New toon owner - boat / motor speed in turn question

[badmoonrising]

Yeah if you are boating where there is a lot of floating debris, go aluminum.

[smoker62]

I dont know where your from but Brainerd props in MN is the best to work with. Ricky will recommend the prop for you , usually spot on. If it doesnt do what you expect , he will let you try others as well. Plus his prices are good. I have bought numerous props from him, from Trophy Plus, Revolution, High fives,Spitfires, great guy and knows his stuff.

[Gravelyctry]

Well, just figured I'd give an update. I got the new prop on, and went out over the weekend. I went with the black max extra cup 15.25x15 aluminum.

I also got a new tach installed, so I was anxious too find out what was going to happen.

I could tell a big difference right away with the new prop. It also let me turn pretty tight without having the motor rev up, which was nice.

Anyway, the motor was at 5000 rpm at top speeds of 33 mph. Speed was GPS based.

Based on that, it looks like I should have went with the 16x14 pitch prop, and got my rpm's up a bit more. Speed range is 5000 to 5600 for that motor.

So, first question is whether or not I'm shortening motor life with this prop. If so, that would make me want to get the different size, and keep this one as a spare.

Second question, does the larger diameter of the 16x14 prop offset the reduction in pitch from my now current 15.25x15 prop?

I'd really like to hear thoughts and opinions on the prop change. I'm not looking to get all the performance, but I want a setup that isn't going to hurt my motor life. Or maybe it's too late since it had the 21 pitch prop on it, and I should just run what I've got until it dies?

Thanks for the help so far, Neil

[Darin]

First off, glad you got your problem fixed. Second, there isn't a prop made that will hurt your engine, its how hard you run what you have. You don't usually run a full throttle all of the time do you? I usually only run about half throttle and maybe 3/4 when Im in a hurry.

[Gravelyctry]

I guess my concern regarding motor life had to do with some info I'd read that said the motor controller will lean out the oil/gas mixture to try to get the motor speed up to create more power. The result would be less lubrication for the motor and premature failure. Maybe that's not right?

Secondly, I don't run at full speed all that much when cruising around. Logically, that seems like it would be an easier time for the motor, but others have told me that the motors need to run at full speed to keep them running right, clean, etc. That seemed to make some sense to me too, so I'm not quite sure what to think.

Maybe I'm just thinking too much. It wouldn't be the first time.

Neil

[Darin]

Yeah I think you may be just over thinking it. Im not sure but if it is a two stroke, they are tough motors. If it is computer controlled it should have sensors to tell it how much oil it needs. I wouldn't worry about it. Im sure it will last you a long time as long as you have it serviced regularly.