I have a 2000 1850 crestliner sport fish. I’m getting 42 mph gps. at 4209 rpm. The prop I have is a solas 14/21. Think about going to 14.25/19. Looking for best fuel economy.
Motor is 175johnson 2 stroke wot 5250-5750
Looking for alum and stainless.
What are your thoughts.
Recently bought this boatThanks
The boat doesn’t seem to have issues with purposing.
I’m just trying to make it most efficient. Not worried about hole- shot or speed. A little more would however be welcome. I’ve been caught out on Michigan about 10 miles out when a storm was moving in. Thanks to the radio and the speed from my other boat. We made it before it blew in.
Often I’ll fish out of Racine. To get to deep water one travels some miles.
The solas on the boat now is aluminum. I will go with analuminum prop. Do to fishing rivers. Eventually I will get a ss.
Contacting the last owner is out of the question. He lied about the boat. Said it didn’t leak and ran fine. Found out the hard way. The motor and the boat itself is fine. I am filtering through the leaks and have fixed all but one. (I hope). The last leak is in front of the moto. I need to disconnect the trim/tilt piston to pull it away so I can reseal the scupper. I have resealed everything on the transom except the scupper in the center.
Fuzzyfishin, since you bought it recently, have you thought of contacting the previous owner to see what worked best for him? An idea made earlier was to check online for similar setups to see what works there.
Check out this interesting website. https://www.boat-fuel-economy.com/evinrude-outboard-fuel-consumption-us-gallons
While your ending isn't made any more, I noticed that at 1,000rpm (about the speed you will spend most of your time at while fishing) the Evinrude 2 stroke will burn about 0.55 gallons per hour for the 150 and 0.70 gallons per hour for the 225HO. Mercury's optimax came in similar with their 150 and 200. I would assume yours may be close even though I think you still have carbs.
The Merc's at about 5,500 rpm came in at 14.2 and 18.5 gph and the Evinrude at 15.1 and 21.5. This site shows newer motors but gives an idea on what to look for and is interesting for comparison's sake. Notice it does also tell you the displacement and whether it is 2 stroke or 4 stroke. This also gives you an indication of your ballpark figure.
Gallons per hour is not miles per gallon. The bigger engines will run at slower and less rpms to get where you are going. In the scheme of things when all is said and done, with all that is invested in the planning and cost and involvement that goes into a single fishing day are you NOT going out to 180 FOW to catch kings and steelhead on the surface only to stay in 100 to catch lakers on the bottom to save fuel? I go where the fun fish are. Period. Gas, tolls, launch, ice, lunch, beverages, lures, etc are all part of a one day excursion. I am not going to worry about whether I get 3 mpg instead of 4 mpg to go a little farther out or up and down the shoreline. I dont know about your guests but I always pay my share and more. I know what it costs to run a boat. Mine does not run on Thanks. JUst get the boat running good and enjoy it.
Is the Solas you are running aluminum or SS?
I would forget about the Raker, it's SS prop made for high speed and performance which you indicated is not a priority.
Good points were made about fishing on Lake Michigan. Stern lift and throttle response along with good mid-range cruising. Stern lift will allow you to stay on plane at slower speeds. Throttle response will allow you to navigate through the bigger waves which often require working the throttle on and off waves.
If aluminum I would consider a Solas Rubex 4 - and start with the 14-1/4 x 19 (18" if they had it). You'll gain some RPM with pitch loss but loss some with a small diameter increase and the extra blade.
Oh, and I assume you were comfortable with the transom or you wouldn't have just bought it. You made no mention of porpoising or plowing so I'm not sure were the "hook" in the hull comment came from.
DAH allowed me to try a prop.I used it for a day on Koshkonong and dropped it for at the end of the day."You ding it,you pay me to fix it." l did not buy it.I chose to have him tune and modify my Raker.I must also mention,you're in a twenty year old aluminiun hull.It needs to have the transon checked and the hull checked for a hook before you invest any money on props.Been there done that with a Lund Pro V.
I think your combo calls for a Raker.I would recommend an old Raker over a newer Raker II.I run an 18" Raker on a 17.5 'glass hull rated for 150hp.My o/b is a'99 Johnson 115 carbed two stroke(similar to your o/b less two cyliders).With that prop I run at 5500 rpms and the same top end as you.With your 175 you should be faster far more efficient.Contact John at DAH props in Burlington.He is the Man especially when it comes to OMC products.
The OP, you are severly over propped and lugging the engine. A drop of several pitches, at the least, is necessary.
Good luck.
If you go on lake Michigan then you will want to go an inch lower. the 19 may put you a bit LOW thein rpm range. You are only dropping from a 21 anyway. A lower pitch will help you troll a little slower and also help get you up and over the waves, especially when it gets rough fast.
If you are talking fuel mileage from A to B that is one thing but you will be idleing the majority of the time and cruising less. The prop is now part of your fishing gear and performs a duty that most others dont.
By the way, try painting the prop white or two blades white and one blade orange. Some believe it creates a flasher effect. stainless wont be as important where you wont likely strike bottom but it will also create some flash as it turns. I dont know if you want to spend a couple hundred more for a flashy prop.
I bought a 26 ft starcraft new in 1987 and knowing what kind of performance I wanted I ordered the motor accordingly. Believe it or not I got a 175 hp v6 I/O and never regretted it. I wanted it to troll about 1.7 or a little lower. It did that fine. I pushed 33 mph. You cant go fast when it is rough and you can enjoy the ride when it is calm and it trolled absolutely fantastic. I actually still have the boat but it is in storage. The props are 15 cupped and 17 uncupped. I put a picture of it below. today it sits in storage waiting to be rescued. I did a lot of work to it and needs a little elbow grease. the hard stuff was done already.
