[coorsmgood]

well my first post....

have a 1995 235 davanti. has 5.7l carb engine new. bravo 3 with a 24 pitch.
now runs WOT about 5100 rpms if I bury it (only recomends 4800 WOT)
running at 4700 rpm now will give me 42 mph GPS.

I currently do no skiing or tube and drive long distance up river. this seems like I am over reving the motor for long periods of 4300 rpm just to cruise at a decent rate of speed.

should I switch to a higher pitch prop to keep my rpms down while still cruising fast between marinas? maybe saving gas too? what is stock prop? what does everyone recomend for my set up?

5.7(260hp) bravo 3 boats about 4500lbs want to cruise long periods of time on plane without killing my motor?

[jgreen]

Your prop pitch is a little low. I think 24 is the lowest prop I've seen for a Bravo 3. My 240, 7.4L B3 runs a 28 pitch propset. I am getting 46-4800RPM trimed up and hitting 60 on the speedo. I would try a 26 pitch set if I were you, but try them first, they're expensive!

[coorsmgood]

there is a local guy that is selling two sets one is 26 pitch other is 28 pitch; 500.00each sound like a good price? I have no clue what these are worth?

are they easy to change out where I can just slap one on then try the other one before I buy or is this a pain to do on bravo 3?

[jgreen]

$500 for the set is pretty good. I've seen them ususally around 950 on ebay. New from Merc they are about 1200! You need a special wrench for the the inner prop nut. It is 2 3/4"

[WetWilly]

Originally Posted by coorsmgood

there is a local guy that is selling two sets one is 26 pitch other is 28 pitch; 500.00each sound like a good price? I have no clue what these are worth?

are they easy to change out where I can just slap one on then try the other one before I buy or is this a pain to do on bravo 3?

Hi coorsmgood,

$500 for a set of Bravo 3 props is a really good price if they're like new, I got lucky and bought a great set from eBay myself. Wished I had know you were looking for a new set, I could have bought your old ones as I'm pitching down for tubing, water skiing and wake boarding (not me, the kids...).

jgreen is right, I would go with the 26 pitch props as you will lose about 200 - 300 RPM per inch of pitch so 26P props will put you right around 4500 - 4700 RPMs and that's where you want to be at WOT. I don't recommend the 28P props as I don't think your 5.7L will have enough torque to turn them at the upper RPMs (that's what jgreen and I both have on our 7.4L Bravo 3s)

As jgreen said earlier, the Bravo 3 uses two different size prop nuts so you will need two different sockets or as I did, I bought a dual socket prop wrench made just for the Bravo 3, again, from eBay.

As for difficulty, it not too bad if you use small a block of wood to jam the props against the cavitation plate so you can loosen and tighten the nuts and don't forget the thrust washers, there is one in front of each prop and they too, are different sizes and lastly, remember to use the Mercruiser grease on the shaft splines to prevent any corrosion and it really helps in removing them later.

Good luck,
WetWilly

[jgreen]

Hi guy's,
Just wanted to add a link to the Propshop where I got my wrench for the Bravo3.
http://www.propshopinc.com/Bravo-III...ench-p188.html
Real nice tool IMHO.
Remember too that the torque spec on the front(inner) prop is 100 lbft. If you buy this wrench the 1/2" hole for the torque wrench on the big end is offset. The spec changes to 85 lbft.