23P Tempest vs 23P Trophy

[Dmy-rt188p]

Thanks all. Got my Tempest back from Mark Croxton after being repaired, balanced, and adding cup. To my surprise (senior moment), my Tempest is actually a 24P and not a 23P. Have it mounted and should be able to test it next week.

[Johnnyred]

Keep us posted

[Dmy-rt188p]

Latest update if anyone is interested. Tempest+ 23p, cup added by Croxton, 4.5" PTP equates to 49.7 mph (gps) at 6300 rpms. Hole shot was 0.5 seconds slower than non-cupped (5.6 seconds for 0-20 mph). Didn't over-rev this time. At WOT, was able to keep rooster tail below cowl, but it was 5' above the cowl in order to get up on pad while cruising at 43 mph. Handled 1' chop well and I stayed dry. I'm concerned that raising the PTP to 4" will make it harder to get on pad while cruising.

[Madeintheshade]

Just to clarify is the tempest a 23 or a 24 p ?

[Dmy-rt188p]

When I started this post, I mistakenly thought my Temp test was a 23p. Actually, it's a 24p.

[Johnnyred]

Latest update if anyone is interested. Tempest+ 23p, cup added by Croxton, 4.5" PTP equates to 49.7 mph (gps) at 6300 rpms. Hole shot was 0.5 seconds slower than non-cupped (5.6 seconds for 0-20 mph). Didn't over-rev this time. At WOT, was able to keep rooster tail below cowl, but it was 5' above the cowl in order to get up on pad while cruising at 43 mph. Handled 1' chop well and I stayed dry. I'm concerned that raising the PTP to 4" will make it harder to get on pad while cruising.

Sounds like the Croxton Tempest is doing its job. Well done. I would guess you may be scraping the limits of what a 3-blade prop can do for you with respect to lift at anything significantly less than the last few hundred RPMs before WOT. And the Tempest is definitely the best 3-blade for your setup.

It may not be worth the expense, but a 4-blade Bravo 1 FS will likely lift the whole hull a little better at less than WOT. It will likely be 1 to 2 MPH slower at WOT compared to the Tempest. Or maybe not if you can run it high enough.

This is based on my personal experience with both of these props on my Ranger RT198P with the regular Merc 150 4S.

[Madeintheshade]

Guess I was confused because you are still referring to it as a tempest 23p

[Dmy-rt188p]

I apologize in advance if i am boring some people. Took the Croxton-repaired Tempest 24P out today. Not a great test since there was a 10 mph head wind and 6" - 12" chop. Hit 49.7 at 5820 rpms with the original 5 1/2" PTP. Might have been able to squeeze a little more if I trimmed up a bit more, but decided to be safe instead. The lower PTP also gave me better lift at the bow and stern and steering was very light and responsive. I'm going to try to split the difference with a 5" PTP and give it one more go before I put the 4-blade back on for more testing.

[Johnnyred]

I apologize in advance if i am boring some people. Took the Croxton-repaired Tempest 24P out today. Not a great test since there was a 10 mph head wind and 6" - 12" chop. Hit 49.7 at 5820 rpms with the original 5 1/2" PTP. Might have been able to squeeze a little more if I trimmed up a bit more, but decided to be safe instead. The lower PTP also gave me better lift at the bow and stern and steering was very light and responsive. I'm going to try to split the difference with a 5" PTP and give it one more go before I put the 4-blade back on for more testing.

Another good update. Keep posting.

[Madeintheshade]

I apologize in advance if i am boring some people. Took the Croxton-repaired Tempest 24P out today. Not a great test since there was a 10 mph head wind and 6" - 12" chop. Hit 49.7 at 5820 rpms with the original 5 1/2" PTP. Might have been able to squeeze a little more if I trimmed up a bit more, but decided to be safe instead. The lower PTP also gave me better lift at the bow and stern and steering was very light and responsive. I'm going to try to split the difference with a 5" PTP and give it one more go before I put the 4-blade back on for more testing.

Looks like we are on the same voyage, with similar results .
Keep us posted.

[Dmy-rt188p]

Ran my 24P Tempest with cup added by Croxton by myself, 3/4 tank of gas, full livewell, 5 1/4" PTP, and very slight chop. Hit 50.7 at 6230 rpms. Rooster tail was probable 4' above the cowl. Handled great with more weight in back. Next time, I'll try raising the motor 1/4" to try to lower the rooster tail.

[Madeintheshade]

Let me know how it goes .
I was always of the thinking that rooster tail equals motor to high .

