Cleavers?

[Kikwear]

Are they more for just trailer appeal? :jestera: I love the way they look. I usually don't carry more than one passenger with emphasis on cruising and WOT. Not so much towing tubes and skiers. I'd love to get that rooster tail out of my boat but is the drive the limiting factor? Just trim it out and up? I don't think my 19P Vengeance is cutting it anymore.

[EricG]

Cleavers may look cool...but it seems that there are many, many more efficent designs out there these days. Cleavers were the performance props of the late 80's, but since then we have gotten 4-blades, turbos, Mirage's, etc and it sure doesn't seem like anyone runs cleavers any more. But, props are weird...find a shop that you like to work with and try every prop they will let you try - you'll find one that works for your boat.

When I had my Z21 - I originally had a 20 cleaver, the boat ran OK, but it literally wouldn't plane with more than 3 people in the boat. I tried 2 mirages (19 & 21) and finally a 21 stilletto, it was definitely the prop for my boat. Good out of the hole, and the best top end. The only thing I wish I had done was try them all before I started buying them on Ebay...there's no reason to do that unless you can't find a shop.

Then again, some folks run Cleavers very successfully (usually with a suface type drive)....just try everything you can find and see what works for you.

Cleavers do look the coolest though :biggrin: :biggrin:

-EG

[Rootsy]

I;ve run 3 or 4 different cleavers on my 16 with both the GEN II and teh Alpha SS in place.. a 21, 23, 25 and another 25 labbed... all mercury cleavers... there are a myriad of other brands out there.. mazko, etc

PRO's

- Good Top End
- Good Stability for the 16 @ WOT
- Cheap to aquire off of the likes of EBAY and screamandfly.com

CON's

- Big Slip Numbers (15 - 20% @ WOT generally)
- Poor Cruise Speeds Due To Slip (often 20% +)
- Difficult To Get On Plane, especially with a high drive like the SS and large payloads
- Loses Grip In Turns - especially, again with the SS

i managed to go 68.0 gps with a 23 cleaver @ 5400 rpm with my 16 and the Gen II (1.47:1 gear ratio)... you had to driiiive the boat at that speed too

went ot the SS and stability was very THERE.. very stable.. rivaling the quad IV... 25 labbed cleaver went 75.8 mph gps @ 6000 rpm with the 16 and SS (1.59:1 gear ratio) the 25 cleaver UNLABBED went 74.7 gps @ 5900 rpm on the SS

Sam Pilato has also run the cleaver on his 16 on both the GEN II and the SS drive... he can shed more light... these are just my observations.

btw, my 16 with the SS and a 4 blade hybrid cleaver (hydromotive) doesn't throw a roostertail fer crap... so just give up that thought.. you need to be cloooose to the surface... or have a short parabolic gearcase like the imco shorties for the bravo's. if you WANT to toss a rooster just overtrim it a bit... do NOT go into the trailer range though... you';ll sloooow down significantly cause the prop is just throwing water instead of gripping it...

[MOP]

This was covered in several old posts, the 16 with a standard X likes cleavers it cuts down the bow lift a bit and just about eliminates the porpoising. Is it a good all around prop NO, does well at top end but like Jamie says they blow out easier in turns and do make planing a little harder even with a stock X. Nice to have YES but cheap off Ebay!

Phil

[MOP]

Another note! They eat shins and knees on the trailer, alway drop a rag over them.

[Kikwear]

I'm kind of confused on the drives you are all mentioning. I have a stock Alpha One upper and lower.

[Cuda]

I had a lot of prop torque leaning the boat on a 20 Formula with a 350/alpha. The cleaver ease the listing of the boat quite a bit.

[Greg Maier]

I think cleaver also tend to have little bow lift because of the absence of rake in the blades. Surfacing props tend to be cleavers, though I have seen some Arneson Props that certainly aren't cleavers.

[Cuda]

The Kaama props are certainly "cleaveresque".

[MOP]

Kikwear the drive that Jamie is speaking of it a high perf Merc SS it is quite a bit shorter than your drive, it is about the same as raising the X dimension. The drive usually gives the boat 5-8 miles an hour more top speed depending on the boat.

[Greg]

Kikwear, There was an ad in the Tradin' Times last week about a guy selling props. He said he had 2 cleavers for sale, a 19" and a 21". He was in the Fox Lake area. The ad was from last week so there may not be alot left, but if you want his # let me know. Good Luck Greg