prop for ranger 620 and 250ho

[ndakota620]

I have a 2012 Ranger 620 with an Evinrude 250HO and 15HO kicker with an 8 inch jackplate. I have been experimenting with various props and wondering what prop is the best prop for my boat. I have tried a Rebel 21 pitch that did nothing but want to make my boat go sideways across the water, but did get 61MPH out of it before it hit the rev limiter. I have tried a 21 Tempest that was worked by DAH from a previous Ranger with a 225HO with holes plugged that went 62MPH before hitting the rev limiter with no tendency to go sideways across the water. The conditions with those two props was 68 degrees and a small chop. Called John at DAH and he recommended a 23 Tempest that he worked. Tried that and could hit 63-64MPH regularly, 1 time got 66.4 with the right chop and going with the wind earlier this year when it was 75 and overcast. Now I just put a 23 Rebel on it to see what it would do and I hit 63 with glass and 95 degrees. Then I went back and put on the 23 Tempest and only got 61.5MPH. Now every time I go out I run the Rebel and then put on the Tempest and the Tempest will be 1.5MPH slower. All the times I have tried the two props it has been calm and 95 degrees with just me and between 1/2-3/4 tank of fuel, with a full load. The holeshot is terrible with the Rebel and not great but better with the Tempest. Both the Rebel and Tempest are running about 5750 RPM to get those speeds. I have a 22 Rebel to try and a 23 Solas that was worked by John at DAH to try this weekend . I have read on here and heard that some guys are running the Bravo prop by Mercury, but which Bravo prop is it for sure? I don't want to spend more money on props so any help will be greatly appreciated

[THROWINWOOD]

I guess I'll chime in with my opinion. If you want to try a bravo it would be a bravo 1 . It's a 4 blade that has merc's pvs vent system. I'm guessing by your post you are looking for top speed /and a decent hole shot. The dah 23 tempest seemed pretty fast . Did you have the vents pluged on that prop. If you had the solid plugs in it , and holeshot was just ok try this. Bring a cordless drill out during testing and with all holes plugged watch your tach during holeshot. If that 23 is lugging the motor down drill a 1/4 " hole in one of the plugs . Repeat the holeshot test. If its still lugging drill another plug. If your holeshot is still poor but your not venting with 3 holes drilled you can try removing 1 plug at a time.
A 23 rev 4 might get you a little more speed than the bravo . I think the bravo is designed to give a little more stern lift than the rev 4 or the tempest . Is your Jp adjustable on the fly or fixed? If its adjustable with a lot of testing you should be able to squeeze every mph out but it takes a lot of time on the water and you need to keep track of all your results.

63 is the best I can get with my 620 / 250 verado / kicker/ no Jp . That's with a 23 tempest . Holeshot is fair and when I open up all 3 holes it vents badly. My fav prop is a modified 19 rev 4 that gets me 58 but holeshot is good midrange acceleration is great and I can cruise at 21 mph without bouncing.

Good luck and post your results

Dave

[TJEli]

Originally Posted by THROWINWOOD

I guess I'll chime in with my opinion. If you want to try a bravo it would be a bravo 1 . It's a 4 blade that has merc's pvs vent system. I'm guessing by your post you are looking for top speed /and a decent hole shot. The dah 23 tempest seemed pretty fast . Did you have the vents pluged on that prop. If you had the solid plugs in it , and holeshot was just ok try this. Bring a cordless drill out during testing and with all holes plugged watch your tach during holeshot. If that 23 is lugging the motor down drill a 1/4 " hole in one of the plugs . Repeat the holeshot test. If its still lugging drill another plug. If your holeshot is still poor but your not venting with 3 holes drilled you can try removing 1 plug at a time.
A 23 rev 4 might get you a little more speed than the bravo . I think the bravo is designed to give a little more stern lift than the rev 4 or the tempest . Is your Jp adjustable on the fly or fixed? If its adjustable with a lot of testing you should be able to squeeze every mph out but it takes a lot of time on the water and you need to keep track of all your results.

63 is the best I can get with my 620 / 250 verado / kicker/ no Jp . That's with a 23 tempest . Holeshot is fair and when I open up all 3 holes it vents badly. My fav prop is a modified 19 rev 4 that gets me 58 but holeshot is good midrange acceleration is great and I can cruise at 21 mph without bouncing.

Good luck and post your results

Dave

A standard Bravo 1 does not have PVS holes. If you want to try a Bravo, I would try the Bravo 1 XS with the 1" Vents.

I would try a 21P and a 23P Rev4 on there before I would try the Bravo though.

Or maybe this top secret, 22.5 pitch, blueprinted, dual PVS holed, super special secret squirrel Rev4 would be the ticket?

