Raker, Trophy, Tempest, Chopper ?'s

[ndustrl]

I have a 1986 Checkmate Starliner (heavy 21' bowrider). I'm running a 14.25 Raker with 5.5" of setback. I am powering with a Johnson 175 worked to about 200HP. (I'm still trying to get some time by myself so I can get some better GPS/RPM numbers). Last weekend I was running 48 on the GPS with 5 adults and 4 kids onboard at about 5000-5200 RPMs WOT I think. I was to excited to be boating to pay close attention and I am pretty sure I should be in the upper 5000 right?. I may have miss read the tach.

BTW - does anyone know the gear ratio for my motor assuming it's still stock? I saw some calculators online but I don't have a service or owners manual yet to figure it out yet. It's a 1987 Johnson 175 VRO.

What would I gain by going to a Trophy, Tempest, or Chopper? Oh, and how do I get a Mercury prop on an OMC motor??? What's the biggest diameter and pitch I can run with this motor? I plan to play around with the Raker I have for a while to see what it can do with 7 more inches of setback (I'm waiting for my new 10' CMC Hydraulic + 2.5" CMC spacer), but I'm not familiar with these other "recomended for my boat type" props. They all seem to be bow lifters so are they all the same basically? Can they all be run pretty close to the top of the water or even peircing?

FYI - I like to go fast, cruise around, raft up and hang out. I may tow a tube or skier eventually if pressured into it, but running, hangin out, running some more, and hangin out again is more the tye of boating I prefer and do most of the time.

[David]

You have a relatively heavy boat and not a lot of power. The Raker may be as good as anything. It is a pretty good prop.

You probably don't need an over hub prop.

A Trophy or Tempest with removeable hub insert would work. My 24" Trophy has the Merc insert but it could be swapped for an OMC/Bomb insert. Merc sell the inserts so the props can work on all motors.

You'd want to be around 6000 running a light load. Low 5000's heavy load would be OK.

I'd start with more setback, but props are easier to change than setback. so if you have access to more props, try them.

1.86 by the way.

I would sell my almost unused 24 Trophy for the 300 I paid for it, plus shipping.

[ndustrl]

Thanks David,

I have a 10" CMC Hydraulic jackplate and 2.5 " CMC space on it's way. Let me plat around with my Raker prop with 12" of setback and if things arn't to my liking I may take you up on that Trophy prop.

What would your 24 Trophy do compared to my 22 Raker...

more top end or less top end,
better hole shot or crapier hole shot,
more bow lift or less bow lift,

assuming I was in the power band needed to power both props adequetly enough to operate at best performance.

Thanks again!

[brotherxb03]

I think you need a 23 pitch when you have that many people in the boat.How's the hole shot with that load and the 25?

[ndustrl]

I think you need a 23 pitch when you have that many people in the boat.How's the hole shot with that load and the 25?

What do you mean by 25? I'm not running a 25 pitch prop right now. I wouldlove to try one once I get the jack plate installed.

Oooops, sorry, just noticed I didn't post the pitch of my Raker in the top email. It's 14.25 X 22 and the hole shot with all the people was pretty good, right up on plane pretty easy with about 1150 lbs. of people on board.

So with a light load, just me, I could probably go to a slightly higher pitch, I'm guessing.

[brotherxb03]

I saw the 14.25 in the 1st post,sorry about that. And I agree it is easier to try the prop's than the jack plate. More setback usually helps with bow lift and performance,but can hurt hole shot due to your tunner being lower in the water on take off. But with that much weight in the boat I ain't too shure. The tempest and trophy are suppose to be for more bow lift with a heavier load. But there are limitations on everything.

[David]

24 Trohy is unlikely to plane as fast as a 22 Raker
Probably faster if you have the enough power.
Both are pretty good bow lifting props

The problem is all set up combinations are different. So your best bet is to try all the props you can. The trick is to do that without buying them.