30 or 32p prop? Can I turn the bigger wheel?
 

288 sunsation. (non stepped hull)
600sci
Bravo XR/ITS with short lower/sportmaster.

Prop shaft is about 2-3" below bottom of boat.

28 Pitch Bravo on limiter at 5500 RPM very easily.

78-80 MPH in a slight chop.

Satisfied with all other handling aspects at this point, tight turns, acceleration, time to plane, minimum speed, cruise and handling are fine/acceptable to me, not looking to get into expensive labbing or extensive testing, etc. Just want to prop the boat a few RPM lower so I can stay off the limiter and hopefully gain a few MPH.

Originally thought I could potentially turn a 32, a few guys mentioned single V's have a hard time in this size range going much over a 30P with out big power. I don't have any plans of changing current set up or adding power at this point.

Has me questioning my "estimated" ability to turn a higher pitch prop.

So, just curious what people think, before I plunk down a few hundred bucks on a prop that I can't turn, or that I still run into the limiter on, what do you think? 30 or 32? Planning to stick with the bravo 4 blade.

Where are you located?

30, not 30's. ;)

Well aware of changes in acceleration/holeshot. Not concerned, if I was willing to abuse it the boat jumps up on plane almost as quickly (relatively speaking) as previous lighter/smaller outboard boats i've had. No worries on that front.

Merc says 4800-5200 RPM range for the 600 sci, I'd be plenty happy if I could hit 5,000 with a 32 with a full tank of fuel. The 28 will bang the limiter at 5500 with 4 in the boat and 110 gallon tank topped off. So not sure a 30 brings me down as far as I would like?


Flintish area, Michigan. Why you close enough to let me try something? :santa:

I'm in southwest Michigan so kinda lol...I have a labbed 30 you could try if you want to drag the boat down here you're more than welcome....came off a cig I believe and it's cupped for a little more bow lift if I remember right but should at least get you in the ballpark to know if you can spin a bigger wheel or not...if you're interested pm me and I'll get you my number and we can set something up

If we make any plans to head that direction I'll certainly do so. Thanks for the offer!

Anytime

If you’re hitting the limiter that hard with that much weight on the boat a 32 would probably work. Or if you’re a little below you could have it labbed. Rule of thumb is 200rpm per inch of pitch.

Agreed, that's half the problem, is I don't know how much more RPM I'd have in the 28 to figure out if a 30 or 32 will be better. Not much luck finding something local, likely going to have to get into one of those bblades prop testing programs. Which is a pain, since i live 45 minutes from the lake.

is your current prop labbed?

Looks like a Factory Merc lab finish, blades however do not look much if any different than the stock 26 bravo I just sold. So, not 100% sure what I'm working with. More variables.

Not going to call this advise, but my suggestion would be to call BBlades and set up a trial or two with some different props that you / they feel might work for you. I have used their test / try program in the past and it is well worth the money.

28p, 1.5 ratio, 53-5500 RPM 78-80 = 16-18% slip

According to Merc's site. https://www.mercuryracing.com/sternd...gines/600-sci/ 4800-5200 Operating range. I can feel it fall on its face at 5400, Don't lose any speed but it stops pulling, I can push the sticks a lot further forward and it will try to accelerate momentarily and then just falls flat again.

I'd be willing to bet with out the rev limiter I could get 5800-6000 out of the 28P. There's a fair amount of stick left, and I have verified that the throttle is not 100% open at the motor end when I hit the rev limiter, and where the stick stops is where the motor is at full throttle opening. It's at about 80-90% when I run out of prop. If that all makes sense.

Was hoping to find something local, but will likely default to this.

Do you boat on Lake St.Clair at all? I have a 30p on my boat you could try if you're in the area.

32 p Bravo is a bad combo for any boat. Try a 30 p and you should be golden

I do. May be down there Saturday, might be in Port Huron. I'd love to borrow your 30 for a few minutes sometime. I'll PM you next time I'm heading that way and maybe we could meet up for a quick prop swap

Why is this? You are not the first, though only a couple have said this, would like to try and understand why.

Let me know. I might be out Saturday as well.

Sounds like a 30 Labbed Bravo 1 is what you need. Have a RH 30 BB Labed in perfect shape in the garage. Ran it on a 30 Activator with a 600SCI. Was the perfect prop on that boat. Sold the boat. Also have a 30 RH Bravo non labbed in great shape. Haven't gotten around listing. $600 labbed and $300 stock if you are interested
Greg

Testing props will show you bad results with stock 32. Labbed a bit better but still blow out and need more diameter to work correct. Angle doesn't work well with diameter.

Would love to hear the reasoning for this. I run a set of stock 32 Bravos on my Fountain. were the factory props. and they perform well and handle well, I do have two sets of labbed 5 blades, BBlades custom one offs and a set of ThrottleUp Hydromotives, both of which do have an edge on the Bravos, but the Bravos never fail to perform well. Boat runs 90 with the out of the box Bravos.

What do you feel is the problem with the 32's? I have heard that the 34's can be a bit to get a handle on, but never the 32's.

Your x dimension must be higher than most bravo to utilize 32.