Results 1 to 7 of 7
  1. #1
    Member
    Join Date
    Apr 2018
    Location
    Davenport, FL
    Posts
    58

    Help me with prop selection for my 200SS

    Hey all, I'm running a 200SS on a '99 Ranger 185VS hull. The boat has 8' Power Pole blades on it, a 6" Bob's Machine Shop hydraulic jack plate and it used to have 3x12V group 31 AGM trolling motor batteries that I have since replaced with a couple of 36V lithium batteries in parallel. In my personal opinion, boats from that time period weren't really designed to have that much weight in the back end and I have always felt the back end sat kind of low in the water. Part of the reason I changed to lithiums was because the boat would sometimes not want to get on plane with 2 people in the boat unless I had the passenger move to the front deck. In fact, sometimes I used to have trouble getting it to plane out with just me in it until someone here on BBC suggested I try raising the jackplate all the way up when taking off and that tip helped tremendously.

    That was running a 15-1/4x22P Suzuki Watergrip prop (it's a 4 blade). Since changing the trolling motor batteries out, I've seldom had troubles with getting on plane, usually only if I have both fuel tanks full, full live wells and lots of human weight in the boat also lol. With the 22P prop, I can get 58-59 mph max speed out of it with good conditions, but probably more like 56-57 average top end.

    Back when I was trying props before I settled on the 15-1/4x22P, I also tried a 14-1/2x23P Suzuki prop (3 blade). It also struggled getting out of the hole, but that was prior to swapping the batteries. However, once I was able to get it up on plane, I could get 63-64 mph on that prop. I ended up going with the 22P though because I felt like it got on plane easier, but after lightening the back end of the boat and fixing the hole shot issues, I've always wanted to try that 23P again. Well, I found a Solas Titan HR4 14.5x23P for a decent price so I bought it thinking I would get similar performance to the Suzuki 23P I had tested. I ran it for the first time today and I was sorely disappointed. It turned significantly lower RPMs than the 15-1/4x22P I was running and the best top end I could get was 54 mph and it took quite some time to get there.

    So there's the whole backstory. Can anyone give me a suggestion for a prop that I can get 60+ mph out of with my setup, without sacrificing too much in the way of holeshot? I know this motor should be able to push this boat 60+ without issue, but I'm not in a hurry to blindly drop several hundred more dollars on another new prop so advice is sought and appreciated.

  2. Member
    Join Date
    Apr 2012
    Location
    Insomnia, near Seaford Delaware
    Posts
    35,509
    #2
    When you say struggled getting out of the hole, did you mean the motor bogged down, or the boat wouldn't get on the plane angle? I don't have an SS so my L/U is geared quite differently than yours.
    If you can hit the rev limiter on top end, then I'd think you could use more bite, i.e. more pitch or diameter. Diameter is quite critical, adding just a little diameter really adds to the prop swept area. If your boat is not hitting the rev limiter then you have too much prop.
    Since you mentioned moving a passenger forward to get on plane, it sure sounds like a whale tail or cavitation plate add-on like Bob's would solve that issue. You would be surprised at the difference it can make.
    Some like them, some don't. I do.
    Your speed seems about right TO ME, for a 200 on an 18 footer I (personally) wouldn't look for much more than 60 G P S.

  3. Member
    Join Date
    Apr 2018
    Location
    Davenport, FL
    Posts
    58
    #3
    Quote Originally Posted by billnorman1 View Post
    When you say struggled getting out of the hole, did you mean the motor bogged down, or the boat wouldn't get on the plane angle? I don't have an SS so my L/U is geared quite differently than yours.
    If you can hit the rev limiter on top end, then I'd think you could use more bite, i.e. more pitch or diameter. Diameter is quite critical, adding just a little diameter really adds to the prop swept area. If your boat is not hitting the rev limiter then you have too much prop.
    Since you mentioned moving a passenger forward to get on plane, it sure sounds like a whale tail or cavitation plate add-on like Bob's would solve that issue. You would be surprised at the difference it can make.
    Some like them, some don't. I do.
    Your speed seems about right TO ME, for a 200 on an 18 footer I (personally) wouldn't look for much more than 60 G P S.
    First off, thanks for the reply, I appreciate it. To answer a couple of your questions, with the 15-1/4x22P Suzuki prop, I do not hit the rev limiter. When I got the boat, it had a 14-1/2x21P PowerTech PTZ prop on it and that one did hit the rev limiter plus it topped out at 54-55 mph. That was why I switched to the Suzuki prop in the first place because I felt the PowerTech prop was too small for the motor. As I mentioned in the original post, this new Solas prop doesn't even come close to hitting the rev limiter. It seems to top out around 5200 rpm which is lower than the Suzuki by about 400 rpm.

    When I was talking about struggling getting out of the hole, I meant it would take off and at a certain point, it just stopped building RPM and plowed through the water, bow up. It was odd behavior, as it didn't happen every time, but it happened more often than not. As I mentioned in the original post, someone here suggested I try taking off with the jackplate fully raised and that virtually eliminated that issue, but it still occurred at times if I had a lot of weight in the boat (ie: second person and gear, full fuel, full wells). Since replacing the AGM batteries with Lithiums, I no longer have to have the jackplate all the way up to get up on plane, which is good because it doesn't seem to take in enough water with it all the way up (water pressure is lower) so I had to always remember to lower it a bit after I got up and running. Not a big deal, but one I would just as soon not have to mess with.

  4. Member
    Join Date
    Apr 2012
    Location
    Insomnia, near Seaford Delaware
    Posts
    35,509
    #4
    Sounds like your prop analysis is right on, you just need to find the "Happy Medium".
    I'm dead serious, my 200DF on a Stratos 285 was a pig out of the hole until I put a cheap whale tail on it. When your hull tries to build up speed with the bow too high there's too much water drag and resistance to get 'er up. Best $100 I ever spent on a boat. The tail will stop cavitation and raise the stern on the git go. Only down side that I see is you have to drill 4 holes in the cav plate.

  5. Member
    Join Date
    Apr 2018
    Location
    Davenport, FL
    Posts
    58
    #5
    I think that is worth a try. $100-$125 beats $500+ for that 23 pitch Suzuki prop.

  6. Member
    Join Date
    Oct 2008
    Location
    Dallas, GA
    Posts
    6
    #6
    I have a similar setup and was wondering if the addition of the whale tale or cavitation plate got you the performance and speed you were looking for?

  7. Member
    Join Date
    Dec 2016
    Location
    Quincy, IL
    Posts
    69
    #7
    I have a 200ss on a 202 Skeeter that I tried probably 10 different props on and the only thing that finally worked was a bravo 1 fs, I started with 22 then 23 then went to a 25. It does great with a light load but drops off some with fuel and livewells full and 2 people. I think a 24 would b the perfect all around prop. I’m looking now. I also added the whale tail, hug difference in hole shot and get the one that you don’t have to drill. I have that and has worked great.