Shallow water Hole Shot

[waterdog242001]

Hey guys I'm looking at trying a new prop to help me get on pad in some shallow water. Before you tell me to idle to deeper water I'll tell you that it is a shallow marsh area in southeast Texas (soft bottom) and the nearest deep water can be up to 2 miles away sometimes. The boat I am running is a 2003 Ranger 519vx with a 2017 200hp mercury pro xs, 6 inch hydraulic jack plate, with a 25 pitch tempest plus prop. Hole shot I have now is good, but I need at least 2 feet of water to get on pad. Is there a prop like a 4 blade fury or something that could help me get that number to only needing 1.5 feet of water. Not sure if it is even possible but it sure would help in a tournament.

Appreciate any input.

[jc2bg]

Yes, any good 4 blade in the right size would improve your hole shot. Personally, I’d look at a Razor 4XL if I frequently had to take off in shallow water. It has all the best features of good 4-blades, plus it is ultra-durable.

[Cajun Pop]

When I fished a lot of shallow Louisiana marsh in a glass boat I used a High 5. I'm guessing a 25" would work on that rig. Based on my experience, you will lose about 5-6 MPH on top if you ever get to run WOT.

[waterdog242001]

Thank you guys, how does the Razor 4xl compare to the fury 4 blade in over all performance?

[jc2bg]

Razor 4XL might be 1-2 mph slower on top end compared to the Fury 4, but on some the top end is similar, while overall performance is very similar. Difference is that I have never heard of a Razor 4XL being easily damaged, even when hitting hard objects, while I’ve heard a number of reports of Fury 4 props throwing blades going down the lake in open water. Everything on boats is a compromise, or sure seems like it.

[John Jackson]

I would get a Bravo XS. The Bravo likes to be run high, and holeshots better high. The fury wants to be buried. And nothing holeshots as well as a properly set up Bravo.

[waterdog242001]

Thanks guys for all the help. I'm going to check in on the Razor, and my good friend has a Brovo XS that he said I could try.

[lpugh]

Try this in very shallow water. Point the 90 degrees right of the direction you want to go, trim to about neutral position, turn all the way to the left and hit the throttle the back of boat will rise instantly under this condition start unwinding the steering as you trim down, practice this a few times in deeper water to get the hang of it, this get the boat up in the shallows very well. Four blade would be beneficial as well. I use a reworked fury 3 as I refuse to give up any speed and a reworked fury 3 will provide as good a hole shot as a fury 4
What you will notice that when the steering is locked left when you throttle up the stern does not drop, it will rise rapidly. Don't be afraid to jus nail it, though for better control I would only do this with a hot foot, need both hands on the steering wheel

[Jumping Jimmy]

lpugh, here in coastal VA and NC we call that a river start.

[ThomasD]

Try this in very shallow water. Point the 90 degrees right of the direction you want to go, trim to about neutral position, turn all the way to the left and hit the throttle the back of boat will rise instantly under this condition start unwinding the steering as you trim down, practice this a few times in deeper water to get the hang of it, this get the boat up in the shallows very well. Four blade would be beneficial as well. I use a reworked fury 3 as I refuse to give up any speed and a reworked fury 3 will provide as good a hole shot as a fury 4
What you will notice that when the steering is locked left when you throttle up the stern does not drop, it will rise rapidly. Don't be afraid to jus nail it, though for better control I would only do this with a hot foot, need both hands on the steering wheel

I have a 22' bay boat that floats in about 14" of water. I can get on plane without scrapping bottom doing it this way.

[Jamie]

Try this in very shallow water. Point the 90 degrees right of the direction you want to go, trim to about neutral position, turn all the way to the left and hit the throttle the back of boat will rise instantly under this condition start unwinding the steering as you trim down, practice this a few times in deeper water to get the hang of it, this get the boat up in the shallows very well. Four blade would be beneficial as well. I use a reworked fury 3 as I refuse to give up any speed and a reworked fury 3 will provide as good a hole shot as a fury 4
What you will notice that when the steering is locked left when you throttle up the stern does not drop, it will rise rapidly. Don't be afraid to jus nail it, though for better control I would only do this with a hot foot, need both hands on the steering wheel

This. Is spot on when you have enough water to make the turn. If you don't have enough water you might want try a 4 blade prop one size smaller pitch than you would normally run but you will give up speed and over rev. I normally run a 26 fury 3 blade on my boat but will switch to a 25 Trophy when I want to get real shallow. Kills my speed but don't have to idle for miles to get up on plane.

[waterdog242001]

I have an opportunity to Trade for a Razor XL 23p. If I am running a 25p Tempest 5600 RPM will the 23p Razor XL be enough prop?

for reference boat is a 2003 Ranger 519vx with a 2018 200 hp Mercury pro xs.

[jg379]

It should be. 23 razor xl turns like a 24 fury or a 25 temp. They are very stiff to pitch. I run one for rivers. Great lift, holeshot and cornering, just not the best topend

[JR19]

I have an opportunity to Trade for a Razor XL 23p. If I am running a 25p Tempest 5600 RPM will the 23p Razor XL be enough prop?

for reference boat is a 2003 Ranger 519vx with a 2018 200 hp Mercury pro xs.

If I were a betting person I would say it should be the correct pitch...FYI the Razor 4XL is a larger than average diameter prop, hence the name XL. The extra surface area makes it more stiff to turn than a prop the same pitch but smaller diameter. For a reference a Razor 22 XL is what people "typically" run on a 150 HP or 175 HP so a 23 will be whats recommended for 200 HP.

[mdtritn21]

When you take off do you raise the hydraulic plate up? I can raise mine all the way up take off and then lower it back down to where I usually run and that makes a few inches difference in needed take off depth.

[waterdog242001]

I can take off with the jackplate all the way up. With my current set up, the butt end of the boat digs and the nose raises. I ran a Bravo 1 xs a week ago and it ran great. I will be most likely be buying one, the guy wanting to trade the Razor xl backed out today.

[Hooked247]

Razor 4XL might be 1-2 mph slower on top end compared to the Fury 4, but on some the top end is similar, while overall performance is very similar. Difference is that I have never heard of a Razor 4XL being easily damaged, even when hitting hard objects, while I’ve heard a number of reports of Fury 4 props throwing blades going down the lake in open water. Everything on boats is a compromise, or sure seems like it.

+1. And the Razor prop is made by Mark Croxton himself. No doubt the durability is good. If you call him to order a Raxor XL 4 blade, tell him your looking for shallow water hole shot. He may tell you his Razor prop will be perfect for that right out of the box, or he may recommend tweaking the Razor prop, but bottom line he will certainly set you up for success.