Prop for 18TRX

[itsahog]

I made a deal on a 2019 18TRX. Wondering what is the best prop for this boat? It will have a manual jack plate if that makes a difference. Right now it has a 24 pitch fury..... curious if I should request it to be changed to something different? Pretty excited about my new boat, I pick it up next week.

[Jaredn]

24 fury is best imo. The only other choice would be 25 tempest

[itsahog]

What kind of speeds can I expect?

[DaveTTN]

What motor is on it? If it is a 200 4s then either a 22 or 23 tempest plus with your jackplate set somewhere between 2.5-3” prop to pad. Also you will need solid PVS plugs in all holes on the prop. You should expect speeds 68-70 mph once broken in and you need RPMs at WOT 6000-6200. If you run that 24 fury or 25 Tempest Plus you will be 5500-5600 and just lugging the motor. I learned all this over the summer setting my boat up also an 18 TRX w/ ProXs 200 4s.

[DaveTTN]

Also if you run the 22 tempest plus even with the holes plugged you will have to feather the gas on hole shot or it will spin up to about 4500-5000 rpm on break over. I am sending my 22 tempest to have a little work done on it to help with that. I have a 23 on the boat now that I tried in summer but could only turn to 5800-5900. I haven’t ran it yet since cooler temps but will soon.

[Jaredn]

Ah, didn’t think about being a 4s. If it’s a 2s, stick with the 24 fury at 3.25-3.5”. Will be 67-71 w/ a great hole shot depending on your load

[itsahog]

Also if you run the 22 tempest plus even with the holes plugged you will have to feather the gas on hole shot or it will spin up to about 4500-5000 rpm on break over. I am sending my 22 tempest to have a little work done on it to help wit that. I have a 23 on the boat now that I tried in summer but could only turn to 5800-5900. I haven’t ran it yet since cooler temps but will soon.

Yes it is a 200L Pro XS four stroke. It has a fury 24 on it at the dealer

[itsahog]

Also if you run the 22 tempest plus even with the holes plugged you will have to feather the gas on hole shot or it will spin up to about 4500-5000 rpm on break over. I am sending my 22 tempest to have a little work done on it to help wit that. I have a 23 on the boat now that I tried in summer but could only turn to 5800-5900. I haven’t ran it yet since cooler temps but will soon.

sounds like we have the exact boat and motor. So in your opinion I should tell the dealer to put a 23 tempest plus with all holes plugged, correct?

[DaveTTN]

I think a 22 Tempest Plus for warm weather and a 23 Tempest Plus for cold is right and both set somewhere around 2.5-3” prop to pad. Solid plugs in both.

[TritonTRXV8]

Congrats on the new boat! Im curious to see what prop comes on mine when i get it. DaveTTN has his dialed in pretty good with the tempest seems like i would be happy with that performance with mine thats for sure.

[itsahog]

It was rigged with a 24 Fury, I had it changed to a Tempest Plus 23 with solid plugs. We will see how it works out, fingers crossed.

[DaveTTN]

Yes keep us posted. Also once you get a couple hours on it you need to get the jackplate up to at least 3” ptp and then go up in 1/4” increments until you find the sweet spot. It will also help with the chine walk if you aren’t used to that. Also work your way up on the trim. Mine runs best around 3/4 full trim but on my trim gauge it is just below the 1/4 trim mark.

[itsahog]

Yes keep us posted. Also once you get a couple hours on it you need to get the jackplate up to at least 3” ptp and then go up in 1/4” increments until you find the sweet spot. It will also help with the chine walk if you aren’t used to that. Also work your way up on the trim. Mine runs best around 3/4 full trim but on my trim gauge it is just below the 1/4 trim mark.

Thanks for that information. I’m not sure when I will actually get in the water because I have to drive six hours one way with my old boat to trade it in and then pull the new one back. Looks like we’re in for nasty weather as well so I’ll get it on the water as soon as possible. I’m not sure what the break in procedure is yet, I have to read on that. I will definitely post information as I get it available. The TRX comes with a water pressure gauge so that’s nice.

[itsahog]

I got my boat on the water for one hour today. That’s all I could do because the dealer only put a few gallons of gas in the boat, I guess I should’ve checked that first. in any case, break in procedure called to randomly go through rpm’s at 4500 or less with wide-open throttle every 10 minutes for one minute. Right now I have what I would call severe chine walk at around 5000 RPMs or 52 to 55 mph. I kept the motor trimmed down most of the time, but did trim it up once and gave throttle, blew it out for a moment. My question is I need a little guidance on how to set the PTP. Does the motor have to be trimmed all the way down or just vertical? I think I fully understand it from that point I just need to know where to have my motor positioned. once I position my motor, if I understand correctly I take a laser light or a straight level off bottom of pad and go back and measure to the center of the prop downward, is that correct? I sure hope I can get this chine walk under control, I know they say drive through it but I don’t think that’s possible the way it is right now. Once I know I have the prop at the proper height then I will worry about how to drive through the chine walk. Thanks again for all the help, it’s greatly appreciated.

