Proper prop for a 25 with a Honda 150

Anita Marie

I am on my 4th different prop and still am not getting things right. What are other folks using? Are you satisfied with the performance?

Fred

Pat Anderson · Posted: Mon Jul 25, 2005 9:17 pm Post subject:

Shoot, Fred - you know my answer...using factory recommended prop (14.5 x 15?) and no, no, and hell no. Got to prop up, guess I will let you be the tester and then go with what works best.

jimandlaurie · Posted: Mon Jul 25, 2005 11:18 pm Post subject:

Good Question Fred!! Our 135 has a 13 1/4 x15... easy to over -rev.. lousy economy at 4800 rpm instead of 3800 rpm and decent economy like C-Puffin. Looked at the Honda Marine site and can go to a 15x 17 or a 15 x19.. or a four blade Solas 14 3/4 x 15, 14 1/2 x17 ,or a 14 1/4 x 19. Geez so with all those choices what the heck. We need a good tester like you.. You have good knowledge of this stuff... better at this than me for sure..
Jim

Minnow · Posted: Tue Jul 26, 2005 8:03 am Post subject:

Fred, what problems in particilar, are you having?
Have you had the problem of vibration, in gear, at idle?
I'm also on my 4th prop, having tried;
Solas 14x19 3 blade SS-- Way overpropped, moderate vibration at idle.
Power Tech 15x15 4blade SS-- Great performance across the RPM's, but also intolerable vibration at idle.
Quicksilver 14.25x15 4 blade aluminum.--Very smooth, horrible performance, lost 11 mph off top end. Bigger clunk going into gear. (crappy hub?)
Current compromise--Power Tech OFS 14.5x15 3 blade SS.
C-Dory and Honda have tested the Solas New Saturn 14.5x15 3 blade SS and got better, but similar results to what I get. I suspect that most of their performance gains are due to them running an empty boat, rather than one at cruising weight. I'm still slightly overpropped, reaching 5600 on a good day, but I think this all the testing I'm going to do for now.

Pat Anderson · Posted: Tue Jul 26, 2005 9:47 am Post subject:

OK, lets talk RPMs and speed. Prop I THINK is a 14.5 x 15 SS, it was the one that came on the Honda 150 as delivered with Daydream. The boat is at EQ, so I can't go out and look.

My WOT is at leat 6200 rmp - I say at least because I did not let her keep revving up, which I think it would have done. At this rpm, she was making 32 - 33 mph (all my speeds are mph, no knots). My sense is that the prop is too small because it is letting it spin too fast, it can stand some more loading, correct?

The rest of the range:

At 3500 rmp, I'm going 9 -10 mph.
At 4000 rpm, about 12 - 14 mph
At 4500 rpm, about 13 - 17 mph.
At 5000 rpm, about 17 - 22 mph.

All speeds are more or less, as wind and tidal currents are facts of life, and these ranges really overlap. But nowhere near the advertised 15 mph at 3500 and 23 at 4500...if I want gas mileage, I am running at 12 mph.

In a side-by-side with Fred on Anita Marie at the same RPMs, Fred was consistently making 5+ mph more than we were on Daydream. Only difference was we were a bit heavier.

Anita Marie · Posted: Tue Jul 26, 2005 10:57 am Post subject:

I first started out with a 4 blade aluminum that Les wanted to try. I am not sure exactly what the size or pitch was but it was lousy. At 4500 it was doing 14 knots and cavitated badly and overreved at WOT. We then went to a Solas New Saturn 14.5 x 15 3 blade SS that the factory recommended. I got about the same numbers Pat has. It overreved badly at WOT and vibrated at idle. I also spun the prop and I am not hard on the boat.
We then put on a Solas Titan 15.5 x 15 3 blade SS. This is the best of the bunch so far. It gets the best milage, decent numbers but still overreved at WOT. It also vibrated at idle.
The last one we tried was a Solas Titan 15..25 x 17 3 blade SS. Current and wind makes these numbers inexact but at 4,000=16 knots. It overreved at WOT but at 6,000=27 knots. The fuel economy with this prop was by far the worse. I have a NAVMAN fuel management system so it is easy to watch.
Les is still working with me on this but it sure seems that this would of been vetted by now with all the boats that are on the water. I will keep you updated on how things progress.