-Eli

[THROWINWOOD]

Who did that rev 4 , looks nice

[TJEli]

Originally Posted by THROWINWOOD

Who did that rev 4 , looks nice

Mark Croxton. Marks Performance Propeller.

[REW]

Ndakota,
What was the purpose that you bought your boat for?
Was it to see how fast you could go on calm water?
If so, continue to experiment with these type props and rework houses.

If, on the other hand, you bought your boat for a lot of different purposes, like fishing, cruising, long distance running with a few to a lot of folks, then it makes sense to semi forget about what prop is the fastest when you are in the boat by your self, and rather consider props that will give you an overall balance in your boating experience.

i.e. a prop that will give you an excellent hole shot, can easily plane out a load of folks and gear, and still have a reasonable cruising speed.

If you lose 5 mph at the top end, that is fine, because about 99% of the time, you will not be wanting to run your boat wide open with a bunch of folks in the boat anyways.

Good luck and enjoy your boat in the exact way that you want to enjoy your boat.

REW

[ndakota620]

Thanks guys for the info. I have a hydraulic jack-plate. I have the solid plugs in the Tempest. I have tried to play with the vent holes on the Tempest and the results are good and bad. If I try to put the small plugs in my holeshot gets better but my midrange gets worse. If I'm going 30mph and I hammer it down the rpm's will go to 5600 and the boat will slowly accelerate. The prop is slipping. I can even notice it on the top end with my GPS and tach (slower with more rpm's). I dont think that you can run any kind of vent hole with the new gearcase from Evinrude. The Tempest prop was orderd from DAH and when I tried it the first time I was getting 63-64mph with it, but I was still hitting my rev-limiter. John had me send it back to him and he added more cupping to it. When I got it back from him is when I got the 66.4mph, the conditions must have been just right that day. Then I traded my 21 Rebel for a 23 Rebel and and had to try it out. I never got to do any good testing with it yet because of the conditions, calm and upper 90's. The Rebel will hit 63 any time I want it to, but the Tempest will not. I did get the 23 Rebel to 64.5 with a very slight chop today. The holeshot isnt too bad as long as I dont try and hammer it wide open right away.The Tempest is always slower, but better holeshot. John at DAH said that he wants to put even more cupping into the Tempest. While talking to him he mentioned trying a Solas prop that he had worked up just to see what it would do. Then I ordered a 22 Rebel to try to see if i could get a better holeshot and still stay close to my topend that the 23 Rebel had, but that is backordered now so i will just get to try the Solas prop. I have not not checked how slow I can go and still stay on plane with the props yet. I have been going pretty slow and not had any issues that i noticed.

[ndakota620]

REW

I did not Buy my boat to see how fast i could go on calm water. That is just the conditions that i have had to test it in. My boats usually go a lot faster with with a 1 to 2 foot chop under them. I have only had the boat in the water 5 times and almost all of that was fishing time, the only time I did testing was on the way back to the boat ramp with a our limit of nice walleyes in the livewell. And by the way it didnt matter if I had another person in the boat and my 2 dogs the results were the same. I did most of my testing by myself, because not everybody wants to be in a boat when its going over 60mph. The props that I tried were props that were recomended to me. I came on this site for help not criticism. I just tried to state all the information that I had and maybe somebody would be able to help me out. I fish a lot and will travel close to 50 miles to a spot and back if I want. I have a lot of things that are valuable in a prop besides top end. If I am going to put a bunch of people in my boat and go sightseeing I have a different prop that I can put on for that. It happens to be the same prop that I would use if it was really windy out. Maybe I should of been more clear on what kind of Information I wanted.

[TJEli]

How high are you running your plate when you are slipping your Tempest at 30MPH? That really should not be happening. Even with all plugs removed from it.

I would still try a Rev4. I have heard that the Magnum gearcase really likes this prop. I would start with a 21P and have some cupping added if your RPMs are too high.

-Eli

[ndakota620]

I have been running my jackplate at 2 inches and just leaving it there unless I am trying to get a top speed out if it or if I am going to travel a long distance and just want to find the sweet spot where i am using the least amount of fuel. I usually dont go over 3 inches on the jackplate though. If im trying to get a max speed out of the setup I am usually around 3 to 3.5 inches depending on the prop. The Tempest likes it a little closer to 4 inches just for a max speed. John at DAH tells me too that the prop should not slip like it does. He said that the only thing that those holes are for is holeshot. I didnt have any problem with my other Evinrudes like this, but they were not the magnum gearcase. I have talked to some pros about it and they also say that you cannot run anything that has vent holes in the prop. Last couple of years when they were running the Raker props they would plug off the vent holes. I have a buddy that is running a 21 rev 4 on his Merc, i will ask him if I can try it. It cant hurt, and then I would know. Then I can let other people know. Thanks.