TOPIC: Help = 1965 Merc1000 Prop Selection 16' Ski

I am staring to get the list together for the 1965 SlickCraft.

Next up: What prop to start with.

The boat is an 800 lb 1965 SlickCraft SS160. The Merc 1000 has power trim (serial on outboard is a 1965). Most of the time will be goofing off with the wife and kids trying to drag each other around the great lakes as we learn to water ski or while pulling a tube. Not pulling a bunch of weight but don't want it to be slow either.

From what I have read so far I am inclined to start with:

17p (will it stretch it's legs or should I start 19p?)
13.75" dia (from sizing charts this seems right)
3-blade prop (should i use a 2 blade?)

Then I will see how it runs once i get the boat in the water. I will keep on searching to find out what it came with back in 65 but that info is few and far between if it still exists at all.

All I am after is a starting prop then I understand I will run it, see how it performs at rpm range and try others from there.

My Question:

Am I way off or does this sound like a descent starting prop then fine tune from there based on what I will use it for / how it performs? Risky question to ask I know but...

A 17" pitch 3-bladed prop is a good starter size for that boat.

Probably will be just right for pulling a skier or a bit of a cruise.

If it ends up being a bit "tall" you can gain hole shot by drilling ventilation holes in the prop body. We can help with that if you need to do it.

For best prop selection, you should have a tach. With one person in the boat you'd want to hit between 5300-5500 rpm Wide Open Throttle.

Without a tach it's pretty hard to guess but if the motor's screaming and you're not going very fast, you need more pitch!

BTW an automotive tach, set on 6-cylinders, taking input off of one of the dual coils, will accurately read engine rpm. You might have an old car tach kicking around that you can temporarily wire-in for tach readings.

Once you run a prop down the water and get rpm readings, you'll be able to fine-tune your prop selection. Gotta start somewhere, and a 17" is a good place to begin on a 100hp.

HTH.........ed

each 2in change in prop will yield 200-300 RPM. up or down

I had a '63 Merc 850 on my 17 ft Thompson that has the dry weight listed at 800 lbs. I had a 3 blade brass prop with a 17" pitch. It worked good. It would top out at about 5200 rpm, 35 mph ( according to my boats speedo ) and it came out of the hole strong. I have power trim also, so I think that would be a good starting point.
Bill

Thanks Everyone

The sanity check is what I was after - this is a good starting point (not too low of a pitch) and I can (will) change from there if needed.

The boat has a Tach on the dash (original from what I can tell) but I plan to verify it is working right by comparing to a second tach.

I will start looking for a 13-3/4" 17p 3 blade and be ready once the boat is ready to launch...

Chris