|
|
Lake Erie Charter Captain Dave Adams of D & D Charters answers questions and provides tips and insights into fishing the region.
If you would like to Ask the Captain a question, please click HERE.
October 22, 2003
“You can go fast or catch fish.” How to select the correct propeller.
Capt. Dave,
We just purchased a new Trophy and MerCruiser 5.0, Bravo Three. We love the boat, but need it to troll down to around 2.0 MPH.
Help! Any suggestions!
New boat owner,
The Bayliner Trophy, with MerCruiser providing the power, is a good choice for Lake Erie. The 5.0 is a General Motors 305 cubic inch engine, and when equipped with a 2 barrel carburetor it is rated at 220 horsepower. The Bravo Three drive option has a drive to gear ratio of 2.2:1. All three are the perfect combination for pleasure cruising or tackling the big walleye of the open water.
Only a minor sacrifice in top-end speed is needed to get a slower trolling speed. The most common method is to change the propeller's diameter or pitch. Since propellers are sold by size, for example 19 X 20, what size should you buy?
Usually, a smaller number will achieve slower trolling speeds. First, though, find out what propeller is on your outdrive.
Propeller size is stamped near the company name
The first number is the diameter of the propeller. The second number is the pitch. The larger the diameter, the more water it moves. Pitch is the distance that propeller will move through the water during one revolution. A propeller with a 20 pitch, for example, will move the boat 20 inches through the water. The smaller the pitch, the shorter distance it will travel.
One revolution of an 18 pitch propeller
When I bought my boat, it had a 15 X 17 propeller. It had great top end speed, but it was slow getting on plane. Whenever I fished with four or five passengers, it would take up to a 1/4 mile to get on full plane and I had to use trolling bags to get under 2 MPH. After a few trips, though, I switched to a 15 X 15 propeller. Then my trolling speed dropped to .8 MPH and I planed immediately, but my top speed is now only 25 MPH.
Occasionally, a diameter change will slow a boat to that desired trolling speed.
Capt. Dan Kelly of Buckets Sportfishing charters, who is well-known for his walleye catching ability, but not the fastest boat, said you can't have the best of both worlds. He recently switched from a 22 X 20 to a 19 X 20 propeller.
"You can catch fish or go fast," he said, "I'm not worried about how fast my boat is, just catching fish and controlling the trolling speed is a big part of being successful on Lake Erie."
Switching propellers might be a simple solution to slowing your boat's trolling speed, but do so only after contacting a shop that specializes in propellers because a diameter or pitch change also will affect engine RPM, top-end speed, and fuel economy. In addition, other variables are important to making the correct size selection such as constant pitch, progressive pitch, rake, cup, slip, aluminum, stainless steel, and three or four blade propeller.
Good Fishing,
Capt. Dave Adams
Dave Adams is an author and professional charter captain who operates D & D Charters on the Pennsylvania waters of Lake Erie.
|
|
