Prop question/suggestion/problem

It certainly is/has been a hot topic.

63 Skier wrote: Finally got a chance to watch these. Holy crap, over 10,000 rpm! Hard to believe the motor can live running at a scream like that.

They don't live long. Neighbor drag races one, he is in what is essentially the Unlimited Outboard class,   He typically runs 100 to 105 mph in 800 feet and usually trips the high RPM around 10,500.   He made probably 30 race passes last year and maybe another 20 test passes or so. He is putting in all new pistons and rings, not be cause he wants to because he has to...

I don''t like to run my 2.4L much above 8000 RPM. it will do it, and it's crazy fun, but rather keep the rebuilds to a minimum...

lcgordon wrote: looking for my major leak that is letting water in. Found it there is a crack in the bottom of the hull. Its inside this weird fiberglass tube that the blower hose goes into. .

Landis,
Where's this glass tube?

Got the prop in and Im pretty sure its the wrong prop. I thought we agreed on the 13x11.5 and its 12.5x11.5. I sent him a message back im sure he will get back to me monday. Ive got the gas tank out looking for my major leak that is letting water in. Found it there is a crack in the bottom of the hull. Its inside this weird fiberglass tube that the blower hose goes into. So I need to fix that before I can test props.

lcgordon wrote: The 25 bucks is not breaking the bank for 1 or maybe 2 props but im trying to be smart with my money. Im barely out of college and I dont really know what life is gonna throw at me so im trying to save some money and not blow it all.

Good plan Landis!!!

lcgordon wrote: Flightcraft Adam is looking at this boat. The motor is nice and new enough to last a couple years then repower with a brand new 250. He knows the price. I would way rather him buy this boat then me.

lcgordon wrote: Outboard wont drive as nice as and inboard tho

That's a nice looking FlightCraft. I'm sure Adam or you would be more than happy with it. After many years of debate, I made the move from my inboard and bought a FlightCraft last fall. We are finally skiing with it this spring and although I had skied behind Flightys before, I can't get over what a thing of beauty the wake is. Speed isn't even an issue; and although, handling isn't quite what my inboard was, its far better than I expected. I've pulled some slalom skiers in the last few weeks and the tracking fin seems to keep it running a pretty good line without being pulled around as I thought it might. The only area where I've seen a big difference is turning at speed. The inboard could crank a tight turn to spin a skier at the end of a course where the FlightCraft's prop will break loose on that type of turn.

I know this is CCF but I'd give a thumbs up to that Malibu. Nice ones are pretty hard to come by (I looked for quite awhile) so I'd say go for it!

The 25 bucks is not breaking the bank for 1 or maybe 2 props but im trying to be smart with my money. Im barely out of college and I dont really know what life is gonna throw at me so im trying to save some money and not blow it all.

I read the comparison between the acme and the oj that TXskier ( I think is his name) did and they were the same pitch and both new cnc props and there was no noticeable difference. He recommended both. It was not until you went to the numbers that you could see just a bit of difference.

If I would have known in the first place I would have bought a new prop so that I could send it back and try all the props. If your a MC team talk member which I am its 389 directly from oj which would be a good deal to switch the props up and try different ones. But now its not really worth the money. Ill see what this prop does. Its the same pitch that both OJ and ACME recommend for me. Maybe they dont know what they are talking about idk.

I did find an acme 13x10.5 2 hrs from me on cl for 100 bucks. I may see if he will ship it to me. If so and it does not work I bet I could get my money back.

I took a brass oj 13x12 and got it to 4790rpm and it maxed out at 40 mph or 39 i cant remeber. I tried the 13x11 which was recomended by you guys and got 40 mph at about 4550rpm. I dont have the money to straight out buy new props to try. If ppl have them and wanna start shipping them to me then go for it ill take your advice and try what ever prop you wanna send. Eric wanted to help me out and send me what he recommends so im going to try that. If it is not better or it is worse then i may pay shipping and ask him to send the 10.5 and go with TRBenj recommendation. Finding used props can take a while I have been working at it though and nothing is really helping. It costs like 25 bucks each way to ship something so I cant afford that after a bunch of props.

Im petty sure a prop wont really help my boat. Top speed wise. I was done spending money on props and just gonna run the old one. I dont know much about props but one thing I do know is everyone praised the cnc props. So far the best one has been a brass one. So from about 99% of ppls word is that there has got to be a better prop than the ones I have tried. Thats why I revisited the question and called Eric at oj. Im not going to buy another prop but would maybe trade mine for one that he recommended to try. Well eric stepped up and is sending me the one he recommended free of charge. So unless im an idiot im going to at least try it. I would be happy with same top speed but better get up because my old prop is a bit tough for a slalom get up.

There is really no point to argue except that its fun. Im not dropping money in this thing. Im not saying american skier does not make nice boats and that the TBX is not a nice boat. Im saying mine is not. Its nice enough but not something that is ideal. Its just rough around the edges and leaks like a screen door. It has been an ongoing process to seal it up and fix different things.

I want the 176 for more reasons than top speed. I bet stock the thing would run about the same as my boat now. Then drop some money into the motor and I would be happy with 43-44 ish with no footer. Would really be nice to get 42 with a footer. I Would like a boat that ppl want to ski. I pull mine to the lake every weekend and it sits in the parking lot because we have better boats. Does not hurt my feelings but would be nice to have one nicer.

