Props for 265 with 225 4 strokes

[gradyfish22]

Glassing that area and making it flush would be hard to do properly here, but I agree a better plate and layer of some other protective material to prevent water intrusion should be incorporated. Fully glassing that area would cost a lot of money because it would be fairly time consuming for the overall benefit, there are better solutions though, hopefully they come up with a better transom finishing design.

Bill,
I'm very interested in seeing full numbers with a full load if possible, maybe numbers for trolling at 4mph, 8mph and then running between 3500-4500 and then full load to compare, I've rarely seen over 1.6 so if I could achieve 1.8 with even 1/2 load it might be worth it to put new props on. I get maybe 1.4 or so when fully loaded and heavy so even a bump to 1.6 would be great.
I agree that the 17" wheels would likely be best for being loaded heavier, unless you plan to run around 1/2 fuel all the time I really feel a 17" wheel is best size. Still curious as to what a 4 blade would do, might hold better at lower speeds and put you on plane easier as well, but would be worse for trolling..less vibration and noise.. I like prop noise when trolling!!! 4 strkes are too quiet as it is for offshore fishing...that is why I troll out of sync to have 2 seperate rhythms going to create more commotion...and it works. I've also fiddled with the idea of adding fins to the out drive, a few friends have them and swear by them, especially in rougher seas that you can hold plane better and ride better, but I'm not sure I'm totally sold on them yet. Not sure I'de see any fuel benefits from them either, seems only smaller boats see better fuel economy with them. Would love to hear if anyone with a 265 has added them and noticed any difference in ride or fuel consumption.

 

[jekyl]

Again after much consideration and deliberation i have just ordered 4 blade solas stainless for Tanami I believe they will be 15 1/4 x 20 " p which sounds way too big. However the reason i had to go with solas is the free exchange which no one else does here. I saw a few 4 blade merc pairs on THT but i would never be sure that they were right for me.

Steve Evans is our Aussie prop guru and he has seen these props work well on numerous commercial boats apparently..........

The Prop Gods has some great info on their forum and i would have gone with them if they were local.

I am keen to here what sort of performance improvements I can expect as the motors wear in?

 

[Capt Bill]

I'm thinking 20" pitch might be a little too much bite, and that you might be better off with 19's. If you buy them and they are over-propped, will they exchange them for you N/C?

 

[jekyl]

Yes free exchange is the main reason i went with solas. As i was keen to try 4 blades and no-one can give a definitive answer on performance on a 265 I wanted an out clause.

 

[Bill_N]

Tom, I will get some better numbers but I only have about 35 hrs on these props and I haven't used the boat much so far this year due to weather and being tied up with other things. I did take my first inshore tuna trip last weekend. Left with about 150 gals fuel, 3 big guys and a lot of gear. Round trip was 104 miles and we trolled for 4 1/2 - 5 hrs. Burned 60.3 gallons. Avg 1.72 mpg

I topped off when we got back and the boat was a little sluggish coming up on plane but I didn't punch it as hard as I probably should've knowing the load.

When I bought the props last year I had them send me the 18's and a set of Rev 4 17's but they sent me 2 RH Rev 4's so I never got to run them to compare. I sold the OEM 17 pitch SWS props and picked up a set of Mirage Plus 17's for basically the same money and at some point I'll put those on to see how they run.

Bill

 

[jekyl]

I've said it before.....and i'll say it again, you guys have got it real easy. With all the prop services available and free exchanges and propgods trialling props withyou it should be a lot easier there than here.
If these solas ones don't satisfy my needs i may still resort to mercs but here you a looking at $1200 per prop and no exchange.
Alternatively i take a lucky dip and by something on THT..........

 

[jekyl]

Just back from the dealers and they finally have my motors on. The props have arrived and i am extremely interested to see how they perform.

On first impression they look Big however the blades appear sharper with more of a point on the ends and more rake than the Yammie props. Solas Australia have assured me that they have a lot of commercial operators using these props who are pedantic about acheiving revs and engine longevity of course.....

All will be revealed over the next few weeks. First water test is Friday. we have moved the motors back to one hole up from the bottom and will start from there.......

I was surprised at how much wider the f225's are.A bit more cramped around the engine well now.

 

[Bill_N]

Yes, it's tight back there with the F225's. I think someone mentioned that when the engines are tilted up if they're turned all the way to port or starbord the cowlings will hit the latches for the transom gate. This will scar up your hoods so I've been putting a small bumper between the cowl and side of the transom when I leave the boat at the dock.

You will want to do something similar when trailering to keep your engines looking new.

Let us know how those 4 blades run for you.

Bill

 

[jekyl]

Just some updated info, 20" props were too big as expected.....We have 18" on the way (no charge) tanami would only make 5,300 wot. on new motors......
Made up a new stainless plate as the existing alloy one appeared to have done a good job.Also fitted teflon protection plate under mounting bracket.
Fitted stainless filters in place of old corroded ones. This is the position I modified mine to. I like it a lot more,easier to check and change, safer.