I got it that way because the v8 not only went with a 19 pitch but the gear ratio changed and it spun the 19 even faster. That would have made it harder to troll slow but would be good on Lake erie where they get out there fast and then shut it off and drift.
start with the 18 and see what happens. You might be surprised. By the way, since I am currently using a bass boat, maybe we can hook up in spring and I can teach you some fishing tricks to help put more in the boat or rig better for less money. I am still trying to get good weather to take the ranger out of Waukegan if I can,
Ranger, I thank you for all the info.
I do fish Michigan when I can and love it. Just haven’t been able to get out this year. I’m setting this boat up for salmon as I did my last boat.
I think I will start with 19 pitch. I was running with a loaded boat (kicker and gear as well as my wife) don’t think I will hurt anything with a 19. Then go from there.
My last boat was a 1775 pro v with a stainless and 150 Merc. It would push 3 pas. 67 gps. Just feel my top end on this boat is way short at 42. I know I am heavier with this boat. Feel I should get about 50mph. Friend of mine has the same boat (2004) with a135 Merc. He runs at near 45. My brother has a 17 ft with a 125 Merc and runs 42. Both all three boats are set up with kickers and 24 volt.
Thank you very much
Dan
See, now that tells us a lot. You have a small range of 500 rpms to work with, that is the difference in your 5250 and 5750. The middle would give you a range of 5500 to shoot for. Based on approximately 1inch/400 rpms, you would have to go down approximately 3 inches in pitch to raise you to about 5400 rpm. Since you are at 21 pitch, you would need about an 18pitch. Thats a good place to start especially since you have a heavier deep V boat. Try an 18 and if rpms are too high then go to a 19 and vice versa. Cupping or removing cupping can adjust your rpm a bit more if you like. Just get it in that range and you will be good. 5500 would put you right in the middle of the recommended range. Getting it to run about 5750 would allow you more torque to push heavier loads, you know...buddies, coolers, rods, anchors, kicker, full tank of gas, etc. Go with aluminum for now. You may be able to sell or trade your existing prop or keep it as a spare but take out the cupping if you do to raise your rpm, Cupping adds about 2 inches of pitch, which I didn't mention but by now you probably figured out. Once you get it dialed in then you can go to stainless as your primary prop, They are more fuel efficient but you may not notice the mileage but you may pick up 1-2 mph which again equates to more speed because of effiency. Stainless blades are thinner and stronger. Aluminum blades actually flex a little under heavy use. Dont believe it? Remember that skyscrapers bend in heavy winds. Your diameter on the 18 may go up to about 14.25. You wouldnt notice unless you looked. That brings us back to the "loading up the motor" factor. Now you should pretty much have your answer to what prop to use, or at least get you very close. By the way, where and what are you fishing for. Great lakes fishing may keep you from hitting bottom with the prop, etc.
FuzzyFishin, do you know what your actual operating range for that motor is? I could not find that particular motor online without more info. Is it a 2 stroke? Johnsons were make by Suzuki for their 4 strokes and later stopped putting the Johnson name on them. Two strokes often rev higher as there are no valves to push or cams and lifters to move. They usually make better power than counterpart 4 strokes however outboards are tuned a bit differently to make high rpm power but valves etc wear out a bit quicker.
Speed is definitely a result of fuel efficiency. The more efficient you are the faster you will go on the same power. The better use you make of your fuel the better your speed and mileage. I disagree with ayeFeeshon the four blade prop because there are 2 ways to create thrust or load up an engine so that it wont freewheel all the way to destruction. 1. A larger diameter prop will push more water but it will go slower because of a low pitch. Look at the props on kicker motors from Merc and Yamaha. the 9.9s have huge props and low gear ratios to create torque and push. 2. More pitch moves water faster but need a smaller diameter prop because you are pushing a lot of water with a big diameter. More blades give better hole shot because they push more water with more torque via less pitch. Try to find two similar props, one with large diameter and one with higher pitch for the same motor combo and you will see the higher pitch has less diameter and vice versa. More blades also create more drag in the water. Look on many smaller Hydroplane racing boats using small racing motors and you will see many. if not most using 2 blade props. They are more efficient. More blades balance out an engine better but I never could tell the difference. Three blades are a great compromise. They balance better than 2 blades but are faster than 4 blades. Look at the 5 blade props and you will see they are targeting ski boats, etc. They give a great hole shot and handling/balancing than the others. They are huge diameter and low pitch, good for getting going while pulling a load but not good for top end or efficiency. Your prop is the final gear in your drive system, like overdrive in your car. Overdrive gives you both higher top speed and fuel effiency. Todays cars are faster than older muscle cars with smaller motors mainly because they have overdrive and the older muscle cars dont. You cant go fast with 4.11 gears unless you have overdrive but you will get a fast just when the light turns green. Same with the boat and prop. The further you travel on a drop of gas the faster you will also be. I am not affiliated with Airmarine Propellors in Chicago but talk to Kathy or Chris. They have been doing this for both planes and boats for longer than I have been boating (pre-1980) and know their business. They helped me prop out my ranger, trying about 6 props in all. My boat came over propped with a merc 23 pitch on it and wasn't good for anything. The stainless lazer2 in 21 worked great. The 20 was a re-man prop I bought from them and like that one even better. I bought both props from them at the same time. Good people to do business with. They speak with authority and knowledge and Kathy's husband does the repairing, or at least he still was when I bought from them. Dont go more than 3 blades for the best all around prop, especially if you are looking at mileage. The best thing to get better mileage is to not push the throttle all the way down,
