cleaver prop

[JJG]

I recently purchased a cleaver 14.5 / 23 pitch 3 blade for my Donzi 22zx. The prop has an old style pressed in rubber hub. What is the proper thrust washer need for this style hub? I have a flo torque 2 thrust washer on my out drive now do I need a different washer for this application? Any light shed on this would be greatly appreciated, thank you.

[biggiefl]

I would not use that prop. Cleavers are for surface piercing use...do you pierce the surface? I had one on my Scarab because in the 80's everyone thought you needed a cleaver on go-fast boats plus they look so cool but they perform like crap unless you pierce the surface.

[JJG]

I purchased the prop for a steal of a price and thought I would try it out. I am in the market for a bravo 4 blade 22 pitch. From all the research I've done the 4 blade bravo is the best prop for my step hull, but I figured an old cleaver would perform well if I had a light load in the boat (as in by myself and no gear just out playing with top speeds). As far as surface piercing goes I would say not very much I'm running an alpha drive. Behind roughly 345hp. Which is pushing the drive limits to their max I know... any thoughts on this application would be valued thank you.

[MOP]

The cleaver is a stern lifting prop, it may or may not improve your performance. I tried two different types and hated them both, the boat was slower than a round ear. The other thing that I hated and also scared the krap out of passengers was when trimming at speed the boat had a nasty twitch. George Carter had the same experience. That being said any and all props are worth a try, props react differently even on the same boat.

Phil

P.S. You will need the spline washer and locking washer.

[JJG]

Thank you Phil, for the information. I purchased a spline spacer that was shorter in length than the flo torque spline spacer that inserts into the plastic hub. This was needed in order to properly tighten the cleaver prop on the shaft. The new spacer had the slots for my locking washer to engage into. when I mount the cleaver prop all looks well! My only concern is that the "thrust washer" between the prop and housing is correct. I have heard that you can cause damage to the housing or hub of the prop without the proper thrust washer thickness. Is this false info I have obtained? Also the main reason I am playing with this prop is because I ran it for about thirty min. and it performed well right before I noticed the prop slipping. I was climbing past 45mph at 4100 rpm and upon accelerating to 5000 rpm the hub began to slip and I dramatically turned 6100 rpm for a brief second. Worried me! I thought I spun my engine coupler, so I replaced it with a bravo coupler only to find out my newly purchased "cheap" cleaver prop was the culprit. An expensive lesson learned! I ran the prop for a few min. after I marked the hub, and quickly found out the prop hub was what had slipped. Basically this prop has become a "pain in the #ss" and I just want to know the proper components needed for proper install... and if my "Thrust washer" used is what spun the cleaver hub? I do feel this prop can perform well on my Donzi 22zx step hull. I had a small taste of what the prop was capable of at the higher rpm and was impressed. I want to run this prop a bit and truly see if it will perform well for me. On a side note, I am not stubborn about this prop. If this application is completely wrong for me, we can call this thread quits and save the time for better topics.

[duckhunter]

I purchased the prop for a steal of a price and thought I would try it out. I am in the market for a bravo 4 blade 22 pitch. From all the research I've done the 4 blade bravo is the best prop for my step hull, but I figured an old cleaver would perform well if I had a light load in the boat (as in by myself and no gear just out playing with top speeds). As far as surface piercing goes I would say not very much I'm running an alpha drive. Behind roughly 345hp. Which is pushing the drive limits to their max I know... any thoughts on this application would be valued thank you.

I heard the 22P Bravo 1 is the prop of choice for the 22' stepped hulls as well. I bought one on ebay over the winter and plan on trying it out this weekend and will give some feedback on the thread I've got going on souping up my LXR (same hull).

I don't think I would be real comfortable beating up my alpha with the cleaver, and I don't think that it is a good choice for this application. The water hitting the prop is fairly aerated already, the 4 blade is supposed to help with traction and carrying the bow. There's a cool picture of a similar Regal FasTrac stepped hull around here somewhere if you search, gives a good idea of the physics at work with the step; it's pretty dramatic.

Just for fun, here's a comparison of the stock 19P Merc Vengeance pontoon boat prop next to a 22P B1. Did the first sea trial this weekend with the old prop and could ventilate it at will at anything above 3/4 throttle. Actually banged into the rev limiter a couple of times, which I could never do with the 2 barrel.

2013-03-09_11-45-50_268.jpg

Curious to hear what results you come up with in your quest for the perfect prop. Since it's expensive to test a bunch of different props and there aren't a whole lot of small block, alpha, stepped hulls around here we need to compare notes!

[JJG]

Curious to hear what results you come up with in your quest for the perfect prop. Since it's expensive to test a bunch of different props and there aren't a whole lot of small block, alpha, stepped hulls around here we need to compare notes!

I will check out your thread anxious to hear how the bravo 22 pitch performs. I know this is the ideal prop for the stepped hull. I am just playing around with props until I purchase the bravo having a hard time finding a good used one for sale. I talked to Brad at B-Blades great guy! After I talked with him, I feel that I might want to have it lab finished, so I am in the market to find a good deal on a used bravo 22p to test, then most likely send off to B-Blades for a Lab treatment. Some quick note sharing: I have a 14/19p 4blade S/S that runs high 50's mph flirting with 60mph on that perfect day with a light load at 5250rpm. this prop spins my engine a bit too high and this is now why I am playing with different props. from what I can kinda make out before the cleaver spun hub. I was turning about 4900-5000 rpm WOT building speed at a steady rate before all hell broke loose. I will share more info upon further testing of the cleaver with my step hull.