Actual (did you try a different prop)?

I have a 28' magic deckboat with 525/XR 1:50 ratio. Currently running a non- labbed 26p B1 prop. It does ok out of the hole but cruises very well with light to medium loads.

Here's the kicker, I want my 7 year old son to really give wake boarding a shot this year so I want the boat to jump on plane better, especially with me trying to wake board myself to teach him.

I don't want to spend thousands on putting tabs on the boat, so I figure dropping pitch in prop is my best option.
Do you feel a 24p will be enough, or should I drop as low as a 22p?

Keep in mind please, I will most likely run the prop all day long, not just while wake boarding.

thanks for the help....

I'd go with the 22p. The 24p probably won't be that much better hole shot over the 26p. Or you could try a 5 blade in 24p, that would probably be the best balance between wake boarding and all day cruising.

Have you tried a different prop?

TBI said:

Have you tried a different prop?

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Have not had the chance to try anything yet..

When the snowbirds fly away, prop testing will commence!

Larger diameter will help also.

On my Daytona the normal prop we ran was a 26. If it was going to be a weekend of tubing/skiing/wakeboarding I dropped down to a 24. It was enough of a difference to get out of the hole better and still have good cruising speed. I thought about dropping to a 22 to get my ass out of the water, but figured it wasn't worth it because I didn't ski very often. And if I did, I just held on and submarined for a little bit.

25Elmn8r said:

On my Daytona the normal prop we ran was a 26. If it was going to be a weekend of tubing/skiing/wakeboarding I dropped down to a 24. It was enough of a difference to get out of the hole better and still have good cruising speed. I thought about dropping to a 22 to get my ass out of the water, but figured it wasn't worth it because I didn't ski very often. And if I did, I just held on and submarined for a little bit.

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Did the 24 make a big difference on the hole shot, or was only slightly noticeable?

BMABITY said:

Did the 24 make a big difference on the hole shot, or was only slightly noticeable?

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It was a noticeable difference, there's no way in hell the 26 would have got me up skiing. One of the reasons I never went to the 22 was because the 24 was on the rev limiter when we wanted to get somewhere quick.

25Elmn8r said:

It was a noticeable difference, there's no way in hell the 26 would have got me up skiing. One of the reasons I never went to the 22 was because the 24 was on the rev limiter when we wanted to get somewhere quick.

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That's my biggest concern about dropping to a 22P, the boat will be too under propped....

Thanks for the input... :thumbsup

BMABITY said:

That's my biggest concern about dropping to a 22P, the boat will be too under propped....

Thanks for the input... :thumbsup

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You can always change a prop in a cove assuming your drive will trim up enough for you to work on it. If your teaching your son you may want the 22 so you can focus on helping him get out of the hole and not focus on trying to plane the boat as much

You'll never have a great ski prop and top end prop in one

I had this exact problem. I run a 26 B1 as my standard prop on my Ultra, 496 with procharger. It's great for running but it's too slow out of the hole for skiing and tubing. I went to Ron Hill in Santa Ana and got his 25 pitch 5 blade. The thing is much better out of the hole. I can certainly bang against the rev limiter at wide open throttle but it makes a good ski prop. I went this way rather than going down to a 24 pitch 4 blade. I'm very happy with the results!

For wake boarding I think I'd be more concerned about being able to stay on plane at a slow enough speed. Mine and my uncles outboards both cavitate really bad coming out of the hole with our choppers on, but with a wake boarder it doesn't really matter too much cause they can get up at about 10 mph. Now staying on plane at such low speeds is more difficult. Boarders go much slower than skiiers.

Ultra247 said:

I had this exact problem. I run a 26 B1 as my standard prop on my Ultra, 496 with procharger. It's great for running but it's too slow out of the hole for skiing and tubing. I went to Ron Hill in Santa Ana and got his 25 pitch 5 blade. The thing is much better out of the hole. I can certainly bang against the rev limiter at wide open throttle but it makes a good ski prop. I went this way rather than going down to a 24 pitch 4 blade. I'm very happy with the results!

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Very similar - in my 26 Ultra deck with a 496HO

On family days - usually Saturdays when the kids want to tube/wakeboard I use a cutting edge 25 5 blade

On Topock / Pirates days - usually Sunday (no tubing / wakeboard inns), I run a labbed Bravo 1 26 4 blade

As said above, the tubers and the wakeboarders want to go real slow and it's hard to stay on plane. The 5 blade 25 gets on plane much faster and will stay on plane at lower speeds. My 26 B1 wants to be at least 20 mph to get on plane. The 5 blade will plane between 10 and 15 mph. Makes a huge difference when you're turning with a tube or getting a wakeboard started. Definitely the 5 blade is the way to go. It also has pretty good midrange acceleration. The only real downside is the loss of about 5 mph top end. I've left it on for the weekend more often than I expected. It also works great for those times when you've got 8 people in the boat and headed for Foxes. You won't win the race but it planes nice and easy and you can run with no problems.http://www.riverdavesplace.com/forums/images/smilies/biggrin.gif

Just came available in the classifieds.

Cutting Edge 5 Blade 25 Pitch
http://www.riverdavesplace.com/forums/showthread.php?t=144033

Everything from a 21" 5 blade, to a 28" 3 blade chopper... different prop for different conditions. Completely change the boat, the wake is much different skiing behind it too.

Wizard 29 said:

Just came available in the classifieds.

Cutting Edge 5 Blade 25 Pitch
http://www.riverdavesplace.com/forums/showthread.php?t=144033

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Thank you...:thumbsup

Ultra247 said:

I had this exact problem. I run a 26 B1 as my standard prop on my Ultra, 496 with procharger. It's great for running but it's too slow out of the hole for skiing and tubing. I went to Ron Hill in Santa Ana and got his 25 pitch 5 blade. The thing is much better out of the hole. I can certainly bang against the rev limiter at wide open throttle but it makes a good ski prop. I went this way rather than going down to a 24 pitch 4 blade. I'm very happy with the results!

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A 25P 5 blade from a 26P 4 blade? I thought you would have to drop more pitch for the extra blade?

Is the diameter on your 5 blade smaller then the standard 15.250" B1?

Thanks for all the information...