Prop suggestions for 2005 Sea Ray 200 Select 260HP MPI

[JoeCalgary]

Hello all I'm wondering if anyone could suggest a new prop for my boat (listed above). Unfortunately I found some shallow water in my local lake and messed my prop up beyond repair. The prop that was on, and I believe was original, is a 3 blade Mercury 48-16316 19P SS Vengence. Because I now have a bad prop and I rarely ran at WOT I don't really know the exact numbers but I found someone else had posted the exact boat and they Listed 4900 RPM @ 48 MPH and that sounds about right from what I remember. Now that I'm needing a new prop I was thinking that maybe I could tweak the performance a bit. I have found that when wakeboarding with more than 3 adults that I need to put a couple of the adults in the bow otherwise it takes quite a while to get up on a plane and the rider doesn't usually enjoy that. From the bit of research I've done I'm thinking about going with a 4 blade 19" aluminum prop but there are so many choices that my head is spinning. Also, is SS worth the extra $$. Any advice much appreciated.

Thank you.

 

[ColoSR]

I would start with the Mercury prop selector, you can put your actual engine in there and adjust for things like altitude and what you want to accomplish (hole shot, overall speed, fuel economy, etc.). I am a newby, but all my buddies recommended stainless steel rather than aluminum because they are tougher and don't deflect as much. That being said, I try to stay out of the shallows and am cautious approaching the beach.

I bought a new stainless steel 4x4 prop last fall from Hill Marine to compensate for altitude and improve the hole shot. I don't know if it is the four blade or reduction in pitch (26P=>22P), but the new propeller is definitely helpful pulling people out of the water and at lower speeds for wakeboarding. I haven't quantified how much top end I lost, but I don't spend much time at 40+ mph speeds since our lakes are so small. Pretty happy with the purchase so far, the Hill Marine guys were helpful as well.

https://www.mercurymarine.com/en/us/propellers/selector/#!/step-one
https://www.hillmarine.com/

 

[whitney]

FWIW I just upgraded to a 4-blade on my 200 Sundeck 260HP MPI

Went from the OE 3 blade SS 14x19 to a 4 blade Al 14x19. Link below. Holeshot significantly improved and overall the boat feels more responsive. I don't care about top end speed -- I think I lost ~4 MPH (50 -> 46 MPH). Very happy and for me, I prefer Al props to bend and get damaged in an impact to hopefully reduce shock on the outdrive. At $100 it's a cheap piece to replace.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003MF0GJ0/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[BillK2632]

Did someone tell you the damaged prop was beyond repair? Get a new one, but I would look into getting the SS one repaired. Everyone needs a spare prop.

 

[whitney]

I have found that when wakeboarding with more than 3 adults that I need to put a couple of the adults in the bow otherwise it takes quite a while to get up on a plane and the rider doesn't usually enjoy that. From the bit of research I've done I'm thinking about going with a 4 blade 19" aluminum prop but there are so many choices that my head is spinning. Also, is SS worth the extra $$. Any advice much appreciated.

Thank you.

Also - regarding improving the holeshot while loaded -- I can't recommend Smarttabs enough. My 200 planes in 1/2 the time with like 10% of the bow rise compared to before. I can also stay on plane at 14 mph. Coupled with the 4 blade prop, it will be a holeshot master. Had them on my old boat and just added to my new-to-me 200 and, wow, what a difference. (Just don't try to reverse too fast with them deployed, they can pull the stern down)