Shooter or Raker or both?

[wired247]

Ive got a 16 1/2' pad bottom 1000 lb with motor 1981 Checkmate Enticer. It has a ported fresh crossflow Johnson 140 and hits 52 MPH at 6200 RPM ( bumping into the rev limiter ) with a 17 pitch stainless Solas Titan 4 prop. I just bought a new 3 blade Stainless 22 pitch Raker ($200 ) to get the RPMs down a bit and the speed up. I'd like to hit 60. It just so happens that the day after I order the 22 pitch Raker I get a line on a new in box 23 pitch 4 blade Shooter stainless prop for $180 shipped. Should I order the Shooter too. Doesnt hurt to have another prop I suppose but will the two behave much differently?

[staylor]

Years back I ran a 140 crossflow on an Baja 184SS- similar hull type to yours, 1040lb hull weight. I rigged with a manual jack plate with 6 inches setback. Best overall prop was a 22 raker which ran at 53-54 mph. Fastest prop was a 23 SST-RX V-4 Chopper( with black teflon coated blades) which ran around 55 mph. The Raker ran right around 5900, the Chopper around 5800.The Shooter is a bit of an oddball prop and I would not expect it to run as well as the Raker on your rig.
Doug

[terry taylor]

:iagree:

[wired247]

How about the 21 inch 4 blade stainless renegade?

[staylor]

...and see what rpm you can pull before buying another prop. The Renegade should be a decent prop for your rig- but I doubt it would run as fast as the Raker. Also, you may need a 23 Renegade to pll the rpm you get with the 22 Raker. Again, you need to know how the Raker runs before picking another prop to try.
Doug

[wired247]

Just got back. The Raker pulled 5900 RPM at 58 MPH on the GPS. Felt like the boat was completely out of the water. Had to set my GPS to auto record because I couldnt even look down. Pretty choppy out.


I must say the new 140 runs exceptionally well.

[staylor]

Looks like you may be able to spin the 24 inch V-4 Raker, and certainly the hard to find 23 SST-RX V-4 Chopper. The boat feels loose because the Raker is doing its thing and lifting the boat out of the water. Go for a run in a light chop with low wind and get a feel for where the optimum trim setting is with the Raker. When you find that setting, check the steering to see if the boat is pulling harder to one side than the other. If it is, and adjusting the motor trim tab doesn't help, then add a skeg mounted tab for less than $20. These usually come in V-6 sizes, so you may have to cut the tab down an inch in vertical length for the smaller V-4 gearcase. I used to run a tab cut to 3 inches on my 140, combined with the old OMC trick of turning the cav plate's trim tab slightly to the left when viewed from the rear. This gave me nearly neutral steering at most any speed. if your steering is pulling hard, you may gain a mph or two from fixing this- since your motor is turned slightly off center to hold the boat straight- called "crabbing"- which adds drag.
Doug

[imq707s]

I've ran several rakes and shooters on my boat. I've always liked the rakers better. For 4-blades...the Thophys blow the Shooters out of the water as far as performance goes.

[Lockjaw]

Shooters suck.

[MDevrow]

Have you run the SRX small hub, Medium weight Checkmate with a 140hp should turn one. A small hub SRX has less stearn lift than a through hub Raker or SST they both are good props but ( this is just my opinion) you don't need lift at all your hull will naturally lift at speed, get your engine height to even on the pad watch your water pressure-engine height will remove some steering torque remove the props lifting ability and with a small hub wheel your setup should turn in the low to mid 60's. 140 omc will turn 6000 rpm's all day long they are great engines -- do the maintenance lower unit tuneups compression checks Have FUN.

[wired247]

Have you run the SRX small hub, Medium weight Checkmate with a 140hp should turn one. A small hub SRX has less stearn lift than a through hub Raker or SST they both are good props but ( this is just my opinion) you don't need lift at all your hull will naturally lift at speed, get your engine height to even on the pad watch your water pressure-engine height will remove some steering torque remove the props lifting ability and with a small hub wheel your setup should turn in the low to mid 60's. 140 omc will turn 6000 rpm's all day long they are great engines -- do the maintenance lower unit tuneups compression checks Have FUN.


Trust me . I'm having fun. Ive been out two to three times a week since I got the motor back on after the boat rebuild in December.

[johnboy 88 vegas]

If the hull is the same as the closed bow model of similar length then: I have a friend with the closed bow version with a 2 liter 150 Merc. He runs a 22 pitch chopper with no lwp and the literally motor buried ( cav plate just above the pad). The boat runs in the high 60's with this crappy setup and does have a little chime walk when it gets streched out but nothing uncontrollable even with a round ear chopper. This is just assuming that your hull is the same as the closed bow model b/c I am not sure. Hopefully someone who really knows these hulls will chime in. A different prop would help alot but I would try to get some more seat time and learn how to drive it (perfectly) with the bad setup you have now. This will teach you alot in the long run incase you ever decide to get a faster V-bottom that takes serious skill to drive. All it takes is time and 4 dollar a gallon gas to learn your your boat.

[wired247]

If the hull is the same as the closed bow model of similar length then: I have a friend with the closed bow version with a 2 liter 150 Merc. He runs a 22 pitch chopper with no lwp and the literally motor buried ( cav plate just above the pad). The boat runs in the high 60's with this crappy setup and does have a little chime walk when it gets streched out but nothing uncontrollable even with a round ear chopper. This is just assuming that your hull is the same as the closed bow model b/c I am not sure. Hopefully someone who really knows these hulls will chime in. A different prop would help alot but I would try to get some more seat time and learn how to drive it (perfectly) with the bad setup you have now. This will teach you alot in the long run incase you ever decide to get a faster V-bottom that takes serious skill to drive. All it takes is time and 4 dollar a gallon gas to learn your your boat.


Well, Ive had this boat for 31 years and I am probably not in the market for another anytime soon. It is the same hull as the Checmate Predictor with an open bow. With the more powerful motor I just need to figure out how to get it tracking straight and how to drive it. I'll pick up a jack plate and offset the motor back 6" or so and go from there.

[2.5_stoker]

if youre going to jack the motor up i would add a torque tab if you havent already done so

[johnboy 88 vegas]

if youre going to jack the motor up i would add a torque tab if you havent already done so


I agree with that cause it can make a difference if your rig wants to crab walk now. Try any kind of surface piercing prop you borrow just for the heck of it and see what happens. I used to have a 15' no name Checkmate copy without a pad and it would run 63 mph with a 130 Yammy buried in the water. The 63 mph prop was a bone stock 23 pitch aluminum Yammy wheel but it was impossible to drive for any distance. A V-4 sized 24p chopper would still run 62 and was alot easier to drive.

[wired247]

OK, Torque tab and 8 inch jack plate on order.

[Ron V]

I've ran several rakes and shooters on my boat. I've always liked the rakers better. For 4-blades...the Thophys blow the Shooters out of the water as far as performance goes.

It depends on the boat. I've run a 25" Shooter against various Trophies on my boat. The Shooter handled far better and was only 1-2 mph behind a worked 25" Trophy. It didn't carry the bow as well but somehow still cranked out the top speed numbers. On the other hand, I ran a 18" Raker when I had the V-4 on my boat. Despite all of the hype, the slip numbers weren't any better than my beat up 19" SST II. I've never run the bigger Rakers though. Point is, every boat is different.