Proper prop pitch

Gibson19

Member
Just bought a 24ft Skagit Orca. It is propped totally wrong as it goes 19mph at 5500 rpm. Looking for suggestions for a workable prop pitch. Engine is a 300 hp Yamaha.
Thanks
 
Hello Gibson19, and welcome to the forum!!
What is your current prop that you have? Is 5500 rpm wide open? I have a 2017 yamaha 300 on a podded 23' Hourston. I did some research and talked to a propeller shop and started out with a 15.5×17P 3 blade Solas propeller. Full of fuel (aprox55gal) 2 people on board and moderate fishing gear I cruise at 24knots @4000rpm and burn 9 gal hr. WOT I can get 5450rpm and do 40knots (crazy fast for me). Yamaha recommends WOT between 5500-6000rpm. Ideally when you are on the lighter side of things you want to be closer to 6000rpm at WOT. That way when you are loaded heavier youll still be in range.
There is so many variables and options out there. Also you may want to consider a 4 blade versus a 3 blader. When you start researching props, It's a deep rabbit hole my friend!! Lol
Good luck!!
 
Sorry for such a late reply;
The prop is a 14.75 16 pitch. Leg is also counter rotating. I have a buddy who has a 17 pitch prop that I will try next. My buddy has a 27ft Skagit which has the same length leg.
Thanks for all your Help.
 
I can say this about prop pitch when I bought my boat it had 2 props, both 15 x 16 . I never thought of changing because all seemed well.I ended getting get a new one because of an error from ( well not me) anyway can't get that same one so all they had was 15x 19. What an awesome difference. Comes out of the hole WAY better and 2 mph faster at cruise rpm. Who knew
 
I can say this about prop pitch when I bought my boat it had 2 props, both 15 x 16 . I never thought of changing because all seemed well.I ended getting get a new one because of an error from ( well not me) anyway can't get that same one so all they had was 15x 19. What an awesome difference. Comes out of the hole WAY better and 2 mph faster at cruise rpm. Who knew
What kind of boat do you have?
 
Call victoria propellor up in cobble hill and ask him what he thinks

I'm just going through a prop change right now thanks to some good advice.
What I have read its basically there is a compromise between faster speed and low end power/torque.
The guy at Victoria Propeller said for me to try out my boat fully loaded with people/gear and test my speed at different rpm including WOT. If I can get to 6000rpm (for my boat) the prop is ok but the speed maybe not what I want. I've done that now so I have different performance markers. I'll put on the new prop in a day or so and then test the same rpms and expect to see better speeds/performance on cursing rpm.

For me I'm going from at 17 pitch (which is the standard one I got from yamaha) to a 21 pitch.

On my boat lower 17 pitch = better hole shot to get up on plane BUT my cruising and top speed at WOT is a bit slower
21 pitch - better top speed at WOT but more importantly better cursing speed or efficiency BUT holeshot will be slower/less.

The best line I read about it is to think of the pitch as a screw. The higher the pitch the more it moves water/faster but doesn't "bite" as wide an area.
 
To make a long story short, the main issue was the engine was to low. I could not get on step no matter what prop was used. Lifted the engine 1.75 inches and now gets on step. I now get 34 mph at 5900 rpm with a 14.75 inch 16 pitch solas prop. Gonna try a 17 pitch to hopefully achieve 25 to 28 mph at 4200 rpm.
I called Victoria prop who was so help full. They are amazing.
Will post a video of the engine before it was fixed if I can get change it to a appropriate format. It would be helpful I am sure.
 
To make a long story short, the main issue was the engine was to low. I could not get on step no matter what prop was used. Lifted the engine 1.75 inches and now gets on step. I now get 34 mph at 5900 rpm with a 14.75 inch 16 pitch solas prop. Gonna try a 17 pitch to hopefully achieve 25 to 28 mph at 4200 rpm.
I called Victoria prop who was so help full. They are amazing.
Will post a video of the engine before it was fixed if I can get change it to an appropriate format. It would be helpful I am sure.
What is redline for that engine? Are you there now at 5900?
 
I can’t help with your situation ship happens would be the man for the job but just to stress how important proper propping is!
I just repowered my boat switched from 300 Yamahas to merc sea pros
We tried the same props first which were 14.5 x 17 I was around 4100 rpm doing 30 mph burning about 20 gph if I recall (my Yamahas were 37-3800 doing 30)
So switched to a 14.5 x 19 which got me down to around the same as my Yamahas 30 mph at 3700 rpm burning 17-18 gph
Decided to try one more even though the numbers were good!
Went to a 16 x 19 and now im around 3200 rpm Doing 30 mph burning 14-15 gph
Couldn’t be happier the guys at Bridgeview put in the extra work trying stuff out
 
I can’t help with your situation ship happens would be the man for the job but just to stress how important proper propping is!
I just repowered my boat switched from 300 Yamahas to merc sea pros
We tried the same props first which were 14.5 x 17 I was around 4100 rpm doing 30 mph burning about 20 gph if I recall (my Yamahas were 37-3800 doing 30)
So switched to a 14.5 x 19 which got me down to around the same as my Yamahas 30 mph at 3700 rpm burning 17-18 gph
Decided to try one more even though the numbers were good!
Went to a 16 x 19 and now im around 3200 rpm Doing 30 mph burning 14-15 gph
Couldn’t be happier the guys at Bridgeview put in the extra work trying stuff out
Hey Bryce, what specific prop is this? Also curious if the SeaPro is V6 or V8? I was told going to the 16” diameter prop with a V6 might not work. That’s a heck of an improvement in economy that you’ve seen.
 
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