[Savage]

You cant "drive through" chine walk, you must control it with the steering wheel BEFORE it begins.
PTP is measured with the pad of the boat and the prop shaft level to level ground.

[BassCatBrad]

That boat (18TRX with a 200hp) should not chine walk at 52 mph unless set up way wrong. That is 68-70mph boat. The chine walk if any should start closer to max speed.

I say if any because set up is important. My 2018 BassCat PII with a 200hp ProXS 2-stroke came with a 25p fury and a 8" manual jackplate. I added 2 - 8ft talons. At factory settings with a tournament load 2 anglers I would touch 70mph with a lot of driver input need dye to chinewalk. The hole shot was incredible. I called Ronnie Gilbert he is a prop genius for bassCat boat setups. I explained what was going on. He said he could fix it with prop adjustments and motor height. I sent him my prop. 2 weeks later I recieved it back, polished with knife looking edge, adjusted, balanced and blue printed. There was a note asking me to call him once I installed it. He told me according to his calculations I need to raise my motor 1/2 to 3/4 an inch. I raised it approx 1/2 and went to the lake. I now hit 71-72mph with 2 anglers full tournament load. I can drive it with 1 hand on the wheel with no chine walk. My hole shot is still incredible too, under 3 seconds and 0-60mph is like a rocket ship.

Sorry for the long post, but in your case I feel the set up is off and a prop adjustment will work wonders. Good luck with your 18TRX. They are awesome boats, I almost ordered one, but chose the PII. The 18TRX was a very close 2nd for me.

[itsahog]

That boat (18TRX with a 200hp) should not chine walk at 52 mph unless set up way wrong. That is 68-70mph boat. The chine walk if any should start closer to max speed.

i have not raised the motor yet as I am still breaking in motor. I hope that will help with the issue. It does list to the drivers side while in gear idling. This was with boat lightly loaded with very little fuel. Once broke in I will start raising the motor.... hopefully that will help. I hope.

[DaveTTN]

If you fill it full of gas and also the live wells full of water that will help you until you get a better feel of it. You shouldn’t really see any chine until around 63 mph.

is this your first “high performance” rig? Just asking as there is a little bit of a learning curve until you get the hang of it. Best thing is to not over trim. Just give it gas and give the trim a bump up and then again as long as you are stable. Keep trimming up like that until you build up speed, rpm and confidence.

[itsahog]

If you fill it full of gas and also the live wells full of water that will help you until you get a better feel of it. You shouldn’t really see any chine until around 63 mph.

is this your first “high performance” rig? Just asking as there is a little bit of a learning curve until you get the hang of it. Best thing is to not over trim. Just give it gas and give the trim a bump up and then again as long as you are stable. Keep trimming up like that until you build up speed, rpm and confidence.

This is definitely what I would call my first high-performance rig. Last boat was a 2006 TR 186 with a 150 OptiMax, I had it dialed in with a 6 inch jack plate, 5750 RPM’s got me 59.3 mph with zero Chine walk. I really liked that boat, it is what made me to trade it up to this platform. I took it out today and finished breaking in the motor, I really like the way it fishes and all the room. Before I went out today I raised the motor 1 inch, i’m guessing I’m sitting around 3 to 3.25 below pad. I had the boat level and the prop level, and it appeared to be around 4 inches from the dealer, so I raised it 1 inch. Today I could get it to about 60 mph before the chine walk started. I’m still only getting around 5000 RPMs before I get uncomfortable with the chine walk. water pressure is solid at 25 psi maybe a little more. I have 3/4 tank of gas, but the live wells were empty. I put all my tackle and tools on the passenger side, still seem to list a little bit to my side, levels out as soon as I get on plane. Raising the motor did improve the handling of the boat, I’m hoping I can raise it a little bit more and continue to improve. Any advice on what I should try next? I have the solid PVS plugs in a 23 tempest plus.

[DaveTTN]

Just takes time and 2.5-3” should be the sweet spot. Full WOT with the 23 should put you somewhere 5800-5900 and 68-70 mph. Just take your time and the handling will come to you a little more each time. Also if you are using Analog tach they can be way off. Mine reads 500 rpm too high. I take all my readings from vessel view mobile.