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The ice is off in Utah!

bcpnick

bcpnick

Nick
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Took the new boat out for her second trip today on Deer Creek Reservoir in the Wasatch Mountains of Utah. Deer Creek is the first good mountain reservoir around to shed all of it's ice and we hit it just in time. The trout fishing is hot up there right now. '

I also had the opportunity to try out a new prop and I would really love opinions on the results. My boat is a 22SSX with 25" tubes and a Yamaha F90. On my first trip out I ran a Quicksilver Black Diamond 14" 11P prop and topped out at about 21mph at 6000 rpm. I picked up another of the same prop but got the 13P and I got an extra mile or two per hour, but at only 5000-5100 RPM. My initial thoughts on this are that I'm thrilled. 20+ mph is plenty fast for what I'm doing with the boat so the extra fuel economy between 5k and 6k RPMs is awesome. But what else should I take from it? Should I try something else? 15P maybe?

Pics from today's trip. Barke Diem was absent of any dogs today because this reservoir does not allow them. :(

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Yours truly with my first fish on the new boat. I swear that fish was bigger, I have really big hands! :)

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Average size was 14-15" but they were plump. We landed 21 fish with the biggest at about 17". 

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Two on at once!

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Diving over the sun deck to grab a pole with a fish on. 

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Beautiful Mount Timpanogos at 11,752', still buried in snow. Timp is the second highest peak in the Wasatch Range. 

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Testing the new boat grill setup. 

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It worked very well!

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I would say your RPMs are too low (but I don't own a Yamaha) for that 13P, so I wouldn't even try a 15.  You want the max speed RPMs up as close to the high end of the allowable range as possible, or you will be lugging your engine.  See what your manual says the RPM range should be (or find it online) and start there.

That said, you could be hitting the rev limiter at 6000 with the 11P...

Seems to me what you need is a 12P, but I don't think they make them in the Black Max or Black Diamond props.  By the way, you are running a Mercury prop.  I don't see that as a problem, just an FYI.  No big deal.  Unless someone with more knowledge on that than I chimes in and says its a problem.

If it was me, I'd stick with the 11.  You may have to settle for a couple MPH less, but your engine will like it better.  That is, unless you are hitting the rev limiter at 6000.  Again, check the range in the manual.  If the high end is 6200, then you are best off with the 11P, IMHO.

But, knowing you are losing a couple MPH sucks , so you could try a Spit Fire or some other style of prop.  I had a spit fire on my old motor and it was amazing on hole shot.

Nice photos.  That first one with the mountains is awesome.  Keep those coming!
 
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Again, what's that white pole in the second photo?  Antenna?
 
Love the pics with the mountains in the background. On my current boat I have the F90 yammi and I run the spitfire 13"  4 blade, that was the prop that worked best for me. 
 
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The smaller the motor, the bigger the drop in speed with a few extra people...

Given the cost of a motor, you should retest all this.  Run both props with a light load on the boat.  Then run both props with a heavy load.  You don't want a prop that hits the rev limiter with a lightly loaded boat.  But you also don't want a prop that bogs down to below the allowable RPM range with a heavy boat...   This is definately a trial and error thing.

Seriously though, you should do the four runs (each of the two props under both heavy and light load) and report back to us.  Your motor is too valuable to not get this dialed in.  You don't have to do it right away, just make sure you do it sometime soon.  If I had mountains to look at like you do, I wouldn't need much of a reason to do some prop testing!!!
 
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You might want to try the Spitfire 12" 4 blade also might be a good happy medium. Just a thought.   :)
 
I would second the 12P spit fire.  I had forgotten they came in the 12P size.  That would be my next move, based on what you've told us so far.
 
Nice fishing!
 
Nice !!! Love the mountain pic.
 
I was expecting to see  those fish on the grill .

On my 2013  22' SLX with a 90 merc I got 28 ( gps ) 5800 rpm  with my wife and myself 

Prop was 13.8 X 13 ,4 blade spitfire 
 
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bcpnick.....I have a 90 hp mercury with a 13.8x13p 4 blade and with two people,full tank and gear and we get a gps of 29.mph at 6000 rpm,our rev limiter is 6200 rpm.
 
theduke said:
bcpnick.....I have a 90 hp mercury with a 13.8x13p 4 blade and with two people,full tank and gear and we get a gps of 29.mph at 6000 rpm,our rev limiter is 6200 rpm.
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That's great! And that's with twin 25" tubes? I think that'll be my next one to test! 
 
Finally got the admiral out on her boat for the first time last week. It was the same reservoir as the previous pics in this post so I thought I'd just tack them on here. It was the day after her birthday and the weather was supposed to be pretty good - finally a chance to get her out on the boat. That was the only reason she hadn't made it out on any of my previous trips. She was waiting for warm weather! We were delayed for about 40 minutes at the decontamination station since I'd been at Lake Powell (mussels). By the time we were ready to launch, the wind had kicked up and the whole lake was covered in huge waves and white caps. We decided to still go for it, hoping for a break in the weather. It didn't break much, but we found some sheltered coves and a handful of trout. It was by far the worst conditions I'd been out in and I was very impressed with how the new boat cut through it all. As for the admiral, she still had a great time, despite the weather and is looking forward to warmer weather. 

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Biggest fish we've caught on the boat since we bought it was the first one she's caught in years. 

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I did the launching and retrieving mostly by myself so I was able to snap a pic of the boat at the dock. It will be interesting to see how much more bow high it gets after adding the Express Tube here in a couple weeks.

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great pix bcpnick, keep them coming.  Gotta admit I agree with Jack, pretty sure I'd rather those fish on the grill instead of hotdogs
 
Our lake has been contaminated with the Lake Mussels, cause you see the shells all over at the shorelines......... :(

At least I think that's what they are, is there such a thing fresh water clams ????? The shells look more like that, but white.

Great you got the Admiral out. Can't wait for more of your AWESOME pics !!!
 
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The wifes nail polish goes great with the fish. Smitty, yes to the fresh water clams.
 
Yeah, they are Quagga Mussels in particular that are the problem. From what I've read, they are already pretty widespread in the eastern part of the country. They've been trying hard to keep them out of Powell but it is now infested. The rules are that you have to clean and dry your boat for a set amount of time depending on the time of year. 30 days in winter (or 3 freezing), 18 in spring or 7 in summer. The alternative is a spray down with a 140˚ pressure washer which is what I had to get done. 

Yeah yeah, it would have been fun to filet some trout, but we were lazy! I promise you guys I'll be posting some pics this summer of a big Striped Bass fish fry on that grill out on Powell. :) I just have to learn how to filet a fish first.... 
 
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