Anyone tired of hearing me talk about props for my boat? Hahaha well the saga continues…. Had a beat to heck Predator 3 blade in 23 pitch rebuilt a little over a month ago, which is the prop BCB recommends for version 1 Eyras. The prop shop did a nice job and it ran great, excellent holeshot and very fast. Put around 10 hours on it with no issues at the Missouri river in Omaha. Headed up to Roy Lake in South Dakota a couple weeks ago and the second day the wind was blowing 30+ from the south so I decided to run my 21 Pitch High Five, when I pulled the Predator off I noticed what looked like rubber shavings around the prop shaft… Time for a hub kit and I wish I would have had them do it when I had the prop rebuilt but the hub appeared to be fine so I opted not to when they rebuilt it. Back to the prop shop, so when they were pressing the old hub out the hub housing cracked….Prop is shot! Man-o-man was that a kick between the legs immaculant freshly rebuilt shiny prop rendered useless…. So back to the drawing board for a summertime prop… I called Dyna Prop because everyone around here said if anyone is going to have another Predator they will. Indeed, he has several Predator 3 blades in 23 pitch and said he would gladly sell me one but he would rather I tried them out before buying because he has never had a Predator that ran the same, not very easy for me to take two days off work to try out some old props… He started asking me questions like what boat, engine average load etc. Also asked if I had tried a Fury and I do run a Fury in the spring and fall but its to much prop in the summer holeshot is painful and Im barely kissing 5300 RPM at WOT. He said I would have better luck letting him work my Fury then sending old props back and forth trying to find one that will work… Question is for how long? He said Predators often had issues with hubs spinning out, hub housing cracking and throwing ears. With my luck I dont want to go down that road so Im really thinking about sending him my Fury to get worked, at this point I would rather buy another Fury for spring and fall, send him my prop so he can work it for summertime and heavy load application. He said he would work the leading edges and maybe knock some pitch off it, I also asked about adding additional vents but he didnt recommend that at least at this time, he thinks he can get it performing without. They have a good reputation from the research I have done and have been in business for several years. Whatre you guys opinion on this? I see mixed reviews about dropping or adding pitch to a prop and Im curious what kind of experience any of you guys have had with altering pitch and working a prop? Did you see noticeable results? Honestly I think if they made a 23 pitch Fury it would be perfect for my boat, but they dont… I could use a little more on the top end in my opinion anyway. Cool temps I hit 5500 RPM under perfect conditions with the stock 24 Fury, summer heat I was only getting 5200 out of it so I do have some wiggle room on the top side as well. My max WOT recommended for my 93 Merc XRI is 5600 but Im not scared to let it go to 5800 RPM which with a stock Fury Im far from. Sorry for the long post just wanting to hear some opinions and I wouldnt mind a pity party being thrown in my honor… haha thanks in advance
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