Help Propping 200 V6 Merc on Tri-Toon

The_owl

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I'm looking for some sage advice on propping a my new tritoon. I took delivery of a new Crest 220 tritoon and for the maiden voyage we were able to get about 3 hours on it to do the initial break-in period. Overall i'm very excited and pleased with the performance of the boat and motor as its propped now, but i do have some thoughts/questions;


The prop that the dealer installed is the Solas Rubex 15 pitch SS (14.5 diameter). Acceleration/hole shot are great and mid-cruise handling is good. However once we did the full throttle part, we hit 6050-6100 RPM and did so every time we went full-bore (maybe 5 times?) for our one minute runs.


Per the manual and website, Merc says the 200 V6 4 stroke a is a 5000-5800 rating. I do see the 225 V6 is rated for 6000. Honestly I have no issues with the performance as it is BUT I do wonder what about if/when we have just one or two people, half a tank of gas or less?? Could we hit the rev limiter?? I wouldn’t be surprised to see 100-200 more RPM with some less weight in the boat. During the break-in we had four adults, all our gear, a full Yeti, and a full 48 gallon tank of gas.


In using the Merc Prop Selector & the Solas Prop Guide, both show bigger props as the recommended wheels. I inputted data for Acceleration, then Overall Performance, and lastly Mid Range Cruise and nearly every prop was a 17 with a couple 18's listed, one 16, and a couple 15 pitches but with bigger diameters than the 14.5 on the Solas. Even the Solas guide listed 17's for my application. I think based off that, along with what I’m seeing on the tach I’d be tempted to try a bigger pitch. What are your thoughts?


Top speed is 37 – 38 @ 6100 rpm. I’m honestly very satisfied with that and my thoughts on a bigger wheel have nothing to do with a speed. I just want to make sure we aren’t over revving the motor in any situation and creating issues that way.


So what am i looking for? We generally have 2-5 people on the boat an any given time. We'll be fishing, tubing and cruising (non-WOT) more than anything. Hole shot and 3500-4000 handling/economy are my biggest 'wants.'


I am going to reach out to my dealer but i did want to ask for a consensus here as well. I hoping someone reading this has a 200 V6 on a pontoon??


I'll also mention that on all three of my Merc Prop Guides, the Rev 4 is listed, both in the 15 and 17 pitch with the 14.625 diameter. I understand that's a popular selling prop and i almost expect it to not be available but it is what i'm leaning towards. But I am curious as to what i can gain going to a fourth blade on a toon. Also, is the bigger diameter of 14.625 vs 14.5 doing much of helping the RPM issue if i run a Rev 4 in a 15 pitch (do i even have an RPM issue??). Does anyone have thoughts on a four blade prop for a toon? If driving pontoons, you so seldom do much trimming that i wonder if the increased bowlift would be a benefit on a tritoon.


Thank you for any and all comments.


Have a great summer!!


Owl
 


MuskyManiac

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I think you'll need to go to a 17. That should get your RPM's where they should be. Wasn't there a tone for over-revving?
 

Allen

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I have a tritoon with a 150 Merc 4S on it. It came from the dealership (River City here in Bismarck) with an Enertia prop on it and they seemed really high on using Enertia props for toons. I'm generally pretty happy with it with one small exception. On takeoff it seems to grab a bunch of air and that holds true until you get up to about 24 mph, then it gets better grip on the water and it's literally like grabbing another gear. Top speed is about 32 mph.
 

The_owl

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I think you'll need to go to a 17. That should get your RPM's where they should be. Wasn't there a tone for over-revving?

Thanks for the input.

No, i didn't get a tone. I was curious at what RPM i would hear it. Also i do wonder with analog gauges (like i have) how accurate they are.
 

Slappy

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I worked with PropMD in Plymouth, MN when getting mine dialed in. They had a pitch exchange program where you could try the prop you want and send back in new condition if needed to exchange for same prop in different pitch, just pay shipping. They're also really knowledgeable and helpful in selecting so you may not need to exchange. I had to send first one back to decrease one degree and next one was spot on.
 


Rowdie

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I felt a little silly this weekend at the ramp when a guy asked me about what size prop I had. I couldn't answer. Later I looked at it, how does a guy tell what size it is?
 

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