Posts: 96
Location: Eden Prairie, Mn. | Kevin,
I will assume a few things about your rig-
It's a tiller, the motor is in the lowest mounting hole, no power trim, Bow mnt. TM w/1 batt in bow area, starter batt. in stern and a 6-10gal portable gas tank in the stern also
You fish alone or with a partner a couple of tackle boxes, general gear and a cooler. A moderate load.
The engine operating range is 5000-5500 rpm, without a tach it's tough to gauge but, your probably around 5000-5200 RPM
raising the motor 2 holes would be the first thing to do, this will generally give you about a 200rpm gain.
Ck. top speed, it should give you about a 2-3mph gain just by increased RPM, spinning the prop faster in the motors
operating range. It may 'porpoise' - the bow lifting and dropping - caused by the props inability to hold the hull up out of the
water. You can minimize or eliminate this generally by moving some weight (gear/anchor) towards the rear of the boat.
Or if you have power trim this can be controlled by trimming IN or OUT, depending on load.
If not a better prop should fix it - I will assume that your existing prop is the original and maybe dinged up a bit or has been
refurbished, diminishing it's lifting/holding capabilties.
HUSTLER Props makes a nice affordable 'performance' Aluminum prop for small and mid-HP motors about $90.00 for hub
and prop with the 3 1/2 in. gear case. If you have the 4 1/2 in. gear case you may not need the hub kit and the prop is
only $60.00.
That being said, these props have increased stiffness, more 'cupping' - to provide bite and hull lift and better load carrying
capabilities and more precise blade machining. All of these factors lead to more speed, better hole shot, hull lifting and a
little increase in fuel economy.
Now we spent around $100.00 and go with the same 12 pitch prop and the same diameter and raise the motor 2 holes
- you go a little faster and your boat is quicker to plane and has better bite in turns and hvy. waves.
You can also go with a larger diameter prop-more hull lifting and load carrying- due to larger blade surface area with the same
pitch. You may to have lower the pitch to compensate for the increased load lowering your RPM.
I feel though that raising the motor will be enough to keep your RPM. I think you should have no problem with the
13 pitch 12 1/2 in. diameter set-up. If you have a Bass Pro shop catalog, you can find the prop/hub kit in it. Or call/ck. the
web site of Turning Point propellers - Hustler line - for more info.
Sorry for the long winded post. Hope it helps or I've completely confused you ?
Mother
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