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Help with prop selection

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8mk

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I just purchased a used 22 Bennington 23LFBC with the ESP center toon and a Mercury 250 4S 25" with a Enertia 15.6 X 13P prop. I think the previous owner must have said that they were going to do a lot of water sports as I feel the Pitch is a tad low. With the boat at 20 gals of fuel and 340 lbs ( my wife and I ) of beef aboard no cooler just normal boat stuff and trimmed up I got my 6000 RPM but I thought the speed of 40 MPH GPS was a tad low. I am new to the tritoon world as I have always had runabouts and I realize I am pushing a brick through the water but I keep hearing of tritoon owners getting high 40's or 50 out of a 250 mercury. I was also wondering if anyone is using the enertia ECO on a mercury 250 merc that could chime in. I boat on Watts bar lake if there are any friends out there. I would love to try some different props also but because I didn't buy this boat locally the dealers around here treat you like a step child. Thanks for any info as it would be much appreciated.
 
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By the way I forgot to tell all that I mostly want to cruise and get better gas mileage if possible.
 
The F250 is their normal fourstroke 250 out of the 3 250's they offer. lower end.
 
8mk said:
The F250 is their normal fourstroke 250 out of the 3 250's they offer. lower end.
Click to expand...
Sorry ,Ive never seen the F designation used on a Mercury .
 
I tried to use the prop selector on the performance tab but my pitch is lower than what is offered as 15P is the lowest it goes and mine is a 13P.
 
My first question when someone is not getting the speed they think they should is...How clean are you toons? Growth build-up on the toons can rob you of 10 MPH on your top end. I've experienced it.
 
13p on a 250 Mercury is way too low of pitch. That’s just totally off base.

You want a 16p or 17p Enertia on that Mercury 250. I run a 16p on my 200 HP Mercury Verado. 24’ SSBXP with SPS hull. When new, prior to adding Sea Legs, that 16p dialed in my boat 100%, with top performance WOT at 44mph. Since adding Sea Legs, I should drop to a 15p Enertia due to change in weight and weight distribution, but not worth springing for $ wise vs performance tweak and boat usage.

Anyway, 13p Enertia prop isn’t even in the ballpark of the right sized Enertia prop for that size HP motor. My educated estimate is the 16 or 17p. Ideally, if you could test both to find which one dials you in, that would be ideal. Good luck and enjoy!!!
 
I talked to Mercury and Propgods today and Mercury said with the RPM running 6000 that I am right where I need to be and after talking with Propgods he told me to try a 14 or 15 enertia and he would be interested in how the 15 might do but could take my RPM's down to low. I am out looking for a prop to try as Propgods doesn't have what I need at the moment.
 
And your pontoons are clean and good to go…? I get the RPM’s, but at a 13p, your RPM’s should be higher and out of the upper RPM range for that motor with the 13p. That fact they are only at 6000 RPMS with a 13p make me think something else is holding it back.Thus, I think there is something else going on in addition to it being under proped.

14-15p Enertia on a 250 HP Mercury seems low. Again, without sea legs, mines dialed in at 16p, and with the added weight and what not, a 15p would re-dial it in. The 14-15p ranges seem more appropriate for a 150 or heavy 200hp Mercury on a tritoon. Hmmm….just not sure what I’m missing with this one.
 
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I have to agree with Vikingstaff; there would seem to be something else at play.

For reference, I have a 28’ GCW powered by a 250 Verado and a 15.6X13 Enertia. With a light load I’m able to hit 41 mph @ 6500 rpm (which is the top of the suggested range).

While I could certainly go up in pitch, I’m happy with my overall performance so it’s not worth the money for me to make a change.
 
Toons are clean and after talking with Propgods and mercury they say I'm hitting the rev limiter if thats true as my high RPM for my motor is 6000.I wish someone with a L23 and the ESP center toon would chime in and see what they are running.
 
What did Ken suggest? I understand he said he currently doesn't have
 
That’s the missing piece of info…hitting the rev limiter.

Assuming that‘s the case, then I don’t think you will drop RPM’s at all if you go with their recommendations. I toss back out there if you can try a 16-17p, it’d do it. I think its a more appropriate size for your model and length boat paired with that motor. That said, just getting your hands on any of those 2-4 pitch size Enertia’s is probably not easy, and probably even more difficult to find a place that will let you “trial” one out. Minimally, avoid the 14p…just not worth the change up, and will still be very under proped.

And good point on the difference with Verado. The performance on my 200HP Verado is going to be more akin to a 225HP normal motor. That said, that’s why I also recommend a 16-17p Enertia for your 250. Good luck.
 
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