Solas Prop
 

Is the best SS Solas Prop for a Volvo 270/280 the Titan?

I like the Titan 3 but I don't see it listed for Volvo.

There's a few post on this. Seems to be. Do a little searching.

Happy boating.

i run a 290aq volvo and had bronson and hill make me a ss prop but interested in solas .how do they run

I hear nothing but good things for older Volvo's. Cheaper then a 40 year old Ultra. More updated then Hill prop and cheaper then them also.

the Solas for the AQ volvos were a labor of love for a man who has since passed away . An avid Donzi person and boater. Randy Carabelli "big grizzly" RIP.
I had done some testing for Randy and have run all of the size solas props he worked with them on developing.

The titan is now for sale from Solas but it is just a little different from the ones that Randy was selling.
they come in three different sizes and have very low slip numbers. the highest slip I had seen was 8% 7% was the avg slip number.
they come in 19 21 and 23 pitch but due to the effiencency and diameter over 15.5 inches wide the really perform like a 21 23 and a 25.

I can sum some things up for you. Using a 16 donzi for testing I achieved the most stable top end speed over many other props tested cleaver,chopper ultra,custom spinelli.
I would imagine you are running your nova right?

this is what I found on the 16 with a 310 hp 351w running 1.6 gears and a nose cone on a 21 solas to 4900 rpm this motor could not really turn a 23 . I have no info on the Nova hull, not sure if you are looking for alot of bow lift.

the best speed I got was 62.8 mph the boat was stable rock solid no ventilation,cavitation,chine walk. It was like a new boat compared to every other prop I had tried.
the prop is hooked to the water, even cutting the trottle back hard from WOT the boat acted like a chute was deployed no squierrly action just a quick controlled stop.
the prop carried the 16 well no excess stern or bow lift. The people who like alot of bow lift and really like to fly the nose probably won't like the flat ride attitude of the solas.

It also handled ( or didn't change in handling) rough water the ultra I had always blow out or ventilated in rougher water .

these results are pretty standard on a 16 or 18 classic and even a 20 cig that was volvo powered.

There should be some more detailed information on my testing on www.donzi.org search solas prop testing.

It was the first investment I made when I sold the 16 and got the hornet. I have a 23 solas waiting to be put on once the project is done.

Randy loved the story my wife told. I had lent the solas to a friend .she loved the way the boat rode with the solas she didn't get beat up. while my firend had the solas i put an ultra on the 16 my wife and I went for a ride, she noticed right away the boat was squierlly . she said why? I told her I lent the prop out. Her response go over to my friend give her the wrench she'll jump in to the lake and get the prop back.


So really the best testiment for the solas "a passenger who only really cares about where the sun is and working on her tan can tell you how well the solas handles." MISS YA RANDY

sorry 2 more things to add. running my numbers on a prop calculator 4900 rpm 1.6 drive 21 pitch 62.8 mph gps would give the prop a -.031 slip number or prop GRIP????.

that's why I said to add 2 inches of pitch.

clean water if you give it a clean water flow like off a nose cone it will bite the **** out of the water.

Good review
Thanks Matt

matt pm me i was going to pm big grizzy today for a prop. i cant believe it ,god rest his soul

mattyboy,

I don't have any experience with these props but I ran the numbers too.
Actually the slip with the 21 would be -3.12 not -.031. As you know, impossible.
With a 23P number the slip would be 5.85%, a incredible number and for that hull.
Were these props ever pitch read via computer aid?

I think there may be a tach, gear ratio or speed number slightly off.

However, sounds like the props run great.

Brett

I know very little about Solas boat props.

I know that when I was racing stock class jetski's (1200cc pro-stock class) that the Solas props were the hot ticket for both speed and acceleration.

Dr. Solas manufactures some of the finest supertanker props in the world...saving shipping companies literally thousands of dollars because of the increased efficiency of his props.

I have never tried any of his boat props...but would guess from my jetski experiences (a lot) that they are probably quite efficient.

Chris

I should add to my post above.
We "do" have experience with these propellers from a repair stand point. BBLADES does not sell Solas products. We have done very little testing other than customer input of the propellers we have repaired.
As a propeller guy for the last 20 years what I can tell you is Solas is a mid price point propeller. The geometry is decent but the consistancy suffers. We have had some issues with the propellers matching.
Anyway, what I like about the product is you can find something to fit a unusual application often when a major manf. might no longer carry it.

BBLADES

Thanks for your in put on this,maybe someday BBLADES will make a ss prop for us older volvo 270,280,290aq guys :drink:

Brett, I ran the props on several different boats using an online calc we avg'd around 7 to 8 percent which on the calc shows .07 the tach was tested and with my eyes it could be give or take 50 rpms. also all the classic guys running them have close to the same results

the props are almost 16 inches in dia. and were marked a 21 pitch. large surface area ,probably some cup , but I never had the pitch actually tested. I was so happy with the ride and speed I didn't bother. I had a spinnelli custom and tried a hill custom the solas performed better and was not as much $$$.

Brett i always wondered how dia. is figured into the calc formula? I would imagine the pitch numbers are a tad understated.

this is the calc I usually use

http://www.rbbi.com/folders/prop/propcalc.htm

:)

Brett, I forgot this . I also got in early with Randy and I did get some of the tweaked testing props from the earlier stages of production. The later props were alittle differnt in shape. The hubs were also not an issue like they were on the volvo ultras in stock form.

:)