[mikeyt]

Originally Posted by lumbercitybravest

Thanks Mikey! Are the props on iboats decent? I found a 4 blade Michigan wheel vortex for $148....

That's where i bought mine from.

[lumbercitybravest]

Ended up going with a michigan wheel cupped 20" pitch 4 blade from I boats. Found a local reputable welder that is going to fab up the skeg for a reasonable price. Should be back in the water by the beginning of the week....

[lumbercitybravest]

So a local welder with marine experience fabricated the rest of my skeg, only charged me $40 for the repair too...new prop comes in tomorrow and we will be back in business....

[lumbercitybravest]

Went with a 20 inch pitch, 4 blade cupped prop. It has good low end and mid range performance, but it just wont get me to that 46-4800 rpm range. Most I could get was 4300-4400 trimmed out. Looks like Its back to the drawing board. Anybody run an 18 inch pitch? Experiences with those?

[Motoxxx43]

Why go 20 to 18 when you can go 20 to 19? Each pitch is good for a 200 RPM change.

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[lumbercitybravest]

The 19 inch pitch wouldnt get me on plane with 4 adults in it. The 20 inch gave me good low and midrange power but wont turn the rpms that i need.

[ColoradoDiablo]

If the 20p 4 blade gave you low end , the 19p 4 blade will give you more low end plus raise the rpm's to around 4500-4700 WOT. Right in the sweet spot for your boat.
You will loose a little on the top end , but your engine will like it a lot better.
It's really hard to get top speed and holeshot at the same time. You pretty much gotta give on one end or the other.

[mikeyt]

Most run the 19" 3 blade with your size boat but even two similar boats with matching props dont always perform the same. If you are at a max of 4400 rpm with the 20" - 4 blade and you still want some additional bite to go with higher rpms, dropping to the 18" pitch will provide that but....it will also reduce your top speed. Did you buy an aluminum or SS prop? Did you buy/install the Smart Tabs yet?

In general this is what usually happens:
Lower pitch = higher rpms = lower top speed
Higher pitch = lower rpms = higher top speed

[lumbercitybravest]

I didn't get the smart tabs yet and my overall concern is getting out of the hole and on plane. I don't care much for top speed. I found a local prop shop who will let me try out props...the 19" only got me to around 4500 rpms..the boat is full of fuel so I'm gonna make a few wot runs and see what happens with different pitch props. Also I did check the tach and it is reading accurately. In theory, lets say you went down to a 17 inch pitch....it would rev beyond the wot range, but you can utilize the throttle to keep it down to 4700-4800? As opposed to a 20, which at wot only achieves 4300 with the hammer down....the prop is aluminum

[ColoradoDiablo]

I went from a 15P 4 blade stainless , to a 17P 4 blade stainless after the install of the Smart Tabs on my Diablo. With no issue.
Personally , I'd put tabs on her and then play with the prop.

Forgot to mention.........I usually run at 7000 ft elevation.