[Dmy-rt188p]

Yet another update. Raised my jack plate 1/2" (5" PTP), same 24 pitch Tempest (ignore my erroneous title) with cup added. 3/4 tank of gas, 1/2 full livewell, 70 degree water temp, 75-ish air temp, 10 mph wind, slight chop on water. Hit 47.9 @ 6100 rpms into the wind with rooster tail 3' above cowl. Hit 50.7 @ 6230 rpms downwind with rooster tail even with cowl. Main difference between 5.5 and 5.0 PTP is the former gets on pad at lower speeds and a lower rooster tail. My best speed was with a 5.5" PTP (51.7) before cup was added, but it also exceeded redline. All speeds were measured with 2 GPS units (Garmin 93sv and Vessel View) and rpms were measured with VV. If I knew how to load photos, I would load a screenshot of my max speed.

Next time out, I'm going to put my Trophy 4-blade 23 pitch back on to get another baseline. A knowledgeable friend suggested adding 1"-2" of pitch to it because I am also over-revving it. Also took out the solid plugs to see if my hole shot improves. My first series of runs produced a hole shot similar to my Tempest.

[Johnnyred]

Keep it up!

[Dmy-rt188p]

Well, today's test didn't go so well, but they say you learn more from "losing" than you do from "winning". There were 1.5' - 3' whitecaps spaced 5' - 10' apart as a result of an outgoing tide and incoming wind. Made for a rough and wet ride. I had planned to test my Trophy 4-blade with a 4.75" PTP with the PVS plugs removed. I was not able to test it at WOT, but did make some discoveries. The prop blew out (cavitation) during the hole shot with the prop trimmed all the way down. When I was traveling about 25 mph at a 45 degree angle into the white caps with the bow up, the prop blew out again. For a moment, I thought I spun the prop, but I know I did not hit anything. There was a big difference in the hole shot between no PVS plugs and solid PVS plugs (see my July 29, 2022 post). Otherwise, my next try will be same prop with a 5.25" PTP.

[Dmy-rt188p]

Again, sorry if I am boring some of you. Went out today in 85 degree, flat calm day with my Trophy 4-blade, 23P, 5 1/4" PTP, 3/4 tank of gas, and full livewell. Hit 47.6 mph at 6320 rpms (20 over limiter and same as last time). Rooster tail was 1'-2' above cowl. Far less blowout at holeshot compared to 4.75" PTP. Holeshot reminded me of my old 22'fiberglass. Had a little vibration going forward at idle. Considering adding 1" of pitch and/or cup and definitely having the Trophy balanced.
After all of my testing, my conclusion is that the original 24P Tempest at 5.25" PTP, medium PVS plugs, and 1/2 full livewell performed best (factory set up).

[Johnnyred]

Good update. Yep the Tempest is on that setup from the factory for a reason. Despite a tendency by many, including me, to assume that the "factory" doesn't setup the boats right at delivery, they often do. It might be that the only thing that is needed in most cases to take the setup over the goal line is to have the prop balanced, sharpened and cupped.

[Dmy-rt188p]

John:
I was also going to mention my pleasant surprise, or maybe that I shouldn't have been surprised, that the factory set up seemed to perform best. I did have my Tempest cupped and balanced by Mark. I didn't think about having it sharpened. What is the purpose of sharpening a prop?

[Johnnyred]

..... I am sure Mark did everything that reasonably should be done to it. He may have sharpened some of the edges... but I think that sharpening needs to be done sparingly if at all as it can make the blades more prone to failure. He knows as good as anybody in that biz what a Tempest should look like for a boat like yours and mine.

My 2021 RT198p came with a 22p Tempest mounted directly to the transom in the middle hole. After a year of messing with it and buying a Bravo 1 FS, after Mark B&B'ed my Tempest I found that the boat worked best about like they had it setup originally. That is if no jackplate. I added my 5.5" CMC manual plate later and it also improved my running a lot.

My problem was mostly that the Tempest had no cup and needed Mark's touch. He said that was unfortunately common nowadays. I also should have had a jackplate from day one.

The Bravo is also really good. Better grip, mid-range acceleration, slower top speed. Trade offs. If my Tempest ran day one like I have it running now, I would not have bought the Bravo. But I am now glad to have it.

[Madeintheshade]

Sounds like you got lucky on your 24 tempest out of the box.
Mine was crap , and after talking to Mark this is a common problem.
Im waiting on a Croxton razor 4 22XLR to try.