took a trip to the lake today....

[Last Real Texan]

and did a little prop testing. I am leaving for the Cayman Islands for a week in the morning and had to go get some water time in since the procharger came back, my nice polished M3 is scrathed all to hel l and I am pissed off about that but that is for another time and thread, just going to have to fix it.

I borrowed a 28...I needed a 30... Maximus to run against Grizz's 5 blade...Good news is a nice fat crusie with the Maximus....bad news is this thing has a ton of stern lift in it. Gets the boat on the pad nicely and pulls really hard but @ 5690 RPM's per the Laptop program I was recording data with the boat ran 91.2 and was still pulling before I got out of it and chopped the throttle cause the boat got so out of shape with the strern lift that I though I was going to see the stern come around and swap ends with me...not a good feeling... it was just a s if I was on marbles...I have come to the conclussion the maxumus is out for me... it carries the bow and the more you trim it the harder it pulls but you really have to drive the boat and it is a lot of work, granted the only boats out were Malibu's with fat sacks in them creating monster rollers and confused water...every thing was fine until they came along...but what good is the speed if you cant use it?....I will run Grizz's 5 blade when I come home from the Ritz in the Caymans and do some comparing of notes but I know for sure that anything other than for a cruising prop the Maximus is out...
Cruise @ 3000 was 48 MPH
Cruise @ 3500 was 59 MPH
Cruise @ 4000 was 68-70 MPH

The prop is great everywhere except over 5000 RPM's still like Grizz's 4 blade the best just need more pitch...:bonk:

Food for thought


Anyone want to buy a turn key 90 plus MPH ZX... I have a new project in mind, I think I have found this hulls limit and, well, it may just be time to move on to something else, boat is a drivers boat and is super clean with lots of goodies...90 plus...tons-o-fun!:popcorn:


Tex

[SilverBack]

Tex...that sounds like you had some of the same experience as I did and some the opposite. I did find that the higher I got with the pitch the more the prop seems to get a bite. I ended up at a 34 pitch. Also if it was a stock Maximus the prop changes attitude completely when you cut the diameter down to 15 1/4 and cut most of that diffuser ring off. The boat feels like a whole different boat. It really settled the rear of mine down. I had the foil from Ken Lessard that I was going to try on the skeg but after Brett labbed the Maximus I knew that it would not be needed with that configuration. I do not have a step hull and I know that our boats are not the same but it may be something to think about. I can't believe that you have run out of hull. I know that they designed your boat to go faster than they did mine.

[SilverBack]

Tex..I just thought of one more thing that might be making all the difference....I am semi surfacing and I don't think that you are....I am not sure. I know that the more blades that you have in the water the more stern lift you are going to get. That may be what was going on if you had 5 blades seeking the surface and not 3 like me.

[The Hedgehog]

Tex..I just thought of one more thing that might be making all the difference....I am semi surfacing and I don't think that you are....I am not sure. I know that the more blades that you have in the water the more stern lift you are going to get. That may be what was going on if you had 5 blades seeking the surface and not 3 like me.

Hmm. I think we had a similar discussion earlier today

[SilverBack]

... it was just as if I was on marbles...


Tex

Are you sure that it wasn't ball bearings?? It is all ball bearings these days!!:kingme:


Hmm. I think we had a similar discussion earlier today

You and Tex had this conversation??

It makes sense....The faster I go the more my prop comes up out of the water. Therefore the faster I go the less blade surface that I have in the water and the more the rear settles down. After the high 70 to low 80 thing when it starts to get up on the pad and lifting strakes it is smooth sailing for me now. :yes:

[The Hedgehog]

Are you sure that it wasn't ball bearings?? It is all ball bearings these days!!:kingme:



You and Tex had this conversation??

It makes sense....The faster I go the more my prop comes up out of the water. Therefore the faster I go the less blade surface that I have in the water and the more the rear settles down. After the high 70 to low 80 thing when it starts to get up on the pad and lifting strakes it is smooth sailing for me now. :yes:

We are going to try one on mine. I don't have the lower lifting strakes. We shall see.

Yes, it is all ball bearings these days.

[SilverBack]

We are going to try one on mine. I don't have the lower lifting strakes. We shall see.

