As a Margay owner, it is good to see anything publizing the Margay name. Terrific boat to fish out of. Fishes much larger than its size. I cannot find one single on the water video of a Margay anywhere on the web. There are a few taken from inside the boat, but none showing the Margay running across the water. Ive only had mine four months and still working on the set up. Very little info out there on different props, speed, etc. Would love to know the best prop for getting the nose up at lower speeds.
I have a 2014 margay that I purchased a few months ago with the 150Pro XS Optimax. It has the 24p Fury prop. The fury is fine if you fish mostly by yourself. With a partner and a tournament load it really suffers. Holeshot remains good, but mid range power is lacking and yu have to get your speed up into the mid 50s to get the bow to come up. The Fury likes to run deeper than most props. With a tournament load my jackplate is 3/16″ below flush. I would love to hear someones experiences with the 23p Tempest.
Jared?Hope you will post your results for us when youve done your test with the Tempest.Glenn (Basspack)
In 2014 Bass Cat put the 24p Fury on the Margay. Now they are putting a 23p Tempest. That tells me they think the Tempest is a better prop for the Margay. Also I purchased mine used and the propshaft had been lowered to 5 3/4″ below the pad. I believe the op said he had bought a 150 Pro XS to put on his boat. If you had driven a Margay with a two man tournament load and a Fury prop, you would be asking the same question.
Same thing was happening when I put ice in my Margay, except the spot was much bigger. When I felt of it, it was cold. Had to be from the cooler. Next time out I plugged the drain and the wet spot still appeared. So I caulked around the outside of the drain pipe flange in the cooler. No more leak.
Thanks for posting, Jared. How was the bow lift and midrange acceleration compared to the Fury? How about the holeshot? I have a 24p Signature SL4 four blade prop on order that was recommended by a Margay owner who posts on Bass Boat Central. He said it carries a load much better than the Fury. He has tried five or six differnt props and this one, though not the fastest, is by far the best handling prop on his Margay. Brian Lacoste of Holeshot Propellers is adding four one inch vent holes. I should get it next week. Ill let you know how it performs.
The Margay is a great boat. You will love it. Once you start fishing, you will appreciate the layout. Fishes much bigger than a 17 7″ boat. Getting it set up right is crucial. Ive really enjoyed mine. Looking forward to seeing photos of yours. Not a lot of Margay owners on this board.
I believe the Margays were shipped with a 24p Fury 3 originally. That is what was on my 2014 Margay. At some point BCB switched to a 23p Tempest Plus. I have the 150 hp Optimax Pro XS. The fury gave a good hole shot and top end, but lacked midrange and was very weight sensitive. Hard to get the nose up with a partner and his gear. I dont know how the Tempest performs. After much research on Bass Boat Central, I changed to a 24p Signature SL4 with 4 one inch vent holes. The Signature is a large diameter prop similar to a Bravo. I get a great hole shot, good midrange and can keep the nose up when cruising at 35-45 mph. It is not as fast on top end as the Fury but the overall performance is much better for my purposes.
I have a 2014 margay with the 150 Optimax Pro XS. It came with a 24p Fury 3. Prop to pad was about the same as yours. Boat would chine walk terribly around 60 mph and the back end would kick left about a foot from time to time. Raised motor to 4 inches below the pad and the boat handled much better. Never was happy with the load carrying ability of the Fury and could not get the nose up at low speeds. Switched to a 4 blade Signature SL4 with 4 one inch vent holes and am now very satisfied with the performance. I saw in your other post that you were concerned about co-angler rod storage. There is plenty of room beside the passenger seat for 4 or 5 rods. I ordered the reel pad and strap that comes standard on the Sabre and it works fine for my partner.
The bungee strap. You can see a picture of the set up on the yellow and black Sabre shown in the boats section of the BCB website.I, too, have the standard MG trolling motor. My left front storage box is packed with tackle. Center rod box and drivers side box are fairly light. I am not a speed guy. Boat was faster with the Fury prop. With my partner,his gear, full live well and 3/4 tank of fuel I run 60-61mph with the 4 blade. Hole shot, midrange and bow lift at low speed are much better. I have never done just a high speed run to see what it will do. Not my thing as I am getting older.
I have a Margay with a 150 Merc Pro XS. Unless you mostly fish alone with a light load and live wells empty, I don’t believe you will be happy with the 115 hp. Plus, I believe you will get better gas mileage running the 150 at 2/3 throttle than the 115 wide open.
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