Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

I have a SS Mercury Vengeance prop on a 2003 125 hp motor hooked up to a 22' pontoon boat. I just got this and have only had it out 3 times. I was convinced it had a spun hub as when I would try to tun it up to 4000 rpm it acted like it lost all its bite.

I took the prop off today to send it to a prop shop only to discover it has the plastic insert, not the pressed in rubber. The thing is, except for some small cracks at the corners of the plastic insert I can see no damage to it and see no evidence of anything spinning inside that should not be.

Is it possible for these inserts to go bad and not really show evidence of it?

Try loading more in the back of the boat.

What size is the prop? I've got the same boat with a 150 on it and a 15x15 enertia. The plastic hubs aren't expensive so just get another one to be sure.

cwag911 wrote:What size is the prop? I've got the same boat with a 150 on it and a 15x15 enertia. The plastic hubs aren't expensive so just get another one to be sure.

It is a Vengeance 16. The other numbers on it are 48-16986. I am starting to wonder if maybe as the previous poster said if I need to move more weight to the back. Thinking back, both times I really experianced it was when 1 person in particular was with us, this person is rather large, and always sits on the rear of the front lounge. This puts her just fwd of center, but she is almost as heavy as 2 of me.

Is your trim all of the way down? If so, you should get no blow out.

This loading thing is a very common problem with pontoons. Big people always end up sitting up front

BiXLL wrote:

cwag911 wrote:What size is the prop? I've got the same boat with a 150 on it and a 15x15 enertia. The plastic hubs aren't expensive so just get another one to be sure.

It is a Vengeance 16. The other numbers on it are 48-16986. I am starting to wonder if maybe as the previous poster said if I need to move more weight to the back. Thinking back, both times I really experianced it was when 1 person in particular was with us, this person is rather large, and always sits on the rear of the front lounge. This puts her just fwd of center, but she is almost as heavy as 2 of me.

If you meant 16 pitch then it's too much for that motor and boat combination. I would try a 15p and put the weight to the rear.

Okay, after shifting the weight if that don't work for ya ditch the Vengeance prop. it's 13 1/8" I think and to small diam for pontoons. It looses bite and blows out under load. If you must use a stainless look for something larger diam like the Mirage. Black Max (alum), Solas, Powertech, which ever you choose should be as big as you can get to fit. The Enertia is large and in charge along with the price. Nice prop though. Just aim for at least a 14 1/2 or better and I'd start with a 15" pitch to see where the rpm's land.
The Vengeance is a more for a ski boat. Pontoons like the big blades with alot of cup.
As far as the inset goes if you look at how it fits in the prop and how the splined thrust washer connects on the inside of it.....it will be obvious.

I have spun one an u couldn't tell by looking at it I would try that before u go spend tons trying to find the right one those hubs are pretty much universal so u want be out anything I personally keep one as a spare on my boat.

Shopguy wrote:Okay, after shifting the weight if that don't work for ya ditch the Vengeance prop. it's 13 1/8" I think and to small diam for pontoons. It looses bite and blows out under load. If you must use a stainless look for something larger diam like the Mirage. Black Max (alum), Solas, Powertech, which ever you choose should be as big as you can get to fit. The Enertia is large and in charge along with the price. Nice prop though. Just aim for at least a 14 1/2 or better and I'd start with a 15" pitch to see where the rpm's land.
The Vengeance is a more for a ski boat. Pontoons like the big blades with alot of cup.
As far as the inset goes if you look at how it fits in the prop and how the splined thrust washer connects on the inside of it.....it will be obvious.

I have no preference as to weather its stainless or not, I just bought this boat and its what was on it when I got it. If this is not a good prop for my boat, I want to change it regardless of weather or not I could by with it, I want it right. You have given me a large range of props that would be better, but is there a recommendation for what would be optimum for me to use?

By the way, I really appreciate the time and efforts of all those that are responding and trying to help me!

The first thing I would do is mark the hub and the prop, run it and see if the marks move in relation to each other.

GregF wrote:The first thing I would do is mark the hub and the prop, run it and see if the marks move in relation to each other.

But if this Vengeance prop is not a good prop to run on my boat, I want it gone. I want this thing set up right!

Sound like you don't mind spending the extra 100 bucks or so for the enertia. Probably given the fact it is a 22ft you might be able to turn the 15p with the 125. Still, I would want to be able to swap out for the 14p (enertia lowest pitch) if it doesn't give you near max rpm with the 15p. The enertia does really well on the toons, maybe more so than the centerconsole off shore rigs they were designed for, and you can get them dialed in pretty good since they come in 1 pitch increments.
doc

The enertias I am seeing say they fit mercury 135 hp and up. Will these work on my 125? Also, I am seeing them come in price wise at around $500.00, do I need to look elsewhere for a better price?

I can see right now, this is not going to be just spend some money and fix it. I am going to have to learn more about props in order to make a good decision as to which way to go here. For instance I am seeing mirage props on ebay at a much more reasonable price, as well as aluminum rebuilt props for like $100.00 and even less! What are the differences, pros/cons on these props verses the enertias?

Any and all info/advice in this area will be appreciated

On our boat (which is the same as yours), I tried Mirage, Vengeance and Enertia.The Mirage and Vengeance were 17p and too much for the motor. The Enertias I tried in 17p,16p, and 15p and all worked fine until I put people on the boat. With just me they all got me 6000 rpm or more and 39 mph (gps). With the added weight the 15p was the best all around and would still spin with more people on the boat. I never paid more than $350.00 for any of them and got my money back when I resold them on Ebay. As you can see by my signature I kept the 15p. The Black Max cupped props for pontoons are supposed the be good also and not as pricey.