Need a new prop for a 1993 25hp Merc

TinBoats.net

Help Support TinBoats.net:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Cade

Active member
Joined
Apr 11, 2012
Messages
28
Reaction score
0
Location
Central Illinois
Old one is chewed up pretty bad. Is a $230 SS worth the coin? What size/pitch would in need for a 16' Smoker Craft tin loaded with console, front/rear decks and a 13gal tank. Thanks.
 
An SS is worth the money IMO and you can get a nice Solas prop for your Merc for around $175 plus shipping $10-15 I believe. Solas makes a very good prop at a very good price.

To find out what pitch you need we need way more info than what you gave. First off what do you have right now? Then we need to know what RPM you were running with the old aluminum. I can find out your gear case ratio and RPM range of your motor but without a baseline RPM reading then it is a shot in the dark at what your setup really needs #-o
 
Man, I wish I could answer those questions. I'll prolly need to take it to a boat shop and find out. If I do find out what I need, is eBay the best place to shop? I appreciate the response.
 
A boat shop is not going to be able to tell you what RPM your motor is running with the prop you currently have unless they put a tachometer on your engine and take the boat out onto the water. You can do this yourself by simply buying a $50 tiny tach off of ebay or tiny tachs website. It is super easy to install and operate. And to find out what prop you currently have, just look at the prop. Almost every prop has stamped lettering between the blades and also on the hub itself behind the prop nut. It should read 10 X 12 or something to that effect.

I looked up your motor and it looks like a stock black max propeller for that year is a 10.375 X 11 and your recommended RPM range is 5000-6000 so you want to get as close to 6000 as you can to get the best performance out of your engine. Your gear ratio is 2.25:1 also.

Also if you choose to go with a stainless then typically you can go up 1 in pitch selection. So if you have an 11 pitch aluminum you can go to a 12 stainless. If you can get me an RPM reading at WOT with the current prop and get me the prop size we can get the correct prop for you that will keep your engine at a healthy RPM :)

And Solas props can be bought on iboats.com or possibly Ebay. I trust Iboats more than Ebay though, I have bought props from iboats and have been very happy with there service and prices
 
Thanks a lot. I'll check out my prop and see what is stamped on it. might be a few days but I'll get back to the thread when I do. Again, thanks.
 
I personally wound not buy a Solas prop.The one I had was junk.They are made out of cheap stainless & bend very easy compared to a good (Power Tech)prop.Spend the extra money & get an American made prop & never look back.If you run where there's a good chance you'll hit something I would go with aluminum.
 
crazymanme2 said:
I personally wound not buy a Solas prop.The one I had was junk.They are made out of cheap stainless & bend very easy compared to a good (Power Tech)prop.Spend the extra money & get an American made prop & never look back.If you run where there's a good chance you'll hit something I would go with aluminum.

First person I have heard complain about Solas props. They don't make junk props and they don't use cheap materials from the research I have done. One of the only sites that actually show what they put in there props, couldn't find any data on what power tech puts in theirs? Top of the line probably not, but surely not junk. For the average joe boater they make great props. Maybe you had some old version that wasn't as high quality or maybe you hit something that would have bent any prop? Either way I would be glad my prop bent and not my driveshaft.

Sure you can buy a $500 prop that is better than a Solas but most of us are on here because we ain't driving Ferrari's or Yachts :lol:
 
Just for the record, the Solas 10X14 SS prop I bought works awesome, is very well balanced and well made. It is far better than the 3 aluminum prop I ran and the Cabela's SS prop I had on before it..... and as most of us know Cabelas usually doesn't sell junk, but I would avoid their props IMO. I think I paid $167 for mine after shipping during a promo.
 
Ok looks like you have a Mercury black max 10 1/8 X 13 (10 and one eighth is the diameter and the 13 is your pitch) Now the only question is what RPM are you running with it?

I am guessing at this but I would think a 13 pitch on the setup you described may be to much pitch.....just a guess though. A 16' boat with a console and front and back decks seems to be a lot of weight for a 25hp to push with a 13 pitch. But maybe not considering you have a 2.25:1 gearcase....... You really need a RPM reading at WOT to get the best prop.
 

Latest posts

Top