WX1850/F150 with PowerTech OFS 18p prop

Well Ricky from Propmann in Brainerd sent me the prop that I’ve been waiting for. A Powertech OFS 18p (15.25″ diameter) stainless steel prop. I put it on last night and tested it today. I would like to say WELL DONE RICKEY! Holy cow WOW that thing is a completely different boat. Here are the stats.

Water Temp: 76.7*

Air Temp: 82*

Back gas tank 1/4 full (6-8 gallons), Front gas tank full (approx 16-20 gallons).

Back livewell filled with water.

Prop: 18p Powertwch OFS (15.25″ Diameter) 3 blade.

Outboard Mount: 2nd hole from the top.

Peak RPM: 6050

Hole Shot:

without Hydrofoil: 5.72 sec

with Hydrofoil: 5.65 sec

Top Speed:

without Hydrofoil: 46.1 MPH (AGAINST CURRENT), 46.4 MPH (WITH CURRENT)

with Hydrofoil: 45.9 MPH (AGAINST CURRENT), 46.6 MPH (WITH CURRENT)

Lowest speed before boat falls off plane:

Without Hydrofoil 16 MPH

With Hydrofoil 16 MPH

The boat did porpoise some (slightly) without the hydrofoil (same as with the 19P Reliance and Hydrofoil on). However with this prop on and the hydrofoil on, the boat was rock solid and exactly how I expected this boat to handle/operate from day one. I think I’ve finally achieved what’s optimal for me.

Below are my results from when I tried the stock prop and hydrofoil.

The water was glass smooth both days I tested.

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Well, I received the Se Sport 300 Hydrofoil and the drill free sport clip this week so today was test day. In the interest of objectivity, I did everything I could to quantify the data and make sure the results make sense to you guys and are reproducible.

Water Temp: 77.7*

Air Temp: 84*

Back gas tank 1/4 full (6-8 gallons), Front gas tank 3/4 full (approx 15 gallons).

Back livewell and back baitwell filled with water.

Prop: 19p Reliance (13.75″ Diameter)

Outboard Mount: 2nd hole from the top.

Peak RPM: 5600

I put the boat in the water and got baseline data without the hydrofoil. Then pulled the boat out, installed the hydrofoil in the parking lot and put the boat back in and got data with hydrofoil on.

To assess time to plane (Hole Shot) I tried to use a level so I could quantify when I was on plane. That didn’t work so I had to decide when the boat felt to be on plane. I did my best to determine the same point where I felt the boat was on plane.

Hole Shot:

without Hydrofoil: 12.06 sec

with Hydrofoil: 8.68 sec

Top Speed:

without Hydrofoil: 46.7 MPH (AGAINST CURRENT), 47.6 MPH (WITH CURRENT)

with Hydrofoil: 46.3 MPH (AGAINST CURRENT), 47.1 MPH (WITH CURRENT)

Lowest speed before boat falls off plane:

Without Hydrofoil 19-20 MPH

With Hydrofoil 17-18 MPH

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Glad to hear the new prop worked out for you. Ricky is the man if your looking for better performance out of your boat.

Glad you got your boat tuned in. One question though, shouldn’t it have come with the right prop from the dealer?

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Glad you got your boat tuned in. One question though, shouldn’t it have come with the right prop from the dealer?

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That’s a loaded question. I always thought that as well. However not everyone is going to load the boat the same, expect the same top end, expect the same hole shot, etc. So I think dealers and manufacturers put the “best all around” prop on and hope you are satisfied with it.

Nice report Wade. You knocked 6 secs off your hole shot time!! wow! I was gonna PM you tonight to see where you were with this. I’ve been discussing things over with Ricky as well, and wanted to wait til your #’s were out.

I took the SE3000 off today as well and got some rough numbers / feel for my Reliance 19 that’s had some cup work done earlier this summer w/o the foil.

Air temp 78 / 1/2 tanks both / same hole / (2) 50# Vizslas and easily 100# of tackle / rods / gear. I’ve also got a Vantage 80 and two Smooth Moves seats (they’re not light).

Significant bow rise and slower on plane time with livewells full, but 48.5 (GPS) into slight breeze (nice chop), and tickled 50 (49.5 solid) down wind. Roughly the same time (very close to 8 seconds) to reach 5000rmp. My on plane numbers probably don’t jive (considerable less) with yours b/c of different ideas of “on-plane / hole shot”.

I’ve never had any porpoising issues with any load configuration. I can make it “hop” but easily trimmed out of without loss of speed. The cupped Reliance grips right to 6000K as well.

Threw on the SE3000. Almost same numbers (lost about 1/2mph tops) except Little to NO “bow rise” on take off. Still right around 8 secs to 5000K rpm.

I’m gonna try a new 4 blade from Ricky that he suggested. We’ll see what that does. If not better, I may try the ofs3r18.

I’ve been hashing thing over with Ben over at PropMD in EP as well. He’s been working with a friend that has our same rig. Gone through several PowerTech 3 blades, with similar numbers you got with the ofs3r18, but he wasn’t as impressed. He’s still searching, and is gonna try the same new 4 blade from PT as see what it does. Ben said that so far, the best prop for that boat, in his opinion, has been the Reliance (overall). I’m after better on-plane / less bow lift on take-off, and will sacrifice a bit of speed.

We discussed some noticed / percieved performance differences in cooler / cold weather. He said that that motor / rig could easily see 4-5 mph difference with cooler / drier air. That’s right in line with what I’ve noticed since last September through now. Need to get an air dryer / cooler added to the F150 .

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Glad you got your boat tuned in. One question though, shouldn’t it have come with the right prop from the dealer?

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That’s a loaded question. I always thought that as well. However not everyone is going to load the boat the same, expect the same top end, expect the same hole shot, etc. So I think dealers and manufacturers put the “best all around” prop on and hope you are satisfied with it.

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x2, plus if you can play with props without having to spend a lot of money its kind of a fun thing to mess around with. Glad you got the performance/handling you were looking for

Like I said in an earlier post I tried the powertech 21p and did like it, I think I might call Ricky up and try it again now with the jack plate.

I’ll have to tell you Wade, my 2008 1880 was exactly like the Yamaha web site said it was going to be from day and after I loaded with my gear. It has not changed. My hole shot has been in the 3.2 second range, 6000 rpm and 48-49 mph. I will say the hydrofoil 300 helped the the hole shot a bit, I think I am now under 4 seconds, And that is with a T8 Kicker on.