Take a good sized sponge, put a towel around it and tie both ends with a thin rope. Wet the towel/sponge with your favorite cleaner, have someone on the other side of the truck and just work it back and forth….rinse if you need to and dry if you need to….This is assuming you have some space between the top and your truck window.
I put a 12-1/2×8 Hustler prop on and it’s definitely better, in some ways. It comes on plane faster, less ventilation in turns and chop, gets me into the proper RPM range (5800 rpm) but i did notice a drop in speed by just a couple of
MPH. I got 5800 RPM at 23 MPH MAX. This is good because now I’m operating at the proper WOT rpm but I wish I could get a little more speed. My last and final try will be a QuickSilver 12-1/4×9. That may just be the sweet spot prop for my boat. I assuming the prop design is somewhat different and the only to find out on any given boat is to try it….I get back with results.
Well, my local marine store recommended trying a Hustler 12×10-1/2. Tried it out at 8600′ and much, much improved. Was able to just reach 5500 and 26 mph but I had to trim to just about cavitating to hit that. When I made slight turns it would briefly cavitate so I had to trim down in turns. Also, riding into the wind and chop I couldn’t quite hit that 5500 RPM. Talked to my local dealer and Turning Point (Hustler manufacturer) and they both recommended going to the 12.5 x 8. My local shop told me they would change it out for me. WOT on the Merc 60 is 5500-6000. I’m hoping I can hit about 5700-5900, be able to trim the leg down a little and maintain at least 25 mph, which is fast enough for my needs. I’ll post again after I try it out early next week….
It’s an EFI. I expected some performance loss but not as much as I’ve gotten. When it’s all said and done I won’t have a lot of top end but I need to get the rpm’s up and try to minimize my speed loss. I’d really like to see a solid 25 MPH and 5600-5800 RPM.
It’s not the transducer pickup but the depth counter on the downrigger that I’m having problems with. I have 2 downriggers one counter works fine the other one that’s giving me problems is intermittent. Thanks for responding mark…
Thanks for the input Bryan…Glad you mentioned the cupping because I was thinking of buying one “with” cupping but under my situation looks like I might want to stay away from that to get the most rpm I can. If I want to try to max out to about 6000 rpm I guess I should get a prop that will max out out near 6000 rpm at the 4800 foot elevation and just have to accept my top rpm at the 8600 elevation may be about 5000 rpm’s. I do a lot of trolling and some jigging so I typically don’t run long distance but I like to be able to get up to 25-30 when the weather comes up. Granted, the lower pitch in theory will make me go slower but I hope the increased rpm will over come that. I agree looks like I’ll most likely go with an 11 pitch, just not sure about the diameter. I’m currently at 10-3/8 dia 13 pitch the one 11 pitch the calculator put out was 10-7/8 dia. so that may be the ticket. I’m really curious what the Merc folks will recommend when I call them tomorrow.
just wanted to report back after trying (2) 30″ Lindy drift socks tied off my front bow cleats. They opened fine. I didn’t add any rope, just put metal connectors on the ends of the strapping and dropped them in. They appeared to hold up just fine. Fished with them for 3 good days. They worked perfectly….Slowed my speed down to the 1-1.5 mph range. I didn’t feel steering was impacted at all. Thanks for the advice folks…..
Sounds like a perfect hull to run 2 socks off the bow right down each channel. If your boat is older and scuffed up you could probably try the buckets down each channel. Think you’ll just have to try like I’m going to…..
Sometimes simpler is better. For the cost it may just be worth a try. Sure wouldn’t have to worry about the length, deployment would be easy enough and I guess I could add a length of rope to the back of the bucket for retrieval. Thank you all for the input….One of those methods will work, I’ll just try ’em both and see what I like best. Either way I’ll get back after I try.
Thought I had a good pair of 30″ Cabelas lined up, so after an hours ride they didn’t have the Advanced Angler but the slightly more expensive Advanced Angler pro. Only problem with them is they had these metal zipper pouches attached and didn’t want them rubbing back and forth on the boat. Ended up ordering a pair of Lindy Fisherman series 30″ers with delivery Wednesday. If they don’t work I can use one or both of them for their intended side drifting. I do have one Cabelas 38″ and if the 30’s aren’t enough I can buy another 38 when they get back in stock and try that or just have two sets depending on what I need. I’ll give them a try in a week and report back with numbers. Anyway, thanks for all the advice folks, I really appreciate it….
Use a plug like Mudshark suggested. You can snug them up quite a bit. If you can’t pull it out when tightened you should be fine. Guess you could put the plug on the outside and pour some water on the inside and see if it leaks out to verify you have a good seal. I use mine on the outside. I tied a small length of paracord around the skinny part of the plug and tied the other end to some part of the motor mount so I don’t loose it. Good luck!
What size boat and motor did you use that on? Do you remember what type of sock you used?
Thanks John…just was wondering roughly what size you used.
What size sock do you use on your 24′?
That’s one of the things I was wondering about not having done it before. I first thought 38″ was pretty big as I have one of those (Cabelas) new in a package in the boat. Opened it up and thought that was pretty big and that 2 might be too much but what you say about it being against the boat and closing up helps me understand why you suggested the 38’s. There is a Cabelas about 45 minutes from here so I could pick up another one and try those…This is kind of what I was thinking about. The picture shown is using 30″ers. Your reason for not using buckets is exactly why I didn’t want to use them in this particular setup.
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Yes, I was going to use them for forward trolling, didn’t want the sock or socks off the stern so using 2 off the bow to keep the drag even. I plan on going with Amish Outfitters buggy bags but cutting it too close to when I leave so just going to pick up a couple locally to get by this week and can always use one or two of them for side drifting later on. I welcome any others experience or comments as well. Thanks folks…
