Skater30

Does anybody know for fact if these props start out as SSM 5 blades? I still have my 16.5" x 35" Merc 5 blades from my Arnesons, and was wondering if I could send them to Merc and have them modified (new hub, diameter cut down, blades thinned) to work on the 400Rs. I will call on Monday, but didn't know if anybody on here knows that could fill me in before then........

skate

I was told they are CNC milled and cut down #6's for the 400R

Double Rigged

iTrader: (1)

I was told the same thing from Mike Griffin at Mercury Racing but that was in the beginning. I thought he also told me in the future they would be cutting from scratch. Not sure if they have gotten to that point yet.
That was supposed to lower the cost a bit as well.

Skater30

So is Mike Griffin "the guy" to talk to at Mercury Racing Propellers? I don't know anybody there, as I've only dealt with Brett Anderson and Dave Dewald on props for the past 15 years. I need to know if they can use my props as blanks.

Double Rigged

iTrader: (1)

Dale,
Mike is one of the guys that runs all the boats for them and helps with the set up.
I think Scott is the name of the guy at Racing Propellors. I can pm you Mike's number. I am sure he can direct you in the right direction if it helps.

ktron

Mike is definitely the guy to talk to. He is head of product development for Mercury Racing.

Skater30

Thanks Sam, Ron, Daren. It will be interesting to see what they want to re-hub these and cut them down to make them work for the 400s. I'm still not certain if these will even work to start with, as the rake is only 14 degree on these old props, I don't know what rake they are using for the props they're building for the 400R boats. With my inboard setup, my boat did not like more rake (we tried 18 degree and it made the porpoise horrible), but I have no idea what it's going to like after the re-rig. If they don't want a bunch of money to make them work on my 400s, I'll probably have them modified to use anyways, just to have another set of props to try. I plan on having Dave build me two sets of 5 blades to start with, but it will be nice to have three sets to try right away. I'll bet I end up trying at least a dozen sets of props before I'm finished dialing in the new 400R setup.

skate

Dale the 400R Merc 33" and 32" are 15 degree rake. The 33" is what most guys are trying/running. I was able to get it to109 with them but conditions were not good. I later ran the 32" version up to 113 in better conditions with 60+ gallons of fuel at 75 degrees 55% humidity. My Dewald 33" and 32" were within 1-2 MPH of the Mercs. The motors build max HP near the max RPM bands and as Ron recommended the smaller props really preformed well.

I'm some where around 5600 Lbs with all my bells and whistles no fuel. It's going to be fun to see what your final weight is and watch your build and dial in.

Given recent events I'm going to go smaller props more people and fuel....

Skater30

Thanks Sam, that's good news! 15 degree is basically what my props are (Brett Anderson always said they measure out to 14.5, so I always just called them 14). I have a feeling they will work for me, at least for testing purposes. We're obviously shooting for 5,000 #s with my rig, and there will be several other differences on my setup from any other 30/400R setup that has been run so far. 35" pitch is where I will be starting, and if we need to move from there, we will. I don't blame you for going to smaller wheels, but you have to remember, that even with 35s, my boat will be WAY slowed down from what it was. I have no worries about running my 30 in the 120s after having run it as a 150+ mph beast for the past dozen years!

skate

Dale both 318's seem to require or like a lot of trim thus the the high bow while running. Mine likes trim as well to free her up. I am able to trim it down bring the bow down and maintain speed. When I had hydraulic Jack plates on the 300XS set up I would trim in and then bump the jack plates up and increase speed further. Water pressure becomes the limiting factor. Thru hull pickups like Rons would be the ticket.

Eventually I may go back to hydraulic plates and hull pick ups but for now I'm happy where I'm at.

Also I have steering pump, batteries, subs, and amps in front of the dash bulkhead to bring my CG forward.