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I bought the boat last year with a 1992 Johnson 150. The prop is all wrong - it only tops out at 4900 rpm. Any recommendations on what prop I should use with the 115 E-tec?

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Dennis -

My fellow Outrage 17 buddy Skipjack mounted an E-TEC 115 on his boat.

He reported to me his 13-7/8"-19 Viper reached 48 MPH at 5600 rpm's.

While he has a different hull (slightly smaller and lighter), I think this would be a prop to start with.

Tom Clark could refine this better.

If the Johnson 150 (year, model?) is in good shape, why not just correct the prop? What does it have on it now?

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Phil is correct and echoes the concensus on the Etec forum that the smaller block V6 do much better when turning the smaller diameter prop.

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Dennis,

You are going to have refine your question a bit, as it is ambiguous.

You seem to be implying you are going to buy an E-TEC 115 because your Johnson 150 will not achieve the desired RPM. That do not make sense, so I suspect you are really asking what prop to use on an E-TEC 115 you have already bought.

Perhaps you could clarify.

At any rate, we must know exactly what propeller you are using now (on whatever motor you currently own.)

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To all: Thanks for the feedback. I do not know the size of the pop on the old engine which is a 1992 Johnson 150 Saltwater . I'm replacing it because it is overly noisy, sometimes unreliable on re-starts and has low compression on 1 cylinder. When I go fishing with buddies on their boats with 115 Yamahas and E-Tecs, I come home with envy. What can I say. I getting a great deal on a 1.5 yr old engine with controls, prop and 3+ yrs warranty for $7,000.

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If you still have the old prop, look at it and see if you can find any markings that would identify it.
You might be able to use it for a test run.

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Dennis,
Once you have the new to you engine installed do some basic testing such as RPM and speed at WOT with the prop it comes with. Once you have that info, along with prop specs, let us know and then we can suggest props if necessary. The 115HP range is 5500-6000 RPM's with the sweet spot being between 5500-5600 RPM's at WOT. If the prop being supplied with the 115HP puts your boat there, then you have found the best prop. If not, that is where you need to start testing from.

Watch the install as well, the engine should be mounted so the plate is at or slightly above the keel. The other question is are you looking for speed, handling or cruising performance, each requirement speaks to a different prop and different setup.

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OK, so you want to know how to prop a 2008 Evinrude E-TEC 115 on a 1989 Outrage 18. What you had, and how it performed on the old motor, is irrelevant.

The 25" shaft length E-TEC 115 has a 2.25:1 gear ratio and a 5500 -6000 WOT RPM range but ideally you would hit 5500-5600 RPM at WOT.

An Outrage 18 with an E-TEC 115 should be able to do 38-40 MPH so that suggests you will need a 17" pitch propeller

The obvious first props to try are a BRP 14-3/4" x 17" VIper or a 14-1/4" x 15" Stiletto Advantage (which will perform like the 17" pitch prop)

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Thank you all for the great feedback! I'll repost my data once I get the engine in the next week or two and have it installed.

I have a question about the comment about the install re: the plate being positioned at or slightly above the keel. What is the plate?

Thanks all!

Dennis

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The anti-cavitation plate is the wide plate that sits above the prop. When you run at speed, that should just clear the water surface, if it does not the outboard is mounted too low in the water and creating drag. Make sure the shop, mounting the outboard, mounts it so that will be above the water. You should have them trial the new engine with you in the boat and just look. it's easier for them to reposition the engine than it is for you. It's not impossible to move the engine up or down in your driveway, but your paying for the shop to mount the engine, they should mount it where you want.

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I recommend you have your shop mount the motor "two holes up" (third set of bolt holes) which will leave 1-1/2" to 1-3/4" of space between the top of the transom and the "hooks" on the motor mounting bracket.

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The mounting height info is interesting. On my boatlift in the boathouse, looking from the side of the boat, I eyeballed the plate in relation to the bottom of my transom at the low point of the "V". The plate is about 3" below that. I would guess that is too low, but I'll only be running it for 2 more weeks before I mount the 115 E-TEC. I will ck out the water level when the boat is running this weekend.

Again looking fwd to the new engine.

Thanks again for all your feedback!!! D.

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Many, many dealers hung the engines so the top of the bracket was resting on the top of the transom. My boat was repowered in '03 and was way too low too.

Tom and Kamie are experts so I would take their advice literally and tell the dealer you want it mounted "two holes up"

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Dennis,
if your dealer mounts the e-Tec according to factory install guide, the gearcase should be level with the keel. That will put the plate out of the water when the boat is on plane. I will lookup the exact wording this weekend when I get down to my boat, as the outboard install guide is down there. It may be 2 or more holes up on your transom. I found when I mounted my 175HP that I needed to use the 4th hole, but my outboard is not mounted on my transom. The best option is to have them mount the outboard and do an in water test with you when they have it installed.

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What on Earth does that mean?

The usual point of reference is the cavitation late, a.k.a anti-ventilation plate.

This plate should be distinctly above the bottom of the keel when trimmed so it is parallel to it.

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The eTec install guide actually used a different point of reference based on engine. I will look up the actual words from the install guide but the result is the same. The anti-ventilation plate will be about 1 1/2 inches above the keel when the outboard is trimed correctly on-plane.

The point is, if the installer follows the official Evinrude install guide for the 115HP, the outboard should be mounted where Dennis needs it to be. Also, important, since every boat is a bit different, he should take a ride with the installer and look to confirm the plate is above the water when onplane, trimmed out at speed.

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You guys are great! I am having an Evinrude dealer with a factory certified tech do the install. For me, they key points will be to express my concern that the engine is installed at the right height and have them take a test ride with me.

Thanks so much, D.

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Getting excited - engine shipped to me yesterday!

I reviewed the engine history report with the dealer in Ft Lauderdale and all looks good. Only 86 hrs on it, only 190 starts and 30% of the hrs are under 1200 rpm. Only disparities were the lengths of time each side has been in the different engine temp ranges. Probably just need to clean the thermostats. EMM temp has never been over 146.

Diag test, de-rigging off former boat and repackaging for shipment was done by Joel's Outboard Marine in Ft Lauderdale and I dealt directly with Joel. Very strong on personal service, attention to details and a pleasure to work with - highly recommend them for Johnson/Evinrude service.