618 Pro prop

[MattVT18]

I posted in the Prop forum but thought I'd try here as well. I currently run a 24P Tempest Plus on my rig. I'm not getting near the speed some guys with similar rigs have reported. I've lightened my load and played with different JP heights but am still pretty far off. In perfect conditions with just me and 1/4 tank of fuel I've hit 65, most of the time its 62-63. The engine just had the reeds replaced due to a failure on #3 cylinder. Mechanic gave it a full checkout and clean bill of health. My prop could stand to be cleaned up some on the blade edges but I've seen alot worse. The only props I've found on these rigs are the 24P Tempest Plus or the 24P Fury. Several years ago I owned a couple of Bumble Bees. They loved the Trophy 4 blades. Has anyone tried a 4 blade on a 618?

[Coke]

I have a 2011 with a 175 ProXS, mine has a 23P Tempest Plus. I have mine loaded down with way too much tackle and gear. I can run 65-66 mph, comes out of the hole with no problem, handles and rides great. The P2P is at 3 1/2", the way it came from the factory, I'm happy with it so have not messed with it.

[MattVT18]

I've had mine everywhere from 2 3/4" - 3 3/8" PTP, currently at 3 1/4" just not getting the speed I'd like. My RPMs look good at the current height, ~5800 but that's with the factory tach so not sure it's entirely accurate. How much are you trimming up? To get my RPMs and speeds I'm over 1/4 trim, probably closer to 3/8. Might lower it another 1/4" and see what happens.

[Coach]

I ran a 618 for 3 1/2 years with a Fury 4 blade 24 prop most of that time. Top end only about 64 but it handles good and had a good holeshot. I carried a ton of tackle and full gas tanks one live well usually full. A heavy load slowed holeshot about 1/2 second but didn’t affect top end much if any.

[DMart1]

I posted in the Prop forum but thought I'd try here as well. I currently run a 24P Tempest Plus on my rig. I'm not getting near the speed some guys with similar rigs have reported. I've lightened my load and played with different JP heights but am still pretty far off. In perfect conditions with just me and 1/4 tank of fuel I've hit 65, most of the time its 62-63. The engine just had the reeds replaced due to a failure on #3 cylinder. Mechanic gave it a full checkout and clean bill of health. My prop could stand to be cleaned up some on the blade edges but I've seen alot worse. The only props I've found on these rigs are the 24P Tempest Plus or the 24P Fury. Several years ago I owned a couple of Bumble Bees. They loved the Trophy 4 blades. Has anyone tried a 4 blade on a 618?

What RPMs are you getting at WOT? 65 seems about right for that rig. You may get your prop cleaned up and B/B, you'd be surprised how much a rough prop drops speed..

[JackJ]

65 is about right. I have the same setup.
I think I have hit 67 once, but what does 2mph really matter.

[Coke]

what does 2mph really matter.

That is my thinking exactly.
I'm amazed at the number of people that will spend $1000's to gain 1-2 mph, must be some fast fish they're chasing.

[boomow610]

I have a 2016 with 175 Pro XS and 24 Tempest Plus and 1 power pole. I’m getting 65 tournament loaded with partner and 68 light by myself. I do lose a couple mph in the summer because it’s so hot and humid here. Before I added the pole I saw 69 a few times.

[mikemac10]

I am running a 23 fury 3 and with a full tank of fuel and loaded heavy with gear and just me I get around 63 most days, 23 tempest runs a hair faster on top but holeshot isn’t as good as the fury. I did try a 24 fury and it would run 66-67 lightly loaded but once loaded it fell on its face. 24 tempest was decent also but overall I like the 23 fury the best.

[Deadsolid]

Ran my son's 618 200 pro sx 24 Tempest last week. 68 and smooth pols tackle 1/2 tank, two people.

[billclarke]

What is your Prop to Pad height ?

[boomow610]

I’m at 3.5 PTP

[va floater]

Ran my son's 618 200 pro sx 24 Tempest last week. 68 and smooth pols tackle 1/2 tank, two people.

How did your son end up with a 200 on a 618?

[MattVT18]

What is your Prop to Pad height ?

Right now it's 3.25. Everything seems fine as far as RPMs and water pressure it's just slow (compared to many others). When I said 65 in the OP, that was once for about 20 seconds and it was "perfect" in that I had a long, straight stretch with a very light chop and ~65 degree water and air temps. Now that summer is fully here it's a consistent 61 mph boat and that just seems too slow. It porpoises a little most of the way trimmed out. On my previous boats that usually means overtrim but I can bump up the trim just a touch and it settles down. I'm probably going to get a new (or good used) Tempest Plus prop and use this one as a spare. I hate not having a spare prop, so this will give me an excuse to get another one!

[MattVT18]

Resurrecting this old thread to provide an update and ask another question. I purchased a new 24P Tempest Plus based on the recommendations here not long after my last post. It made a huge difference in performance having the new prop. Light load and mild weather I can hit 66-67 easily. Jumps up on plane fast and handles great. Boat performed awesome the rest of the year. Fast forward to this spring. I started fishing a tournament series with a buddy of mine. While I expected a performance drop with two guys, full live wells and a mostly full tank of gas the hole shot suffered tremendously. For those of you running the 23P Tempest or Fury how is your hole shot fully loaded? I still have my old prop that I can have worked into something different. Coming out of the hole now I can spin up to about 3300 RPMs and be really nose high. I have to just hold that for several seconds (I haven't timed it but it seems like forever) until it finally starts to break over. Once on plane it is fine. This boat is more affected by full livewells and full fuel tanks than any I've ever owned. I'm thinking that dropping a pitch or two will let it spin up faster and maybe improve the hole shot but I don't want to run it to the limiter once under way either. Any suggestions?

[CB_SabreFTD18]

Sounds like you need more vent for the heavy load. Try removing at least (1) plug and see if it helps. Probably need to pull 2 plugs since it’s struggling that much.

[MattVT18]

Sounds like you need more vent for the heavy load. Try removing at least (1) plug and see if it helps. Probably need to pull 2 plugs since it’s struggling that much.

Thanks, I'll try that!

[MattVT18]

Update - Pulled two plugs and the boat planes faster than it ever has. It really jumps out with just me and empty livewells. It's nearly as fast to plane "fully loaded" now as it was nearly empty before. Thanks again for the advice CB!