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Thanks! I have to admitt, all new motors look good, but these Merc's are a fine looking engine. Looks great slung on the back of my Whaler Drive.
Have a 10 hour break-in to do, probably won't start it for a week or so, as my first mate Trish is working this weekend, and i'm compounding and waxing the hulls this week before i drop her in.
Tom, will supply some rpm/speed info as soon as i get going on the break-in. I'm dying to know what she'll do too!!
Wow! Those are awesome & mean looking motors hanging on your 25 Outrage, Duf. Can't wait to hear what they will do! Very envious of your Whaler & the set up. Good luck during break-in!
Appreciate it jlh49 and from your personnel page, looks like you and your son Jason had quite a project yourself! Nice Job! I swear looking at your final project photos, that your boat looks like a 25 outrage, as i've had 2 22's and on the trailer (of course) looks huge.
More to come as i get through the break-in and dial in the props.
Hi Duf,boat looks fantastic with the new power plants on the stern!!I know you're itchen to take her out and try the new motors.Now comes the fun part and finding the right props~
Again thanks! Yeah, they look sharp, and the Gods are against me at the moment, as we had a front blow in, so its drizzeling. Supposed to rain (drizzel) most of the rest of the week, so will probably not get a whole lot of compounding done.
I have my 19 pitch props that were on my 200 2 stroke Yamaha's for the moment, going to run with those for starters, but based on input, will more then likely end up with 17's.
Ok, here you go. Took the 25 out on its maiden voyage today with the new motors, and i have to say everything worked flawlessly, even though i kept the truck and trailer at the ramp in case i had some issues. The Merc twins 150's were quiet and i kid you not, purred like kittens. Break in period calls for 10 hours total for break in, and incrementaly 10 mins at 4500 RPMs, to full blast for a min (yeah, i enjoyed that!!) So spent over an hour running up and down the intercostal, had some lively moments, playing with the trim.
So, here is first initial data
4500 RPM's just shy of 37 MPH
Unblieveably, WOT got me a shade past 5500 RPM's, and on GPS 47.4 MPH.
That run was taken headed into the wind, about 15 knots, and i was like a rookie with figuring out the best trim, did some porposing, rolled it one time dropping the trim to fast, but believe on a flat day, no wind, i should be up another knot or two. Unbeliveable speed with the props i had on there, which were the props off my 200 HPDI's 2 strokes. I have no doubt with a nice set of stainless can do a little better, and Tom i hope you have a recommendation based on my current data, whether it can handle 19 pitch or not. I believe in my reading, dropping from a 19 to a 17 should gain me 200 RPM's, which will put me right on my 5800 limit!!
'That is REALLY IMPRESSIVE, Duf. As one of the people recommending those engines to you, I'm happy to see those 4-stroke Mercs are going to perform better than your expectations. I guess the 3.0 liter displacement pays off. Considering your boat has the Whaler Drive and Tee top (a speed killer), the engines are strong for 150's. There is no doubt that Mercury will be coming out with higher HP versions on the same platform.
Way back in the begining of this discussion I suggested 19" Enertias and got trashed for it. It looks like they are what you are going to want afterall, and since they can add 2 mph to top end over conventional props, they should also give you the additional RPM. You may very well get close to 50 out of those engines. Combined with the highly competitive purchase price, I'll bet you are one happy camper!
Congrats for a re-power well done and money well spent. Considering your boat was designed to handle the old OMC 3.0 liter 225 V-6's, and since these 4-strokes are the same wieght, I assume the boat handles them well?
This is a perfect example of why we test with available propellers before going out and buying new ones, especially on a new boat/motor combination where there is not already a body of data in place. You really do not know how a boat will perform until you go out on the water and experiment.
I agree, that is impressive. The Yamaha Painted Stainless Steel model of propeller is an under-appreciated prop and good in some applications. That may be one of those applications here the semi-cleaver design and smaller diameter come together to produce excellent results.
However, dropping to 17" pitch in this model will send your WOT engine speed up by 500 to 600 RPM, too much. There is no 18" pitch offered.
I had expected you would make good use of set of 17" MIRAGEplus's, but now I'm thinking the 18" would be better.
Yes, it is possible the 19" Enertia would work too. Mercury does offer an 18" Enertia, but only in right hand rotation so they are not an option in this application.
The boat handled them very well, other then my dropping the tilt to quickly while going to fast and the boat didn't like that at all as it rolled right.
I plan on taking her out again this coming weekend for more break in time, and will have a friend of mine come along for some video work. Same guy who shot the photo's of the 200 Yamaha run.
In the meantime will look for a loaner set of props Tom recomended to try a little further down the road.
Well, finally got a chance to take the boat out again. Closing in on reaching my 10 hours of break in. Been windy as all get out down here, so its not comfortable with WOT runs. So far, so good and frankly, the boat is plenty fast enough. Trimed her briefly to 48 MPH, and just shy of 5600 RPM's. I think with a new set of stainless, i might be very close to my limit, 5800 RPM's. I did answer the question about a single engine and and getting on plane, did it no problem at all, and reached a respectable 33 MPH! Those are very strong motors, as conditions were very windy (20 plus MPH) and fairly rough.
Duf -- Those props might be fine the way they are. You could have them trued at a good prop shop too. If you have the chance to try something else, by all means, do so. That is the best way to know.
Remember, it is as much about how the bat handles as it is about how fast ti goes. The fastest props are not necessarily the best prop for a given boat.
Tom, i'm assuming "trued" is making sure i don't have any bent portins, or sections? Can do, and honestly, the boat is so fast (may be part of me getting old) at almost 50 MPH, don't care to go any faster. As Joe stated some time back, "how fast do you want to go" think i'm there. Believe me, when i'm at WOT, i have my lanyard on.
As far as the new Mercs, as someone else said "wecome to the dark side", enjoying the heck out of the new motors. I was amazed how fast i jumped on plane, was very close to what i did with my 200 4 Strokes. Close enough i couldn't call which was better.
I had my bud out with his camera, but he was having tech issues with it. Will try again later with some footage of the boat with both motors running, getting on plane with one, and height settings.
Yes, a good prop shop will check and make sure the propellers are to original specification, and refinish them, if you desire.
Not all prop shops are the same. There are several local to where I live, and there is ONE that I use. Propellers are typically retuned in like-new or better than new condition.
It is not uncommon for brand new propellers from the factory to be not quite to spec. and some particular models are more susceptible than others to variation.
A good prop shop can also adjust pitch to gain or loose a little bit of RPM.
