26 'WOT Speed????

[Seefood Man]

OK here's one for you. I am running a 26' Pacific, with a 300 Merc, 14 degree-3- blade SS Enertia prop, WOT at 6400 RPM.
With six clients and myself (full grown men) and 150 gallons of fuel I am running at 34.5 mph @ WOT
The boat will trim out nice with only the back two to three foot in the water at full trim, 2.2 on the merc trim gauge.
The interesting thing is with just myself in the boat and a full tank of fuel I am getting 35 to 35.5 mph out of her.
Initially, I was getting some back spray from the cavitation plate so we raised up the motor to two holes, maxed out on the top holes. It took care of the spray and maybe added .5 mph to her.
I was told by some self-acclaimed prop guy that I should see 45 mph, or better out of her.

What are you guys getting out of your 26 Pacific's?

Should I,
Shut up and fish?
Look at a 15 degree prop? Would my gain be worth the expense?
Any advice will be appreciated. Thanks in advance

[NUKE]

14 degree prop ? sorry I'm a bit perplexed . props are rated by inches of thrust through the water per shaft rotation . 14 would travel 14 inches per revolution in theory . 15 - 15 inches and so on . the boat and motor combinations like yours that I am familiar with would be in the 19 - 21 inch ( pitch) range and approach or exceed the 50 knots mark with a 300 Suzuki . The smaller pitch prop you currently use is not loading the engine properly as you hit 6400 rpm loaded or not . More bite with a higher pitch wheel will bring your rpm's down under a load .

Y ou have plenty of power , try more pitch and your speed will increase expotentialy , Get a 21 " pitch and try it ,if it won't turn up to 6000 rpm move down a size untill You are comfortable with the power curve RPM . My bet is with That Verado and no superstructure to speak of your boat will do in the high 50's maybe hit 60 if that is what you want . Your cruise speed should be closer to what your WOT is now and at about 4400 rpm's , less fuel burn and more speed when you wnat to use it . Let me Know how you do .

[Chaps]

What do you mean by "14 degree prop"? Is that your pitch? Is it a 14 inch pitch prop?

It looks like you are achieving max rpm regardless of load. In other words with the prop you have now the boat will not go any faster given the engine is likely limited to 6400 rpm and it appears that it has no trouble getting that RPM even full of gear and people.

If 14 is your pitch I'd go to 17, but try and borrow one. There is a prop shop up off of 526 on the way to Mukilteo that loans out props.

[Seefood Man]

Nuke, I ment a 14 inch prop. I tried a 17in but it would run at 5600 rpm and I only got 36mph out of her.
I'm a but confused here. Knowing it is better to run these engines at top rated rpm, if I go higher in pitch I will drop rpm?
Sorry, but you might have to spell it out for me.

[Chaps]

Was the engine brand new when you ran the 17? It might like that prop now that it is loosened up a bit. Do you still have it?

[welder]

There is prop Dia. 15", 17", 21" and so on .............Then there is Pitch ,AKA the bite of the blades, and it is also in inches.

My prop in my Honda is , 14 3/4" [ Dia. ] X 17" [ Pitch ] or on the prop it is stamped, 14 3/4X17X3 SS, the three there srands for three blade prop. and the SS is for stainless steel.

I can keep the same Dia. but change the PITCH let's say to a 19 and I will loose abot 300 RPM's and if I go to a 15 pitch I will gain about 3oo RPM's. This is how we fine tune our rigs to get what we need for best performance, MPG and speed.

It sounds like you need a larger diameter prop with the same pitch or the same prop wth more pitch, the bigger the blades or the more pitch the more water you pull through.

Think of your prop as a screw , fine threads [ less pitch ] have to turn more to get there and course threads only turn a little to get there.

Hope this helps .

[tracy]

prop size is on prop
21P this is the pitch.

[BroadCove]

I have a Pacific/Black Lab 26' HT with a Suzuki 250 turning a 15.25" x 19" Suzuki stainless steel propeller. I almost always run pretty heavy - at least 75 gallons of fuel and 7-10 people (mix of adults and kids) and a large dog or two. Running with full load is the main reason for the smaller diameter prop - I was having a hard time reaching the recommended RPM range with Suzuki's 16" diameter props. With a clean bottom and the load indicated above, WOT is 37-39 kts. (42-45 mph) depending upon conditions. Given you're running a 300 hp motor, I think you would see at least the numbers I'm getting if not a decent bit more.

[v26wa]

Twin 150's on my 2006 26' Pacific get me a hair under 50 knots. 17 pitch props.

