50 diameter while the Bravo is 15.25. That's only 1/8th. of an inch per blade, but that's equivalent to 1/8 inch further bite for the 5 blade. This in part would account for the lower slip of the 5 blade Q-5 and the lower bow lift.

To be fair to Merc, I understand they are developing a 5 blade (and reportedly 6 blades) and they may in fact turn out just as effective as the Hydromotive or Herring products. Time will tell.

MAXIMUS: I noticed that the temperature on your Q-5 test was about 13 degrees warmer than with the Bravo prop, or roughly a 20% increase in ambient temp. I'm assuming the water temp was also a bit warmer. That alone would make up the 3 MPH difference you saw between the props.

Either way, your boat is set up very well! Have a ball, and be safe.

Again, if any of you have your boats at the Fort Myers race and want to test the Q-5's, contact Ben Robertson at Fountain and he'll do his best to have what you need. As to testing Herring props, Jim was at the Miami race and very willing to help where possible. Call him in advance of whatever race you can make and possibly he'll have something for you to test.

Take care,

Steve

More Humid too!
 

Steve,

Enviromental aspects of this test were all around more demanding than when testing the b1's and you are correct the water temp was warmer. And I apoligize, I did not realize the Q5's were 15.5.

You are dead on with this description " we can mantain forward speed better" I also found the boat much less likely to break loose. It was almost as if I could have left the throttles jammed and put both hands on the wheel.

Have you ever thrown a blade with labbed props. I have a little fear of running labs because of the "horrer stories" of prop failure and ensuing damage,

I'll post my next results tonight.

note: check your private mail

Hi Maximus,

I share your fear of labbing. While on one hand you're pretty much assured of greater speed, you're also assured of shortening prop life. One small hit from debris and the prop is toast. Larger hit by debris and the blown prop could take out the inners of the drive thru the vibration.

The Q-5's and the Herring both come thinner than the std. Bravo. Thus labbing a Bravo is less risky than labbing a Q-5. The Herring is delivered with a lab finish and is a pretty stout prop. If you have a Bravo 4 blade and a Q-5 in front of you, measure the blade thickness at various points, start at the hub, and then each 1/4 inch. all the way to the tip. I think you'll find the Q-5 thinner throughout the measurement. (when compared to a non labbed Bravo) If in fact the Q-5 you're testing is as thick as the std. Bravoprop, then some thinning might not harm you. It's that "some" that gets you in trouble??

Have fun today testing your props. Whatever speed you get, just think how blessed you are to have the opportunity to be out in a spectacular boat having a ball :)

Steve

Maximus, Will you be testing 33" H5B props?

Your testing is interesting vs. the 34"B1 and 31"H5B.

WOT slip decreased from 7.78% to 5.54% but speed went down 3 mph.
4100rpm slip decreased from 6.64% to 0.02%!! but speed decreased 2.5 mph.

You need the 33"!

It's not much but all 4 Bravo 1 I have had are closer to 15.1" to 15.125"

just to be sure
 

I put the Bravo1 -4 blades back on today just to refresh my memory before running the Herrings. Wow. they are fast.. boat is loose but very quick I ran a hundred in two foot gulf chop and she felt great. Tommorow I'll post the Herring results.

Cobra Marty- I think the water temp/humidity/ air temp may have skewed my results. what do you think? After tommorrows test I'm going to do an OSO round table with you guys to decide what our next move is.

MikeHTM - interesting, more to think about

Later

I found them!!!
 

Baseline: 36 Spectre Poker Run (7200lbs dry)/ 500efi's /XR (1.35)/Merc lowers hydromotive nosecones

Herring 15 1/4 x 32 - 5 blade

Fuel 140 gal
Salt water/med humid/87 deg

Top speed -108 (more there) @5100
Cruise 89 @ 4100 (Solid as a rock)
Acceleration - Fantastic!!!!!
Bow lift - Med
plane- Very good (best of three)
True running - Wow!! these thing rock! Boat felt precise and fast.
finish- lab brush
Notes - sharp as a razor, High quality workmanship

Holy s#%t. My boat actually felt like a different machine. The acceleration was very positive. the boat flew straight and level. I guess in this instance you get what you pay for ...cause these puppies ain't cheap!!!! This is prop Heaven!



Maximus



Previous tests:

Bravo one 15 1/4 x 34 -4 blade

Fuel: 50 gal
Salt water / med humidity/ 72 deg

Top speed -111 @ 5000 rpm (trimmed out- on the edge)
cruise -91.5 @ 4100rpm feels good
Acceleration- good
bow lift - high
Slow to plane
True running- 1-2.5 ft- boat is a little "flighty" but fast
finish- avg

Hydromotive 15 1/2 x 31 - 5 blade

Fuel 90 gal
Salt water/high humidity/ 85 deg

Top speed 108 @ 5250 ( liked med trim best)
cruise - 89 @ 4100 ( very stable)
Acceleration- good
bow lift - low
Plane- faster than B1's
True running- 1-3's- very stable (felt 15 feet wide), boat accelerated very well in chop. Should be a great all around race prop. Point and shoot!
finish- polished
Notes- man these props look cool on the boat!


Maximus

Noticed you were carrying an extra 500lbs.+of fuel over the Bravo test, even more impressive!
Well!!!,.......which ones are stayin' on???