Fred

My IRA · Posted: Tue Jul 26, 2005 3:56 pm Post subject:

We were using a Solas at first with poor performance and worse economy;
switched to a ProPulse adjustable (15-21 pitch) prop with excellent results. The settings are easy to change and the prop seems durable, at least in open ocean running.

We purchased ours though EQ Marine but West Marine also handles them.

Hope this helps. Smile

Sea Wolf · Posted: Tue Jul 26, 2005 4:09 pm Post subject:

Jerry-

So what pitch settings do you usually use, and at what rpm, and mpg figures? Thanx, Joe.

My IRA · Posted: Tue Jul 26, 2005 8:45 pm Post subject:

Joe,

The prop is a four blade hub set at 16 pitch for now. Our boat is usually full of gas and water, a large cat litter box, plus gear for fishing halibut, Bottom fish, Salmon. My wife has loaded every square inch of available space (not occupied by my fishing gear) with deck chairs,BBQ, microwave, dishes, food, and did I mention clothes. Also, there is a 15 hp. aux. (another 130 lb.).

The boat and trailer weighed 6850 on the scales (not including tongue weight). last year (before we loaded the sucker to the max) I set the prop at 18 pitch and turned about 5800 RPM. MPG at cruise was between 3.10 in the ocean of the Oregon coast to 3.5 cruising from Port Townsend to Nanaimo BC last Fall. Cruise speed was about 17-23 MPH and we kept the RPM mostly between 3500 and 4200. Our engine is a 135 not the 150 that Fred and Pat have. However, according to Les, there is very little difference in economy between the two until you reach 4500 RPM at which point the VTEC begins to generate power at the expense of economy. The torque curves for the two motors are nearly identical (within about 3 lb. ft.) below 4500.

Sea Wolf · Posted: Tue Jul 26, 2005 9:06 pm Post subject:

Thanks, Jerry! The addditional numbers will be very interesting to all CD-25 owners. Joe.

jimandlaurie · Posted: Wed Jul 27, 2005 1:20 am Post subject:

Thanks for the info Jerry! It looks like a pretty good solution for our 135. Think we will look into that prop.

Minnow · Posted: Wed Jul 27, 2005 8:06 am Post subject:

The first prop that I wanted to try was the propulse. What stopped me was the recommendation on the box that it not be used for boats over, I think, 3000 pounds. That didn't make sense to me, as they had fitment to 300 HP.
I thought I was done testing, but now I see a new prop in my future.

PS Pat-- Your speeds are pretty low. I'm doing High 20's @ 5000 and mid 30's @WOT , but the milage averages about 2.6 mpg. It would be wonderful to get it up over 3.

Pat Anderson · Posted: Wed Jul 27, 2005 9:14 am Post subject:

Our speeds do seem low for the RPMs, don't they. The other part is fuel economy. I don't have a Navman, but I have recorded all miles and gallons, and average fuel economy overall is 2.55 mpg. I would be happy with the speeds Fred gets at any given RPM (just add about 5 mph to mine across the range) and fuel economy anywhere north of 3.0 mpg. Other folks have said that 2.55 mpg isn't bad, they get less (Helen O and Bess-C I think).

I would be interested to hear Scott Mathews give us his speeds at various RPMs and fuel economy on C-Puffin...

Now, the ProPulse might just be the way to go, but I don't know if anybody remembers our horror story. Two new ProPulses on twin 40s on our 22. Not going terribly fast when we hit a waterlogged deadhead in Cook's Cove off Guemes Island. Broke ALL FOUR BLADES off one prop. That is OK with twins but would be disaster with a single and no kicker...

Alyssa Jean · Posted: Wed Jul 27, 2005 9:38 am Post subject:

I used the Pro Pulse on the 22 for over a year with no problem and the new owners just returned from a 7 week trip north of Desolution Sound. I think Halcyon has had them on for several years with all the travel they do. Not saying you can't hit something and break the blades off, that is what they are supposed to do. You need to carry spare blades or another prop.

jimandlaurie · Posted: Wed Jul 27, 2005 11:27 am Post subject:

Minnow,
Our Speeds and RPM's pretty much what Pat& patty are getting so numbers like Fred's and Jerry's sound pretty good to us too.

Pat!!Heck, If we all get the Propulse, we will have an extra prop..the shiny,pretty "show" prop. Probably after running the Propulse,we would think we were on the "kicker".