Morning all.
My prop-to-pad measurement on this boat as been 3 3/8" (3.375") for forever and a day. I was running a 25" TR04 for a long time, that was actually closer to 26" as measured by Mark Croxton. Obviously, my measly 200HP Optimax won't turn that thing, and I was running at about 5200 RPM. I'm not a speed freak and was fine with it for a long time, getting about 64-65 MPH (GPS) out of it.
Fast forward to this spring...My TR04 had taken some damage and I was interested in re-propping. So, I bought a used (but perfect condition) 24" Razor 4XL from a forum member, and put her on. No other changes to set up. This past weekend, I was able to stretch her out a little, with about half a tank of gas and full fishing load, 2 guys and empty livewells. Got up to 63.5 and 5320 RPM. Still have room for about 400 RPM increase. Diameter on this prop is (I think) 15 1/8", so it's a big wheel.
I spoke to Mark and he advised me to raise it up and see what happens. I'll be doing a little testing soon and recording data. I'm hoping that getting to the 2.75" to 2.5" range will get me the 400 RPM I'm looking for and get to the upper 60's.
Any thoughts on this?
I could always go to a 25" Tempest, but I like having a 4 blade wheel and the testing and data collection is kinda fun as well.
Thanks for any inputs...