Hit a dam wing dam!!
 

Heading up river where the channel shifts from side to side. Realized I was on the wrong side of the channel marker as soon as I saw the water surface, but it was too late. Roughed up my Stainless Steel prop, lucky it wasn't worse!

Before I spend the money repairing this prop, I'm wondering if I should change props and pitch. I have a 95 Talari 180, 4.3 2bbl, Smart Tabs, running a 19x14.25 Stilletto prop.

In the boat by myself yesterday, I was @ 47-48mph at just under 5000 rpm at WOT. Crusinge speed at 3600 rpm was 30mph.

Wondering if I would be happier going to a 21 inch?

Re: Hit a dam wing dam!!
 

hi Paul

Sounds like you were somewhat lucky with that one.. As for a switch to a 21" prop; you will likely lose your hole shot & low end punch, your WOT rpms will drop by about 400 and you might gain 2-3 mph on your top end. If you do a lot of tubing / wakeboarding or skiing, its my opinion you wont like the change. If you are simply a cruiser then the change makes sense. Personally & if the finances can afford it, i like the idea of having 2 props using one for each type of boating.

I went from a 3 blade - 21" to a 4 blade - 20" SS and am getting similar numbers (48-49 mph at 4900 WOT rpms) with the bonus of gaining some considerable low & mid range punch on my boat. I keep the 21" around as a spare now.

Re: Hit a dam wing dam!!
 

Not as lucky as I thought, Mikey. Looks like the prop took the least of it. My skeg is just a remant of it's former self. No gear damage. $350 to weld a new one.

So do you think I should look at a 20" 4 blade SST?

Re: Hit a dam wing dam!!
 

as far as replacing your skeg. wetwilly replaced his and here is a post for it

.http://www.mariahownersclub.com/foru...ht=skeg&page=1

u might want to look at a cheaper option and reolace it with a stainless steel or a composite version.

here is a post with people review the pros and cons to a skeg cover.

http://www.mariahownersclub.com/foru...highlight=skeg

Re: Hit a dam wing dam!!
 

Hopefully the impact didnt cause a shift in alignment. You wont know for sure unless you remove the entire outdrive to have it checked. Personally i would do the skeg repairs, install a new prop & try it out to see how everything works. I'm not a big fan of the skeg-guards cuz i prefer to keep things original looking but they are a cheaper option as long as there is enough of your skeg left to do a secure mount. If you go that way, buy a SS version. The composite ones are crap.

My Michigan Wheel "Apollo" 20" - 4 blade suited my needs because i have 2 teens who like to wakeboard and when we cruise amongst the islands in Georgian Bay, i very seldom run the boat over 40mph anyway. I bought mine thru I-Boats.com 2 yrs ago for just under $300. I really like the extra punch it seems to deliver but that change was coming down from a 21" - 3 blade so it was noticable. I kept my 21" as a spare prop but i havent used it in 2 yrs now. It really depends on what your needs are.