Another BFN Prop Question....

Ok Prop Gurus....Here's the deal:

1991 Barefoot Nautique V-Drive with Stock 454

Previous Owner shortened the prop shaft (to remove the prop clearance issues that these boats have) and replaced the 3 blade with a 4 blade ACME "SAN Prop" (as told to me by the PO).....The boat is in the lift so I can't get any markings off the prop.....So, she should be able to accommodate any 1 1/8" Bore prop.

The vitals: 46.9 mph (on GPS) @ 3600 rpm WOT

So the question is........ Is she propped close enough for either end of the speed/use spectrum - Foiling/Wakeboarding/Trick on the low end and Barefooting on the upper end .... (ski wake is poor and we have the 206 for GREAT ski wake)... She just about pulled me out of my bindings on wakeboard start but doesn't want to hold under 20 mph.......she gets to 34-35 mph VERY easily.......and 3000 to 3600 rpm only give a few more mph top end.

My Excel would only top out at 41-42 mph with the 240 HP PCM on the stock 3 blade and would work to get there...... the Barefoot climbs to speed easily but I still wonder if she's setup right......

What should I be expecting / looking for in a prop? Is this best result I can get for our purposes?........... Thanks!

I had a situation very similar to yours. On my 351 PCM I had a 4 blade Acme 12.5X15 that gave me 45 MPH on a GPS @ 3800 RPM. I called Acme and Jim convinced me to put a 12.5X13 Three blade on. I did and the speed came up to 49MPH @ 5000RPM. Night and day. I know 5000RPM is a little high, but we don't hold it there anyway. Call him At 1.888.661.ACME. Great guy to talk to. He will have lots of questions to match prop and boat. Good Luck.

I'll track the rest of the info down (if I ever can get the boat back onto a trailer....lake level low and trailer issues) and contact ACME.

Thanks for the contact info Snipe!

Air206 wrote: the prop feels wrong. think my prop is WAYYYY off.

Steve, youre going to have to help me out here. What makes you think the prop is way off?

This comment gives the impression that you think it has a pretty strong holeshot:

Air206 wrote: She just about pulled me out of my bindings on wakeboard start.......she gets to 34-35 mph VERY easily.......

A prop that is legitimately retarding your performance by 800+ rpm would be a real dog out of the hole.

Gotcha.... I'll check the tach, the ratios, the current prop, etc....I'll do my homework.

Good to get some starting point recommendations and props to think about for comparison... Thanks guys!

Would like to know exactly what prop is on it now

Im an Acme guy as well... their props just seem to run better on everything Ive had the chance to compare. OJ does offer a CNC line of props (XMP), though their selection for CC's (RH) is pretty limited.

Werent there driveline reduction changes sometime during the Excel's lifetime? Confirming the tranny and v-drive ratios will be key.

Id put a shop tach on it as well to confirm the RPM's regardless of whether you think its a major source of error or not.

Oh, and Delta will allow you to try and return props within a window as well- no need to go directly to the manufacturers (who tend to charge full retail in order to protect their dealer network).

Ok...found PO Notes.... looks like an ACME 1160 - 13.5 x 16VR4B 0.135cup is what is on it now...

BTW Shirley, ...I don't need any shoes...Thanks!
Boy, She posts as much as Pete!

hotboat wrote: That prop should be good, and should perform well out of the hole. The rpm and speed you're getting make me wonder if the secondaries are opening on the carb? Does it have a protec ignition?

The speed vs. RPM numbers that were posted (46.9mph @ 3600rpm) are not consistent with a "normal" sized prop. A 1.21 driveline ratio should mate well with a ~13x16 prop, and turn within a few hundred rpm of 1:1. IE, 47mph should be ~4700rpm +/-.

If he had discovered a 13x20 prop on there, then the numbers may have been believable, but thats not the case. Theres just no way that the tach can be correct.

There may still be a slight tuning or prop mismatch issue that we can help pinpoint (to identify the ~3mph loss in speed vs. expected), but we still cant figure out what those are without accurate RPM info.

Also sent along with the boat an OJ 14x18 prop...

ProTec still on it...........

No I don't, by ear I'd call it 42 - 44

Acme made a prop for the small blocks, as far as I know they did not for the bbs, Don could tell us the specs on the sb prop I believe

That'd be a 90 and earlier dd not vdrive, you're at a dealer correct? Pick up the acme book and it lists the specific prop made for 91 n up excel sb

328. There isn't much of a selection in the RH 1-1/8 stuff.

Last I was at a dealer n looked in the book they broke it down to specific boat models but it's been yrs and were talkin a 20 yr old boat but that 328 is the pancake they made for the sb boats