Yes, it is all ball bearings these days.


FYI...I have the lower lifting strakes that go all the way to the back. I have been told and I have thought about shortening them sever times until I finally got the prop height and prop right.

[BigGrizzly]

Gee I think I would rather have an out of the box prop instead of one I had to modify the boat for. Tex, I have heard the same thing about the max several times. I am going to reserve my comments until later. I am waiting for the new 4 blades to test along with the 5 blades. I am starting on the Criterion Thursday. Engine got done last Monday. We had to write the book for Procharger again.

[SilverBack]

Gee I think I would rather have an out of the box prop instead of one I had to modify the boat for. Tex, I have heard the same thing about the max several times. I am going to reserve my comments until later. I am waiting for the new 4 blades to test along with the 5 blades. I am starting on the Criterion Thursday. Engine got done last Monday. We had to write the book for Procharger again.


It all depends on what results you are after in the end. Sometimes it is about more than just the prop.


I think anybody that has dealt with ProCharger has had to re-write the book to get things like they should be. It sounds like Tex just got some of there great work done on his polish job too!!

[BigGrizzly]

Just another test. At lake George two different boats tried a Brett labbed 26 Bravo1 against out of the box 26 TXP, both had better performance with the TXP. Mick's 22 had the least gain and Sweet Cheeks 16 had the most gain. This is not to say the opposit things could not happen. Just information.

[SilverBack]

Just another test. At lake George two different boats tried a Brett labbed 26 Bravo1 against out of the box 26 TXP, both had better performance with the TXP. Mick's 22 had the least gain and Sweet Cheeks 16 had the most gain. This is not to say the opposit things could not happen. Just information.


I can see that!! I am sure that you know a lot more about how Classic Donzis respond to certain props. I don't think that a Bravo would be the best prop for sure. I know that Carl is running one but he has a shorty. It seems to me that as long as the prop is deep enough in the water the Turbos do very very good. I just had problems because they were surfacing on my boat.


BTW..Grizz I know that you know this already but all "Labbed" Props are not the same. I have learned through all of this that the same identical prop labbed in different ways can handle very differently.

[roadtrip se]

I know that Carl is running one but he has a shorty. It seems to me that as long as the prop is deep enough in the water the Turbos do very very good. I just had problems because they were surfacing on my boat.


The shorty has nothing to do with it. At least not on the Classics.

I will say this, after running several Bravo Ones. To truly realize the potential of a Bravo One on a Classic, it has to be cupped to lift the nose.

I also run a TXP, and haven't had to do anything to it.

Both at raised heights with the shortie.

[SilverBack]

The shorty has nothing to do with it. At least not on the Classics.

I will say this, after running several Bravo Ones. To truly realize the potential of a Bravo One on a Classic, it has to be cupped to lift the nose.

I also run a TXP, and haven't had to do anything to it.

Both at raised heights with the shortie.

Point taken...I have no experience with a classic and I was using my experience with a ZX and it may not apply.

[The Hedgehog]

Point taken...I have no experience with a classic and I was using my experience with a ZX and it may not apply.

I would have thought the same thing. I doubt that a ZX would plane off with a shorty and a 3 blade.

[BigGrizzly]

Remember Tex used my 30 TXP on his boat, and broke 93 with it too, Nut got out of shape in a side wind. The point is try a prop, don't go out and get Brett to lab one before you start. I hate to do this, but Brett does not know all the answers, neither do I. The point is get what is right for you and your boat. Just because you can achieve a good speed on smooth water does not mean when rough comes you can go fast in it too. I prop my boat to go safe in the rough such as the ocean and Gulf. God knows if I want to go really fast I have the ability to do that, but at what price and I do not mean dollars. When you lab you lose durability, this is a fact, not fiction. Me I don't want to wait 2 weeks to go boating. Every time somebody wants to get something labbed, time is lost. Not all of us have $$$ for extra props.