Luchog wrote: Tim. Just saying it would be smart to know what he as in there before suggesting engine mods, dont you think?? I think he also said he wont be spending money on it, ... like 5 times. I think we could help him out better if we all work together and dont go bragging about who knows more ***************, and please dont go sarcastic or personal. I dont question your knowledge, but sometimes I do question your methods. Besides engine power and prop pitch, you might have to consider what kind of water he uses his boat on. Hulls running angles and wet surfaces are affected by it.

Luciano,
I understand your points as well as everyone else's here. However, this post as well as a couple others have jumped in and out of the exact same conversation. We've discussed hulls, boat weight, elevation, props, engines and mods. I'll try and summarize.

Landis has an American Skier with this 260HP EFI SBC. He skis in Denver at a mile elevation and has also stated numerous times that he's on a tight budget. He has also stated that his boat is already the fastest one of all his ski buddies (of which there are two or three TSC CC's with GT40's in them). He still wants a couple more MPH for one foots. OK, I get that. We all get that. He's tried a few different props that have been sent to him by CCFan members to try or he's tested on his own. Nothing has been able to get him the extra speed he's looking for.

He still seems to think that he's going to get a prop that will get him the extra couple MPH he's looking for and we're saying that at this point the only way to do that is with engine mods. The problem with mods is that his EFI engine will be pricey to mod so what is the cheapest way of doing that?

So lets put this into perspective....He has a boat that is giving up a couple hundred pounds and 50HP and is still the fastest one in a stable of various inboards (including CC's). That's telling me that the hull design is one that's probably pretty spot-on already at his altitude and no prop at this point will do any better than what he has already tried.

So at this point you either live with what you got (which is already the fastest) or you mod the engine if you want more speed. Then you throw into the mix that he's ultimately getting rid of his boat and seems to think that a 176 will fix all his problems....which in turn brings us back to the hull design thing that you mentioned.
If one foot barefoot speed is your ultimate goal what in God's name makes you think that a 176 will answer all your prayers? If that's your ultimate dream boat, then YES...Absolutely. Go for it, but you'll spend all that money and still be looking for more barefoot speed at that altitude. This has been proven already more than once by more than one CC with virtually the exact same hull, albeit a bit smaller. Yes, we've discussed that aspect too at one point in time or another.

So all of the points that you've stated have definitely been discussed at length already. Ultimately, the only thing that will fix this issue at this point is more HP so how do you best accomplish that? Nothing sarcastic or personal, Just the facts. And if I have something wrong, I certainly apologize as this is what I've interpreted and anyone is more than welcome to correct me.

I've never heard a ROS run, will investigate on youtube. I can't say I enjoy the sound of a 2.5 efi, the performance is awesome, would love to drive one some day, but talk about listening to an eggbeater on high speed.

Yes salt water engines are a WHOLE different story.

No doubt that a 4 cycle will smell nicer and it is nice not to have to screw with oil. Personally, I like the noise of a 2 cycle 2.4 or 2.5l Mercury ROS. Sounds just as good as an old V-8 inboard, different, but good.

Yeah, that Verado is some sort of mota, now he just needs to move up the chain to a 400R. Verado 300 cruising at 38mph, probably just sips gas too, probably uses a little more pulling a footer though

Steve, maybe I've just been around too many people who repower their outboards. To be fair, many are salt fishing boats so a whole different level of wear on the engine.

And .... when faced with keeping their smoking, noisy 2 strokes and rebuilding them versus buying a newer engine, it's hard to resist the desire for new. I can repower my boat with a new GT-40, or a different engine, and the running characteristics, starting, idling, etc. are not much different. I just tagged along on a test drive of a Whaler with a 250 Verado and what an amazing piece of machinery that outboard is!

63 Skier wrote: I like the 176 idea you have, hope you can find a way to afford it at some point in the near future. My only comment on your outboard boat idea is that older outboards can be problematic. I think you'll find that far more people re-power outboard boats than inboard, inboards will last longer to start with and are easily rebuildable to near-new performance and better. Outboards that get tired and run poorly are more often just replaced, and a new 200-250 HP outboard is a LOT of money.

Talk to Frankenotter - he has one ready to go (he just won't admit he wants to sell it)

Disagree on the outboard - if you take care of them, they will run as long as an inboard - especially the two cycle EFI. On older outbards, there is no need to ever repower, at any point you can spend $1500-$2500 on a rebuild and it will bring it right back to "new" specs, or bump that up by a grand and you can easily add 10-15% more power with porting and tuning.

Having said all that, I still prefer(ed) to ski and foot behind an inboard! But man you can go a lot faster with a lot less money with an outboard...

I don't agree. I skied with a couple of friends that had boats before I got mine, and they are great guys, still ski with them. But having my own boat changed everything, I ski a lot more and just enjoy the hell out of it.

I like the 176 idea you have, hope you can find a way to afford it at some point in the near future. My only comment on your outboard boat idea is that older outboards can be problematic. I think you'll find that far more people re-power outboard boats than inboard, inboards will last longer to start with and are easily rebuildable to near-new performance and better. Outboards that get tired and run poorly are more often just replaced, and a new 200-250 HP outboard is a LOT of money.