It's here, it's here!!

[sunnyside360]

Thank you Sunnyside360! I did a little research, and switching to a rebel prop would probably give me the top end I want, but assume I'd lose somewhere else? Right now the boat planes instantly and is extremely responsive to the throttle. If the boat ends up at only 41 I'm okay with that. My solution would be to upgrade to an ESP with a 250 sooner!   

According to Evinrude propping literature and my boat dealer, the Rebel prop gives better low/mid range RPM performance and economy than the Viper but Viper gives a little more WOT speed.   I've researched props ad nauseum also for my 2014 Etec 225HO and have concluded to stay with my current Rebel 17" prop which tops out around 46.5 MPH at 5800 RPM with 2 people and a full tank of gas.  Many test reports with this engine on pontoon boats have logged around 50 MPH with the Viper prop but I rarely ever run WOT.  Found also you have to be careful with the data since the gear ratio for some Etecs used to be 1.71:1 and most if not all are now 1.85.:1.   Still, I may take my dealer up on his offer to try the Viper prop even though he prefers the Rebel.

 

[kaydano]

There is MUCH to be said for having more torque, especially for skiing and tubing.  And fuel economy as well.  It's not just about WOT speed.

People (myself included) tend to focus on WOT max speed, because that's the easiest to measure, but once you've used your boat some, you realize these other things are just as important.  If not more important, depending on how you use your boat.

If you pull tubes/skiers/wakeboards, you want to focus on torque and hole shot.

If you cruise, you want to focus on fuel economy.

If you like to go fast, get a different boat! 

Ha ha. Just kidding, I like to go fast, but would never trade the space and function of the pontoon for more speed.  It's all a trade off, and just pointing out these other considerations because like Sunnyside said above, there's more to prop selection than just WOT speed.

Hey Sunny - If your dealer will let you test a prop,  DO IT!  That opportunity likely won't come back again, and if you take him up on it, you will learn a lot.

 

[adkboater]

Thanks for the info sunnyside! I sometime focus to hard on that top number, on my last boat I was able to get 50mph with the stock prop, switched over to a 5 blade mercury, lost 4mph, turned inot the best handling and driving boat my buddies ever ran! Stayed on plane at slower speeds, turned on a dime with no slide.  I'm extremely happy with the boat and as Kaydano pointed out, I'd be concerned with the overall boat before I'd worry about a few mph. Just like everyone else, we look at numbers