Toon prop advise needed!

[TVMNick]

We just picked up a carry over new 2018 Berkshire 25SLX 3.0+ and outfitted it with a 2020 Mercury Verado 300 4.6L V8. When we picked it up they spec'd it with a Mercury Revolution 4 14.5 diameter 15 pitch. It is woefully under propped, we are hitting rev limiter at 44mph and running 4500RPM to carry 28-30mph. Talking to various friends I've been told this new Verado will take everything I can give it within reason and to step even as high as a 21 pitch. The toon resides mostly at Lake Powell, and carries between 2-10 people with an average load of chairs and cooler. I'm not as concerned about the top end necessarily but I'd like to get it cruising closer to 35-40mph. This is our first toon' and we are LOVING it so far, but would like to maximize this awesome engine on it!

 

[Shlbyntro]

19p 4b stainless is likely gonna be your best all around prop. Im sure the engine can handle a 21 for most cases but may struggle a bit for those times with 10 people while the coolers are still full.

I've been very impressed with Turning Point Propellers offerings as of late. Good all around shelf props at very reasonable prices

 

[MK1MOD0]

Food for thought. You have a V8. Not a Verado. They like to rev, so less pitch and some revs would be key for Powell. 19 sounds right.

 

[JD D05]

Does it spin to the left or right?

 

[PlanB]

Running a 16 pitch Mercury Enertia (3 blade) on our 25 Bennington with the 6 cylinder 300 Verado. It's an all around good prop for a loaded toon. 44-47 loaded down, and about 50 light on fuel with a couple of people. I would go up to a 16 or a 17 and see how it runs. The Enertia would probably work good for your setup as well. I think a 21 would be way too much.

 

[PlanB]

Food for thought. You have a V8. Not a Verado. They like to rev, so less pitch and some revs would be key for Powell. 19 sounds right.

Mercury is calling the new V8's Verado's.

 

[MK1MOD0]

Mercury is calling the new V8's Verado's.

really,,,,,, I haven’t seen them labeled as such. Learn something new every day


edit. I was just on the Mercury site. Cleanly states Verado 2.6ltr In-line 6. Then another section for four stroke V8. Not a single mention of Verado in V8 section.

 

[FreeBird236]

really,,,,,, I haven’t seen them labeled as such. Learn something new every day


edit. I was just on the Mercury site. Cleanly states Verado 2.6ltr In-line 6. Then another section for four stroke V8. Not a single mention of Verado in V8 section.

I'm no Merc expert, but when it's Mercury Racing it's not called a Verado, but in the standard Mercury line they have a 300 v-8 called the four stroke and a higher quality 300 V-8 Called the Verado.

 

[PlanB]

really,,,,,, I haven’t seen them labeled as such. Learn something new every day


edit. I was just on the Mercury site. Cleanly states Verado 2.6ltr In-line 6. Then another section for four stroke V8. Not a single mention of Verado in V8 section.

Mercury Verado® Premium Outboard Motors | Mercury Marine

Premium Outboards - With exceptional power, smooth performance and a host of smart, exclusive features, Verado outboards exceed even the highest expectations.

www.mercurymarine.com

 

[MK1MOD0]

Well that’s about as confusing as can be.

 

[FreeBird236]

I would think a jump from 15 to 21 is too large, 17-19 maybe. Most V-6 300 Verado 25' Pontoons I've been in aren't doing much better than 45mph top speed. You should probably do a little better.

 

[TVMNick]

Food for thought. You have a V8. Not a Verado. They like to rev, so less pitch and some revs would be key for Powell. 19 sounds right.

It literally says Verado on the side of the cowl.. but it looks like PlanB has already covered that point. The engine pictured above is identical to what we have, same logo locations and all.

I felt that a 19 would be the best all around prop as well, but curiosity on the 21 always calls.

Thanks for the good feedback everyone!

 

[TVMNick]

Running a 16 pitch Mercury Enertia (3 blade) on our 25 Bennington with the 6 cylinder 300 Verado. It's an all around good prop for a loaded toon. 44-47 loaded down, and about 50 light on fuel with a couple of people. I would go up to a 16 or a 17 and see how it runs. The Enertia would probably work good for your setup as well. I think a 21 would be way too much.

Thank you for the feedback! I hadn't given much consideration to a 3 blade, I may give that a try as well. The biggest reason I wonder on the 21 is from feedback from another friend running a pair of the 300's on his toon, he told me he keeps going up in prop size and the motors love it and the new gen v8 has been proving to handle more than expected.

 

[PlanB]

Thank you for the feedback! I hadn't given much consideration to a 3 blade, I may give that a try as well. The biggest reason I wonder on the 21 is from feedback from another friend running a pair of the 300's on his toon, he told me he keeps going up in prop size and the motors love it and the new gen v8 has been proving to handle more than expected.

Mercury actually markets the Enertia as a good prop for toons. I would see if you can get some test props instead of having to buy. If you look at the pic I posted of the V8 Verado above it has the Enertia on it. I don't know how much of a difference there is in power delivery between the V8 and L6, but a 21 seems like a huge jump to me. My.02.