[The Hedgehog]

Remember Tex used my 30 TXP on his boat, and broke 93 with it too, Nut got out of shape in a side wind. The point is try a prop, don't go out and get Brett to lab one before you start. I hate to do this, but Brett does not know all the answers, neither do I. The point is get what is right for you and your boat. Just because you can achieve a good speed on smooth water does not mean when rough comes you can go fast in it too. I prop my boat to go safe in the rough such as the ocean and Gulf. God knows if I want to go really fast I have the ability to do that, but at what price and I do not mean dollars. When you lab you lose durability, this is a fact, not fiction. Me I don't want to wait 2 weeks to go boating. Every time somebody wants to get something labbed, time is lost. Not all of us have $$$ for extra props.

Agreed.

Testing is key. The more I try, the more I realize I don't know.

My old 27ZX would not get on the plane with a 3 blade and a shorty. Tried.

For some reason MY 26ZX jumped on the plane with a 22" Bravo I but I have to nurse it on a plane with a 32 (after the new motor). I dunno if it would do it with a high pitched 3 blade

I am really looking forward to trying some more props and would very much like an out of the box prop that works well. I really want to try a big TXP. Tex told me it cruised more like a 5 blade, was fast on top and handled well.

He described what happened with that Maximus. It was crazy out of control. He said it had a BIG cruise and would carry the bow high but other than that he was done with it.

[SilverBack]

Remember Tex used my 30 TXP on his boat, and broke 93 with it too, Nut got out of shape in a side wind. The point is try a prop, don't go out and get Brett to lab one before you start. I hate to do this, but Brett does not know all the answers, neither do I. The point is get what is right for you and your boat. Just because you can achieve a good speed on smooth water does not mean when rough comes you can go fast in it too. I prop my boat to go safe in the rough such as the ocean and Gulf. God knows if I want to go really fast I have the ability to do that, but at what price and I do not mean dollars. When you lab you lose durability, this is a fact, not fiction. Me I don't want to wait 2 weeks to go boating. Every time somebody wants to get something labbed, time is lost. Not all of us have $$$ for extra props.


I agree with most all of what you said here Grizz. The blades are thinner and I did buy a brand new prop and have it labbed before I ever saw it. Brett does not know everything ..that is for sure..I don't think anybody does....it is impossible. As far as prop testing goes. I tried some props and I tried the 6 blade that I already owned. I then called Brett and gave him the numbers from those props. Speeds and rpms and cruise speeds and told him what the boat was doing at different speeds. He then sent me a stock 32 Maximus. I got some numbers with it and sent it back. He ordered me a 34 Maximus and labbed it. I ran it and we agreed that it needed to go back to him. He labbed it again and changed a few parameters and sent it back to me. It was like a totally different prop and is as close to perfect as I could ask for. Yes it cost some time and yes it cost some money and yes it did take him more than one shot to get it perfect. With what I have done with the boat and with the results that I am getting I am more than pleased with the whole process. I know that there is no doubt that this prop is not as durable as a stock prop. The blades are thinner and have sharper blades that is a given. I can tell you this...I would not trade that prop for anything else and if I run into a stump or if I throw a blade there will be a duplicate on order right away. That is on my boat with my setup. That is not a knock on any other prop or anybody else. Just my experience. I do think that you have to be semi surfacing to really get the good out of this setup. BTW..I did send him my 6 blade Hydromotive and got it relabbed and it is now a round ear prop and is much better. It is a 28 pitch and is very smooth and good for tubing and good for being a backup if I end up waiting on a the Maximus at some point.

[BigGrizzly]

Hedg, I have you on the list as you know. Tex liked the Fusion best but was a tad slower then the TXP. Apparently the max does not like pad bottoms. Most of the issues I see are on pad bottom boats. This is why they call it testing. I keep hearing of issues on expensive props and the collateral damage that has occurred. A new twist was handling issue. I have heard this but never paid any attention to it before because it wan not a controlled Comparison test against my stuff on same day. As you know handling is high on my list of priorities. this being said, no prop gives everything. I am not going to waste my time on a labbed discussion. People try their labbed props weeks later and have done changes to boats and engines. I try to test all on same day. There is more to testing then bolting a prop on then go WFO. You need to learn the new quirks of it. Hedg you see what Tex goes through after putting a prop on. He tries to leave no stone unturned. I am not trying to convert anybody to non labbed props or the other way. I have spent my whole life testing, racing and experimenting on boats , cars and Motorcycles. It is just my thing.