The V 20 hits 50mph tops, but any faster ?

[RidgeRunner]

On the limiter again. The 250 EFI does have some moxy. It idles like it has a 3/4 race cam and I believe someone has tinkered with the tuner as it is pretty loud. Setup is near perfect but a prop change may squeek out a few more mph. Driving it like I stole it already Ferm.
Insurance? Well I could pay the insurance premium or I could buy a 23 and try it out. What do you think spare? LOL
The racers at River Ranch suggested a Rev4 to help keep the bow up. I will not sacrifice holeshot for top end but I may try something more after X-mas. It is a $$$$$ thing... I do not have any issues with porposing or handling, it never felt light until we got into some heavy chop at WOT. MPG was surprising, we logged 72 miles on the GPS and burned 26.5 gallons of premix for 2.7 mpg average. There was a lot of cruising at 25 to 30 mph due to the 2 to 3 footers we encountered running across lake Kissimmee. BTW the gimble style drink holders don't work in sloppy weather, soda everywhere.
We pulled up to the shore to watch the go-fast boats in the ditch and I was surrounded by v bottom superboats. I could not help but think that the old Wellcraft v20 steplift was the inspiration for many of the hulls that were there.

[nymack66]

Damm,
Ridge if it was not for that cooler of encouragement you loaded up I would have nailed it..Congratulations Capitan and good job Ridge ..

[THEFERMANATOR]

A REV4 shouldn't hurt your holeshot, if anything it will make it stronger. And it would be a much better prop for the lighter weight of the V-20 VS the MIRAGE.

[RidgeRunner]

Originally Posted by THEFERMANATOR

A REV4 shouldn't hurt your holeshot, if anything it will make it stronger. And it would be a much better prop for the lighter weight of the V-20 VS the MIRAGE.

Better holeshot you say, really? It gets up fast now.
What pitch should I try? The 21 Thunderbolt I have now is the Quicksilver clone to the Mirage. I have 11% prop slip when I plug in the numbers. The motor is as high as it needs to be, I can see the water rushing around the lower unit about 1/2" above the stock water pickup and well below the cav/vent plate. I can trim it out without losing bite or water pressure, when over trimmed it throws a nice rooster tail but speed don't come from there. The setup isn't far from optimal now, I am not totally handicapped, I have been rigging boats and prop testing since 1987, I just don't know squat about conversion from 3-blades to 4. Any ideas on how many rpm I will loose going to the 4-blade with the same pitch?

[RidgeRunner]

Originally Posted by nymack66

Damm,
Ridge if it was not for that cooler of encouragement you loaded up I would have nailed it..Congratulations Capitan and good job Ridge ..

You guessed 54, I needed another person in the boat or another giant cooler full of adult beverages... Thanks nymack.

[THEFERMANATOR]

http://www.propgods.com/content/propellers.aspx

I posted this in another thread, but it gives you a general idea of what MERCURY's props do. The MIRAGE is designed for large heavy boats with big HP, the V-20 isn't exactly big and heavy. The REV 4 is designed for lighter boats and top end. The VENSURA is similial, but is basically a 4 bladed MIRAGE.

[spareparts]

if your trying to get the bow to lift, what about a tempest? I've never had much luck with them on boats I've tried them on, but I figure they must work on something otherwise they wouldn't still make them. they have more blade surface than a laser, and seem to work better on heavier boats liek the V(vs a bass boat). As far as four blades, my experiance has been they will lift the stern, pushing the bow down, unless its a high rake fourblade and they generally work better on light boats. If you can't find a 23 Mirage to try, carry your 21 to a prop shop, tell him you need 200 rpms less and soem bow lift, a good shop should be able to dial it in on teh prop you have.

[captpete13]

Thanks Ridge. I would have to say it was nothing more than an educated guess based on the speed of my v with its 225. You can never have too much power. Those 3L Mercs do sound mean don't they. Lots of luck with your new setup.

[RidgeRunner]

Prop Gods recommended a Tempest in a 23p. My prop slip was 14% not 11% as reported. They suggested the Rev-4 was not faster than the Mirage in their experience. Tempest has the same blade design as the Rev-4 just 3-blades with lots of bite. The Tempest turns a few more rpm than the Mirage in the same pitch. Prop is on the way for testing..
Keep you posted.