Grady white 248 voyager single 225 etec best prop?

[Bocafishing]

Hi everyone, I’m looking to get some information from voyager 248 owners or prop experts.
I have a 1999 248 voyager with a single 225 evinrude etec. I have tried two props.
boat is bottom painted, paint is not really smooth.
Tested with only 15 gallons of fuel and two people on the boat. Flat calm inshore +- 1mph current.
no ice or extra weight on the boat.
Engine is mounted at highest position(I think it could be higher but I have no more higher positions in the engine Mount, after trimming the motor still see some water splashing up)
Test results with motor trimmed up
Viper prop 14 3/4” x 17” pitch
Cruise at 4600rpm 26mph 2mpg
WOT 5650rpm 37mph 1.6mpg

Rebel prop 15 3/4” x15 pitch
Cruise at 4600rpm 31mph 2.2MPG
WOT 5350rpm 38mph 1.8mpg

The boat got on plane just fine with both props. I also have a hydrofoil on the lower unit of the motor.
what would you guys recommend me to get I like the performance I get with the rebel prop. but I’m worried I’m putting too much load on the engine specially when I put weight on the boat.
i think that after I put 8ppl on the boat and load it up my RPMs are going to drop below the operating range.

manufacturers recommended operating range 5100rpm to 5800rpm
5600rpm is the sweet spot.

 

[grady_22]

I played around with a number of props on my 244 Explorer and 200HO Etec. I had the same issues with the 15 pitch rebel that you are encountering. I liked the performance and economy, but could only pull about 5450 rpms out of it with a regular load, less when loaded for offshore. I ended up settling on the 15 pitch 4 blade cyclone. I was actually able to achieve about 150-200 rpms more of the the Cyclone than the Rebel, and the stern lift and hole shot were great. Only caveat was I sacrificed a little bit on the economy side of things, but only by about .2 mpg.

 

[family affair]

I owned a 248 for 10 years. Your numbers aren't so hot. I got better numbers out if a 225 ox66 with a reworked prop. Ken at prop-gods is the go-to guy if you would like to get your set-up dialed in.

 

[Bocafishing]

Familyaffair. What type prorp did you run on that boat ? Any tips you could give me to get best Riger out of the 248 voyager?

Grady_22 what was your top speed with
the cyclone prop? I wass think of the cyclone prop but my mechanic assured me that I would hate my boat with a4 blade prop

 

[family affair]

Prop was a Yamaha 15.25 x17. I did not have a hard top or auxiliary tank. Cruise was 2.5 mpg at 30-32 mph. Top speed with a half tank, top down, and only me was 45 mph @ 5500 rpms (max for a 225 ox66) gps verified. Grady claimed with my setup and an unmolested OEM prop that 3.0 mpg was possible. Mine was reworked poorly, but got the job done.

 

[Bocafishing]

Family affair. That’s amazing fuel efficiency and performance for that size boat. I’m not getting anything close to that. I also have bottom paint. I wonder if the etec is not as powerful as the OX66. I also don’t have a hard top or auxiliary tank. If I could get your numbers I would be celebrating. Something I’d off with my motor I guess. But it runs strong. It sounds great.

grady_22 what was your overall fuel efficiency with your cyclone prop?

 

[family affair]

What is the displacement of your Etec? The ox66 225 was a 3.1L. If it is the same displacement or greater, that engine with DI should outperform an EFI.

 

[Bocafishing]

The etec 225 has a displacement of 3279 cc and it’s pretty light compared to similar 4 strokes. Etec(530lbs)

 

[family affair]

With the right prop I would think you should have at least similar numbers with far better performance on the low end.

 

[Bocafishing]

Family affair, did you have any problems with your boat riding with the bow too high?

 

[family affair]

That is a characteristic of that hull especially without the extra 250 lbs of hardtop. I added around 100-130 lbs of ballast to the front compartment of the cabin using pea gravel triple bagged in heavy duty trash bags.
I also raised the engine to the highest mounting hole. This reduced proposing but will cause ventilation more easily at higher trim levels. The good thing is that hull is still efficient even with the engine trimmed down at speed.

 

[Bocafishing]

I just purchased a 14 1/2” x15”P cyclone four blade prop. Let’s see how my boat rides with this. I wonder why your boat was so much faster than mine. I need to get my engine checked out.

 

[family affair]

After rereading your original post, my guess is the hydrofoil is the issue. I could not get the 30" ox66 high enough out of the water to get the anti ventilation plate near the surface. My guess is you have the same issue. That means the foil is burried and not on top of the water where it should be. The foil is creating a lot of drag hurting your mpg and wot performance.
That rebel 15 3/4 might have been the right choice. If you still have that prop, ditch the foil and see what it does.
Sorry for not catching that sooner.

 

[Bocafishing]

This is a picture of my motor with my boat on plane.
You might be right. Maybe I need to ditch the hydrofoil.

 

[Bocafishing]

FamilyAfair. I ditched the Hydrofoil and put the rebel pror 15 3/4" in diameter by 15 pitch. Now When its flat i'm getting a cruise speed of 31mph getting 2.1mpg at 4500 rpm . WOT 5380 rpm going 38 mph. getting 1.7mpg.

thats the best i've got so far. i've also learned that i need to trim the motor way up to get a good ride.

 

[family affair]

Looks like ditching the foil didn't gain you anything. Your numbers aren't bad, but they still seem off. 4500 rpm is a little high for a 2 stroke cruise. 3900-4200 would be more ideal. Your top end seems low also. Another prop could likely make improvements. You just have to ask yourself if the juice is worth the squeeze!
I'm no expert, but it seems like you need a little less diameter and a little more pitch.

 

[Bocafishing]

thanks for the input. i think i'll just leave it the way it is. takes to much time and money to experiment. i had a smaller size propeller before and i had worse performance. with smaller diameter prop 1.6MPG WOT top speed 37mph at 5500 rpm. so not sure.

 

[family affair]

If you plan on keeping the boat a long time, and/or you run a lot of miles, it would be worth getting the prop more dialed in. Otherwise I would stick with what you have too.