[JETTYWOLF]

I'm also running Mac's Skeg protector. Put it on when the boat/motor was brand new.

I believe, they slow ya down. But....I don't care. Protection is better.

Speed? No clue...another don't care really. As long as I get there, cheaply.

[NUKE]

All these replies are pointing in the same direction . 26 ' boats with Hard tops and v26wa's is a pilot house . with less or equal hp having higher speeds than you have achieved so far.

Just my thoughts hmmmm . go back where you purchased that power and explain the situation ( you are maxed out at 34.5 at 6400 loaded or empty ) and say give me some props to try out to get the desired performance you should expect from a 300 Verado . It's not unusual for a dealer to exchange several props on new power to get the exact combination that the customer is "Happy " with at no charge .


I guess you just have to complain to the dealer that your not happy with the Verado if all you get is 34.5 with no crew in an open Aluminum boat and put it in his lap . then write to Merc with the same info just for s!ht's and giggles .

Good Luck and go Faster !

[welder]

Don't forget about the Verado web site, http://www.veradoclub.com/smf/

It's a GREAT site to get info on your motor, Let them know what boat your running and weight of it .

They will put you on the right info. in a heart beat . Glen runs a tight ship over there JUST for Verado's

[skfmj]

Seafood Man,

As posted by others your given your situation of hitting max engine RPM suggests that your current prop selection is under pitched for that prop design. Here is what bugs me. If I assume you are running a 14" pitch prop. not diameter and the Verado has a gear ratio of 1.75. Putting in your numbers into a prop calculator (http://www.go-fast.com/Prop_Slip_Calculator.htm) you get at top speed of 48 mph. Given you get 35 mph at 6400 RPM you have about 27% slip. In most cases this number should be down around 5 - 8% for you boat at max speed. In simple terms means that your moving 4 steps forward and 1 step back. If I were you, I would collect some more data.

1. Get on some flat water.
2. I assume you are using a GPS to determine the speed over ground. If not use one. Speedometers are not always accurate. On my boat I see that at times it can be off by as much as 10 mph.
3. Do not use your tabs to trim the boat. Set the RPM near WOT and just the motor and trim for max speed without porpoising.
4. Measure Speed, RPM, and GPH over the entire throttle range with the optimal engine setting.

What you may find here is that the prop you have may run faster at lower RPM. Then take this data to your dealer or a prop guy. You can also look on the Mercury web site for their prop selection tool (http://sites.mercurymarine.com/portal/p ... ema=PORTAL).

I am still tuning my rig. I want Les' numbers.

Good Luck

Richard
Pacific 23 WA5

[Seefood Man]

I bought the boat to Cowlitz County Landfill, they have two certified, full length scales. On the outgoing side I was allowed to drop the boat off the truck and get and accurate weight of boat and trailer. It weighed in at 8140 lbs. Then I ran down and moored the boat at Kalama and ran the trailer back over the same scale. It weighed in at 2220lbs. So the certified weight of the boat, with full tank of fuel (150 gallons) and gear ready for six customers came in at 5920 lbs :shock: . I was WAY off from my initial estimate of 3500 lbs. So now I have a good starting point.

Second issue; When I purchased my Raymarine A60 GPS/Sounder I was told that the GPS over rides the paddle-wheel speed sensor. Well, another call to Raymarine Tech Support said it doesn't and unit must be changed to SOG. Speed Over Ground. OK, Took her out on the flat water and at 6400rpm I got a SOG of 44mph with the current and 40.5 against the current.

Since the pic was taken I had the motor raised up two holes. It took care of the back spray and now has less drag as well.


So what do you guys think?
I want to thank you all for the advice and help here.
__________________

[BroadCove]

I wrote a long response earlier, but it didn't stick, and I'm too lazy to write it again! Bottom line: 42+ mph makes much more sense, but you're still likely "under-propped". With a normal load, you want a prop that gets you into the max RPM range without hitting the rev limiter. I second the suggestions to take it back to your dealer and/or check out Glen's site. The primary reason you want to get the right prop is not to go faster, but to be more efficient at any given rpm. Good luck!

[NUKE]

Now it's starting to look better ... but there is still room for improvement .. that slipping(sic) that some one spoke of earlier ... the smaller diameter of your wheel combined with the 14 pitch makes for a great hole shot but you still need more bite . that motor is not working at all ,no load on it to speak of ... your in contender weight area and have a flatter bottom . please try more prop ... please ! you have a pocket rocket ! that boat has the potential to top all 26' pacific speeds to date ... try a 15.25 dia x 19 or 21 and have some fun ... Just think back From worst to First .... That sounds good doesn't it ?