Back to the 3 blade 17-15

[Miles Offshore]

well i decided to cut my losses on the 4 blade nibral and go back with the 3 blade brass for my inboard.the boat is coming off of the hill tomorrow with my skeg all faired in and hope that gives me a couple of additional knots also.I sanded away at least 20 years of bottom paint and will probably have blue buggers until x-mas. trying out petit ultra ablative so looking forward to seeing what kind of performance i get now!!! in addition instaed of wasting my time painting the shaft and wheel with bottom paint i woody waxed and sealed both. I figure i will have to pull and scrape in a couple of months regardless , so I will give er a go.,lol Im over the damn 4 blade. I think I have 800$$ in the 4 blade- anyone wants it make a reasonable offer and its yours,lol. craig

[Miles Offshore]

for you inboard guys- put mine back in the water today and went for a cruise, totally different boat after putting the 3 blade wheel back on, fairing in the skeg and sanding off years worth of bottom paint. My old numbers were something like 3 to 3200 rpms- 19 to 21 knots , 11 to 12 gph. my numbers today with just myself, fairly light on fuel- 3000 rpms, 22.5 knots and 9.5 gph. very happy to say the least. all that new bottom paint/boot and collonite wax was turning some heads this afternoon as I idled down the creek. now i get to re-clean the inside from all the dust/(blue bottom paint dust [img]/images/graemlins/ooo.gif[/img]). looking to bloody up the deck after i clean her this weekend with a big fat ass brown suit. Damn I love this boat!!!!! Craig [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

[Capt Chuck]

Now your rock'in Craig

[MarkR]

Craig,

I don't remember your power or the 4-blade size.??

The new numbers look great with the 17x15 with everything in the water slippery. A 17" wheel fits in the pocket??

You may have convinced me not to go the 4-blade route. I'm currently running a 16x15 and getting all of 4400rpm @ 30knts by GPS and cruising 19-20 knts at 28-3000rpm.

[Doghouse4x4]

Craig,
Looks like the maintenence is paying dividens! [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] Looks pretty good in the pics too, hopefully I can see it up close here soon. Word is spadefish have already invaded the tower, which seems mighty early to me, but I'm gonna try and get out there this weekend

[Miles Offshore]

Thanx chuck!!!!

Mark- the 4 blade is a 16-15 (if i remember right- it was a 17/17 when i bought it, had it cut to a 16/17 then a 16/16- and if i remember right its now a 16/15 (i think) lol, can you tell Im over it????) I have a 350 magnum- 280 hp (1995). Your numbers look pretty good- I am not getting 4400 like you do though at top end I am more around 4000. Gary Hill on the board is turning like 4600 and getting great numbers, I forgot what he is turning but he has that new magnum putting out 325 or so hp. Im sure Gary will chime in-

Hey graham- thanx for your comments- you cant see it until i get the inside cleaned up again,lolol. the big spades are there but i think the bite is very sporatic- (then you risk getting banged up with the idiots trying to anchor up!!!)I think the big boys are around all of the other wrecks in the area anyway but good luck if you go. I am going to soak some crabs friday night i think and maybe sunday. give me a call tomorrow evening if you like(or now if you are online and i can come take a look at your ride)- craig

[riprunner]

I think I may need a little help, were breaking in our new 350/350HP on our 23 straight inboard. I only have a couple hours on the boat strictly running around at different speeds under 3600rpm to break her in, but she seems slow. At 3500RPM, she's only turning 22.5-23.5 knots. I thought with this power I would have at least 24-26 knots at that RPM. When we first dropped in the moter, the engine mechanic brougt her right up to 4800RPM, but I didn't have the GPS installed, so I don't know what the top end speed was. It sounds like I might have to change props. Any suggestions on what I should run with this power set up?

[Gary Hill]

Ok Craig, I'm running a 350/315HP with a 17 x 15 NIBRAL prop (with cup) and on Friday I looked to see what I was turning and @3,000 I was hitting 24.3 -.7 and @ 3,200 I was hitting 27.2 - 27.4 and I didn't look at the NAVMAN. This prop fits fine with a little low RPM noise/vibration thru the hull (tuberlance) at fast idle, not bad at all, 4,600 wide open around 37.4 on the GPS (all readings in MPH are on the GPS). Craig going out of town the rest of the week, call me on the cell phone if you want me.

[Miles Offshore]

hey riprunner- gary went with his 17x15 after running my 16x15. the boats originally came with 16x17's. with all the hp you have i believe i would still run 16x17 nibral w/cup. should scream. let us know what you decide and how you go. craig

Gary- have a good trip !!!! [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

[riprunner]

Finally had the boat pulled and it has a 13-12 left hand prop. I called the guy from where we get our props and he said that is the original set up from Seacraft in the book. I can't wait to try a new wheel on this boat.

Miles offshore, what do you think? I'm really hoping this is why I'm not getting the performance I should.