Maybe it was the beautiful NQ winters morning , or the new motors, or the 4 blade props, or maybe just glad to have Tanami back on the water, where she belongs. (TANAMI is aboriginal for "never dry")

But apart from the disapointment of the props being too big. Tanami felt like a new boat . I had 150 honda twins on my previous cat and i thought they were quiet. The F225's were dead quiet and smooth as . Will report when i get some hours on the motors and the right sized props......

 

[jekyl]

Hi guys, i'm just trying to get accurate numbers to relate to for my prop calculations and I'm wondering are we all, talking the same lingo ie. miles are nautical miles not land miles?

As we use liters here and 3.8 of our litres equals one of your grady gallons there. I have a bit of multiplying to do?

So far the 18" 4 blade is not setting any records at either end, so I'm figuring where to go next . With a new motor that should loosen up somewhat and one hole higher than I had i have a few options but just want to be sure all my numbers are right. Thanks for your help.

 

[Bill_N]

I'm taking my numbers off the gages which is probably miles.

 

[Bill_N]

I've been fishing in Mass for BFT with some buddies for the last couple weekends but made the first canyon trip this year on my boat Saturday.

With full fuel, 2 big guys and my buddies girlfriend, a LOT of fishing gear gear plus the raft and ditch bag, 100 lbs of ice and food. Running out we had the wind at our backs and were seeing 1.7-1.8 on the gage all the way. Trolling at about 6 kts (1400 rpm) the gage flucuates but seems to be 1.9-2.0. We trolled for about 7 hours and ran about an hour through some really snotty stuff for the first 20 miles on the way in. Gage was showing 1.2-1.4 during that run. Trolled some pots for mahi for an hour and the wind died off so we ran in at 4000 rpm getting 1.7-1.8 on the gage.

The round trip was 204 miles and my fuel management gage said I burned 136.5 gals but when we topped off it took 111 gals. I was surprised it was off that much. Avg fuel use = 1.84 mpg

Does anyone know if there's a way to adjust the fuel management gage?
I'd like it to be a little closer to the actual burn rate.

 

[gradyfish22]

I had the same issue with my guage, said I burned 138 on a trip and I only got a total of 118 back in, I was told you can calibrate it, but have not figured out how to yet. Your fuel burn seems awesome, I ran 287 miles last weekend and burned 201 gal, but we ran out in a nasty chop and the fuel burn stunk. If I could run the canyon on under 150gal I might go every weekend...going to have to look into new props a bit further this winter and maybe take the plunge.

 

[jekyl]

Just got back from my first billfishing trip for the season with the motors raised one more hole ( so one hole from the highest position).

With the solas 15 1/4 x 18" pitch props we achieved a total for the day of 1.90 mpg (us gal) ( statute miles not n.m).

This was with a full main (front ) tank ,5 guys , gear, and small amount of water and about 50lbs ice.

Conditions were generally good, a slight chop all day , wind under 10 knots. We cruised at around 4-4300 rpm 27-31knots, for 2.5 hours and Trolled for about 7 hours.

Haven't refilled yet, gauge showed 236 litres used. Whilst this sounds ok I believe I can do better as we are still only pulling 5700rpm.WOT.

No billfish only Mack Tuna's, Mackeral, Humpbacks, Sea Snakes, Dolphins and one lonely mud crab 24 miles out in 100 ft of water!

 

[gradyfish22]

Did you troll with the engines out of sync, I always troll with them about 300-400rpms apart, the 4 strokes are very quiet and have a certain harmony to them and if run at the same rpm will actually have the same quiet harmony, running at different rpm's creates more noise which I've found makes the troll more productive, and I know billfish by me love noise to draw them up. Play around and see if that makes a difference for you, but most guys I know with twin 4 strokes swear by it and I've seen a considerable difference.

 

[JUST-IN-TIME]

throw those solas POS away first of all, they are the worst props ever made in the world!!!

i got some in, so i took them to my buddies prop race shop, THEY WERE NOT EVEN CLOSE TO WHAT PITCH THEY WERE MARKED AS!!!

try running a merc prop, you will get better mileage, hole shot and top end
yamaha will have better props starting this new year since they just bought the second best props in the world

to calibrate the fuel gauges it is simple

just email me and i will email you the chart how to do it

 

[jekyl]

Heh Richie I know you don't like the Solas props........I would prefer Mercs but the only free exchange program in Aus is with Solas . As i wanted to try 4 blades no-one knew exactly what to buy here or there. So I went with solas. These are 18' and are still too big so would like either 17 or 16"?
I have been trolloing THT for a secondhand pair but all the wrong sizes. If I can't get these to work then I will look at the mirage plus 17 or 18".

Tom I have only been using 1 motor. Half the hours at resale.....plus less juice. Maybe I'm a cheapskate. I will try 2 motors unsynched but will wait till there are more fish around.

 

[JUST-IN-TIME]

ya i bet that 18 solas is almost a 20"!!!

i will see what i can do for ya

 

[Bill_N]

Just-in Time, Can you post how to calibrate the fuel management gage? Or I can send a PM with my email but seems like others could use the info too.

Thx, Bill

 

[Bill_N]

A nice pair of 17" Mirage Plus on ClassicMako

http://www.classicmako.com/forum/topic. ... C_ID=25834