My new 22sxp is a BIG disappointment

mosesjb2

Member
Messages
21
Reaction score
21
Experience prop blow out over 4000 rpm unless water is still and flat even then over 5000 rpm is impossible with out cavitation
I have 115 merc with a 15 inch pitch prop
Biggest disappointment ever!!
 
What height is the motor mounted at, and what is your pontoon configuration?

Definitely report your findings to your selling dealer, so that they can check it over and make any necessary adjustments.

Hang in there!
 
This is why a shake out cruise with your salesman before you take delivery is so important. Let your dealer know. Probably something very simple ie motor mounting, maybe even trimmed wrong, etc.
 
Will be an easy fix, try not to be disappointed it’s part of the process. If your dealer will not help you out then that’s another thing all together. With that being said it’s fixable, with little to no extra money.
 
This is dumb, but have you checked the prop for weeds? My old 115 Yamaha / 2275 RCW cavitated and wouldn't gain speed when it got weedy. The fix was to slow down, pop it in reverse for a couple seconds to clear weeds, and we were good to go.

If not weeds, it's probably prop-related.
 
This is why a shake out cruise with your salesman before you take delivery is so important. Let your dealer know. Probably something very simple ie motor mounting, maybe even trimmed wrong, etc.
I appreciate your reply. I was not able to take a ride on my new boat upon delivery due all this COVID stuff going on this year.
I talked with my salesman as my boat was originally outfitted with a 13 inch pitch prop. He said he thought it was correct but got me a 15 inch pitch prop as my old boat did not experience this problem. I had one nearly identical as the 2001 you reference on your post.
The 15 inch prop is better but the problem is still there. Blow out over 4200 rpm unless the water is flat. Even then I have to slowly walk up the rpm and can not get over 5000 rpm before it blows out.
The cavitation I experienced with the 13 inch pitch prop was bad enough to cause the coating on the blade of the prop to delaminate and peal from the aluminum.
The engine in mounted with only one additional hole to lower it which will only get about 1/2 to 3/4 inch drop
The salesman tells me the water flow between the tubes is just so turbulent due to being a pontoon.
I feel like there has got to other people out there that have experienced similar issues.
 
This is dumb, but have you checked the prop for weeds? My old 115 Yamaha / 2275 RCW cavitated and wouldn't gain speed when it got weedy. The fix was to slow down, pop it in reverse for a couple seconds to clear weeds, and we were good to go.

If not weeds, it's probably prop-related.
That is what I thought at first as I experienced that with my old boat, checked it no weeds, wish it had been the problem.
 
Sounds like motor is too low. Best of luck! Not a fun thing to deal with.
 
This is dumb, but have you checked the prop for weeds? My old 115 Yamaha / 2275 RCW cavitated and wouldn't gain speed when it got weedy. The fix was to slow down, pop it in reverse for a couple seconds to clear weeds, and we were good to go.

If not weeds, it's probably prop-related.
I saw a post a while ago where someone installed a 19 inch pitch prop and a whale tail on their boat and they said the problem was gone.
Sound real or what?
 
Do you know if there is way to measure to see if it is too low or too high?
I am not the most knowledgeable on that with a two log. Someone here will chime in, there are a lot of knowledgeable people here.
 
Last edited:
Does this happen from stop/hole-shot, accelerating while already underway, or both?
 
Wrong prop is my first guess. Ask a knowledgeable person on the subject (I always recommend Ken at Prop Gods, super smart and responsive) and see if your current prop is in the ballpark (diameter, # of blades, etc). Could also be a spun hub.

Once you cross prop issues off the list, start going through other things that could be inducing drag - growth on the toons, water in toons, etc. Then try motor height adjustment, may be too high.

Ideally you can find a good dealer/mechanic who won’t feed you the “pontoons are turbulent” B.S. Seriously if this were inherent to pontoons no one would buy pontoons. Just someone that doesn’t want to try and help you. It can be fixed! Keep it up, you will get there.
 
Your issue is a dealer issue. Please do not run down Bennington. Your post may not stay...
 
Wrong prop is my first guess. Ask a knowledgeable person on the subject (I always recommend Ken at Prop Gods, super smart and responsive) and see if your current prop is in the ballpark (diameter, # of blades, etc). Could also be a spun hub.

Once you cross prop issues off the list, start going through other things that could be inducing drag - growth on the toons, water in toons, etc. Then try motor height adjustment, may be too high.

Ideally you can find a good dealer/mechanic who won’t feed you the “pontoons are turbulent” B.S. Seriously if this were inherent to pontoons no one would buy pontoons. Just someone that doesn’t want to try and help you. It can be fixed! Keep it up, you will get there.
Sounds like the problem is a combination of a poor prop choice for a pontoon AND your 25" logs lifting the prop out of the water at speed. Merc makes an excellent aluminum prop for your application in both the Spitfire and Quicksilver Nemesis (usually less expensive) lines. We run the pontoon specific Nemesis 13p on our Yamaha because it's way better than any basic 3-blade (although Yamaha does have a version of the Talon that seems to be good for pontoons).

Get your motor all the way down with a pontoon rated prop and your problems will go away. Use caution to not over-prop as pontoon props have less slippage than typical base-line props. BTW: you'll be surprised how much difference 3/4" can make....
 
Last edited:
Wrong prop is my first guess. Ask a knowledgeable person on the subject (I always recommend Ken at Prop Gods, super smart and responsive) and see if your current prop is in the ballpark (diameter, # of blades, etc).

Ideally you can find a good dealer/mechanic who won’t feed you the “pontoons are turbulent” B.S. Seriously if this were inherent to pontoons no one would buy pontoons. Just someone that doesn’t want to try and help you. It can be fixed! Keep it up, you will get there.


I want o echo the second paragraph above. If that is how pontoons operate, no one would get them. That was a lazy crap answer your salesperson gave you. Something is off - likely something mentioned above. It is fixable, and on a new boat, they need to step up.

The prop doesn’t seem right, but I am not up to speed on alum props on 115 2 log boats. I would absolutely contact Ken at Prop Gods as mentioned above for 2 reasons: (1) He is probably the most knowledgeable person to contact and can help you quickest and (2) I would no longer trust my dealer/salesperson after what they have told you about the problem.

My short list if I am in your shoes since you had the problem from the start:

- Motor is not mounted at proper height.
- New prop change up likley isn’t appropriate for motor and 2 log, no strake, set up.
- Check for the spun hub to be certain
- I don’t think build up, water in tubes, etc.... would be impacting cavitation, but if nothing else is checking out, you could check these things.
- AND finally, because I have seen 1-2 people have this issue (and it is probably not this item, hence it is last on my list), what shaft length does your 115 Merc have? There are different lengths, and on rare occasions, I have heard of the wrong shaft length motor being put on a boat. That would restrict/impact motor height change up flexibility, as well as trimming it to compensate for cavitation. Again, incredibly unlikely, but if nothing else is helping, worth double checking.

Here is a common image many of us have shared over time to try to figure out motor mount height, but that might be a tough proposition when you cannot get the boat to WOT already.

Motor Height Mounting Picture/Diagram
 
Last edited:
Back
Top