Marlin guys, prop question

[Angler Management]

2007 300 Marlin with original F50 Yamaha 4 strokes

Mangled the props last spring doing something stupid, bought a couple SOLAS spares for cheap, same size as my original Yammy props, 15X19 (Not 100% sure here, but will check again this weekend to make certain)

I'm not hitting correct WOT with them. Previous Yammy props of same size got me to 58-5900 rpm WOT with average load. These only getting to 5600, even with light load and trimmed all out etc... It's been fine for the short trips this winter experimenting, but I'm thinking there could probably be only one or two more important things on my boat than the props, and I should buck up and spend the $$$ to do it right. And YES, I have had the motors looked at and it doesn't appear to be related to the incident that mangled the props.

With this in mind, what are you running for similar model years? Is everyone still doing the 3 blade 15X19 or have people found success with 4 blades? I'm thinking the new SDS system should be the way to go.

Any input is appreciated!

Randy

 

[Meanwhile]

I went to the 4 prop stainless and bought from Prop Gods. I'll have to look for an old message to get the size. I do not recall the size as of this moment.

I kept the 3 blade stainless but will probably not go back to them. I wanted a bit more bite to run our Garibaldi bar, it seems to get more dangerous every year. No dredging due to limited commercial traffic.

 

[Harpoon]

Definitely a good idea to connect with propgods.com. To me it sounds like you are way over pitched which isn't good.

 

[fischer]

On my 2005 Marlin with F250s, I'm running SWS II 17 pitch x (I believe) 15-3/4. I can hit 5800 rpms WOT, fairly loaded down.

 

[downtown]

On my 2005 Marlin with F250s, I'm running SWS II 17 pitch x (I believe) 15-3/4. I can hit 5800 rpms WOT, fairly loaded down.

This is right. Get the SWS II props as above. You should hit 5700-5800. I had Mercury props on mine 19s. When I put on the above, what a difference.

 

[Angler Management]

Props arrived today, less than a week after I ordered them from Ken at Propgods in Florida. I'm very happy, and I'll tell you about my experience.

Yes, I should have been running 3 blade, 15.25 X 17, not 15.25X 19.

For those interested, he gave me a good education on 3 vs 4 bladed props and their "tendencies", which I appreciated since every boat is different and every load and weather condition different also. He generalized that 4 blade props tend to give more lift in the back end to get on plane faster "hole shot", but you may sacrifice speed at higher RPM's. When I said I didn't really care about top end speed, I just want the motors to be happy under load, he wondered why us West Coast guys never care about top end speed. I think it is that 40mph in the Pacific Northwest is just flat out dangerous due to the partially submerged wood that comes down the rivers. I don't even like going 33mph in the boat's traditional "sweet spot". So as long as my engines are falling in line with the torque curves at all RPM's, I am happy to give up a few MPH cruise to allow the proper torque at RPM, especially in the hole shot with a heavy boat.

He asked me several questions about the boat's current RPM and speed, and said he had some emails from prior Marlin 300 owners at his fingertips that he could reference.

He also mentioned Yamaha hasn't been fabricating props for around 2 years now. His suspicion is that they were having trouble with their SDS technology and were going back to the drawing board, so Yamaha props are difficult to find and spendy when you find them.

He said there are two main ways to go with 4 bladed props, Merc Quicksilver Q4 or Powertech, the difference being the Powertech comes with integrated hub whereas the Merc has a separate hub. Pricing of both, including hubs, were $499 equal.

With his help, I ended up with a 14.6 X 17P Four Blade prop, which I will try ASAP maybe 10 days from now.

He said I could return the props for a $35 fee and get something else if I wasn't happy with the performance.

Great experience overall. Hope these work/!

Randy

 

[downtown]

SWS props at 17 will most likely give you best performance.

 

[downtown]

SWS II props at 17 will most likely give you best performance.