 

[throttle]

The 3 blade Mercury Enertia has been great with toons.

I have been running this one on a 2019 25’ Berkshire with a Merc 400r.

I just had a Signature Propeller made last week, changing the pitch a bit to get some more rpm out of it in the heat of summer. But have not been able to test it yet.

[emoji3]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[DLC]

Have you tried a different prop....

sorry couldnt resist!

 

[DLC]

Crest 230 Tri toon with verado 350

 

[throttle]

Have you tried a different prop....

sorry couldnt resist!

I don't think he has... YET! give it two weeks!

 

[TVMNick]

Mercury actually markets the Enertia as a good prop for toons. I would see if you can get some test props instead of having to buy. If you look at the pic I posted of the V8 Verado above it has the Enertia on it. I don't know how much of a difference there is in power delivery between the V8 and L6, but a 21 seems like a huge jump to me. My.02.

I noticed the Enertia above as well, I really appreciate the feedback. I'm trying to find somewhere to let me test a few props and see what works best. I'm in northern Utah and not many places up here stock props let alone let us test them. I'm trying to make a few calls and see what I find!

 

[TVMNick]

The 3 blade Mercury Enertia has been great with toons.

I have been running this one on a 2019 25’ Berkshire with a Merc 400r.





I just had a Signature Propeller made last week, changing the pitch a bit to get some more rpm out of it in the heat of summer. But have not been able to test it yet.

[emoji3]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I was hoping you would chime in! I've read all of your toon posts on here as we were searching for a toon. It was actually your Berkshire that lead us to buying one. I love the color scheme on yours too, ours was a carry over so we didn't have a choice on that but it had everything else we wanted and the price was crazy good, so we picked it up!

What pitch are you going to on yours?

 

[DLC]

I got this off the Hull Truth

 

[throttle]

I was hoping you would chime in! I've read all of your toon posts on here as we were searching for a toon. It was actually your Berkshire that lead us to buying one. I love the color scheme on yours too, ours was a carry over so we didn't have a choice on that but it had everything else we wanted and the price was crazy good, so we picked it up!

What pitch are you going to on yours?

The new prop that Hill Marine made for me is the Signature ML line, its a 15 3/4 x 15, also a right hand 3 blade. I was dropping the Mercury prop off to be tuned and was asking if they felt it could labbed to get a couple hundred more rpm's from it. It was suggested to me to try this as an option instead. I think I may be able to make up the 200-400 rpm's that I lost in the summer heat. I am crossing my fingers to run it next week before the outside temps start to drop below 100 degrees.

You definitely have a few more factors to consider than I do. Your elevation is first thing that comes to mind and that sick new 300 V8! I am not familiar with how different that would be here on havasu. I know its a very nice set up tho! Next time you run it, make some notes... air temp, note different rpm ranges and the speed, find the gear ratio and then run the numbers to find out the prop slip on a prop calculator. Just another excuse to go boating

congrats on the toon!

 

[DLow]

With a pontoon, you need to look at prop diameter as much as pitch. I’ve found they like big diameters, like 15”+.

 

[2FORCEFULL]

I got great results on my 250 honda& 250 evinrude picked up 10 mph on mid rage and great hole shot , the honda would just scream redlined at 37 mph... with the 4 blade it goes 47 at havasu light load... and the evinrude went 55, but only runs 50 at mead...

 

[rrrr]

Ya know, when pontoons had 40 HP Tohatsus hung on the back, no one asked these damn silly questions.

 

[CarolynandBob]

I don't have a big motor, but since we are talking props I will ask.

Merc 115 CT. 22ft sylvan tri toon . Usually with just the wife and I . Currently have a 15 x 15 Enertia. We hit the limiter at about 5200 rpm and about 22-23 mph depending on water.

I would like to get a few more mph out of it if I can. Should I go up to a 17p?

 

[Shlbyntro]

I don't have a big motor, but since we are talking props I will ask.

Merc 115 CT. 22ft sylvan tri toon . Usually with just the wife and I . Currently have a 15 x 15 Enertia. We hit the limiter at about 5200 rpm and about 22-23 mph depending on water.

I would like to get a few more mph out of it if I can. Should I go up to a 17p?

I'd recommend just popping it up to a 4blade and keeping your current pitch. A 17 might just be barely doable considering that your boat is never loaded down.

 

[guest hs]

When I was a South Bay dealer we put Enertia on all the Tritoons we sold

 

[jperog]

The Enertia Eco comes in the larger 16" Dia. I have a Playcraft 27 extreme with a 300R V8 and have 4 different propellers coming my way including a hill 4 blade that is a 15.5 dia. The boat has a 17" Porta bracket on it so I will be able to figure out optimum running height within a few seconds on each prop that I play with. I will post up some results as they come in.

Joe

 

[Demoman]

I got great results on my 250 honda& 250 evinrude picked up 10 mph on mid rage and great hole shot , the honda would just scream redlined at 37 mph... with the 4 blade it goes 47 at havasu light load... and the evinrude went 55, but only runs 50 at mead...

What prop were you running on your Honda?