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Author Topic:   Bigfoot 60 Propeller Options

bloller posted 07-15-2008 07:53 PM ET (US)
On a Boston Whaler 16-foot or 17-foot boat with [presumably a Mercury brand] 60-HP four-cycle motor with the Bigfoot gearcase and a Mercury VENGEANCE 13-3/8 x 14 propeller, what is the top speed and WOT RPM? How does it perform at cruising speeds?
Also has anyone tried the Powertech stainless propeller designed for Bigfoot outboards that have a small (12.75) diameter and smaller blade area? They are the SBP3 line of propellers. I am waiting for some cheaper used propellers to try out wanted to expand my search. Any ideas would be appreciated.
Don Jr posted 07-16-2008 02:21 PM ET (US)
Not sure about that prop. I'm buying an aluminum Mercury Black Max tomorrow. I'm boating in the Thousand Islands (St Lawrence River - NY)this weekend and I'm afraid to hit a shoal with the 13 3/8 X 14 SS. I called Mercury and they told me the rule of thumb is to go up one pitch when switching from stainless to aluminum, and vica versa, so I'd be getting the aluminum equivelant which is a 13 3/4" X 15.
I pick up a 2008 Sport 150 tomorrow at 3 PM. My first Whaler and I've wanted one for about 25 years. It's really hard to get any work done today or sleep at night.
fina posted 07-16-2008 08:57 PM ET (US)
My son has an old 16' Nausette with a 2002 60 HP Big Foot 2 stroke.
Chuck at BW told me to go with a 13 3/4 x 15 aluminum black max
we have not tried it yet
wldrns1 posted 07-22-2008 05:54 PM ET (US)
Don,
Where did you get your Sport 15?
My wife & I are picking ours up on Thurs 07/24 at Chalks.
We currently own a 1968 Sport 13. Getting a little rough ot there as we're not kids anymore. We're due.
Let me know how you like your new boat!
Joe
chopbuster posted 07-23-2008 12:58 PM ET (US)
I run a 2007 150 Sport with the stock vengeance SS Prop.
I've attained 35MPH at WOT in the Cape May canal with the wind at my back. Never experienced any "chine walking" at any RPM or trim setting.
Very satified with boat, engine and Prop performance.
bloller posted 08-20-2008 09:47 PM ET (US)
I just bought the 13 3/8 x 14 Mercury Vengeance SS prop. I will test it out tommorow and post my results. So far, I have tried four different props and I am not satisfied with the 14 x 13 uncupped Black Max as it revs to high with just me in the boat and it performs poorly at cruising speeds. The cupped version of 14 x 13 Black Max, the 13 3/4 x 15 Black Max and another off brand 15 pitch all perform satisfactory at cruising speeds. They push the boat about 3mph faster at a given rpm compared to the uncupped 14 x 13 Black Max but all four props only achieve 31-32 mph at WOT. I would prefer to use the 13 3/4 x 15 Black Max but it will only get to 5300 rpm at WOT. Max reccomended rpms for the motor are 5500-6000. Will prolonged use of this prop cause damage to my motor if the new Vengeance SS does not work out?
bloller posted 08-21-2008 08:22 PM ET (US)
Took the [unidentified boat] out today with the new [13-3/8 x 14 Mercury Vengeance stainless steel propeller]. It performed very well and I will be using it as my main prop. Engine topped out at 5800rpm . Cruising performance was better than the 14 x 13 aluminum but not quite as good as the 13 3/4 x 15 aluminum. Boat would plane at about 3600rpm and 18mph. 4000rpm produced 21mph and 4500rpm produced 24mph. Also, top speed increased from 31-32mph to 33-34mph.
bloller posted 08-23-2008 03:15 PM ET (US)
Sorry, boat is a 1970 16' Boston Whaler with a 2004 Mercury 60 Fourstroke Bigfoot EFI mounted one hole up. Numbers were taken with just me and 6 gallons of fuel added to the boat.
Tom W Clark posted 08-25-2008 02:10 PM ET (US)
bloller,
I recommend you use the Vengeance propeller with a Flo-Torq III hub kit instead of the supplied Flo-Torq II hub kit.
bloller posted 08-25-2008 04:42 PM ET (US)
Tom, It came with the Flo Torq III hub kit. I believe you can buy it that way from Mercury now as it has a different part number than the Flo Torq II supplied prop. I don't like how the prop moves back and forth on the shaft but it does look and sound as if it provides better cushion to gear case.
bloller posted 09-06-2008 04:31 PM ET (US)
I think I might try a 15" Vengeance to increase my cruising speed. If my rpm's drop as low as 5200 rpm but I gain 3-4 mph at say 4000 rpm, then will prolonged use of this prop damage my engine? I ask this because I notice many engine manufactures allow a WOT range of 1000 for example 5000-6000 rpm on the Yamaha 60 HP four cycle. Mercury allows for only 500 rpm(5500-6000) on my motor. I have a feeling it will increase my cruising speed and will not effect my top speed as this was the case with a 15" aluminum but I do not want to stress my new engine.
Tom W Clark posted 09-08-2008 11:53 AM ET (US)
Try it and see. There is no substitute for actual experience.
Tom W Clark posted 09-08-2008 11:56 AM ET (US)
I should add that a one inch increase in pitch is not going to drop your WOT RPM to 5200. You will probably see a 150-200 RPM decrease, so if you are at 5800 now you will probably be at 5600-5650 RPM with the 15" Vengeance.
bloller posted 09-08-2008 04:24 PM ET (US)
Remember, the 13 3/4 x 15 BlackMax aluminum dropped my rpms to 5300 so I thought a 15 pitch Vengeance would do the same. Should I be concerned with being under factory recommondation by 200 rpms even though boat may give me increased speed at 4000 rpm which is what I am looking for.
bloller posted 09-18-2008 07:30 PM ET (US)
I got a 15 pitch Vengeance stainless steel prop and tried it out today. Just as I expected, my cruising speed increased by 3mph at any given rpm and top speed was not effected. The prop would also plane my boat at lower rpms as well. However, my wide open throttle rpm was around 5300-5400. My hole shot suffered a bit too but I don't care about that. I think I'm just going to use this prop anyway and take my chances since it is only 100-200 rpm below the recommended range. It just performs too well at cruising speed where I spend 99% of my time.
Tom W Clark posted 09-19-2008 11:59 AM ET (US)
Brad,
That is really remarkable. The 14" Vengeance yielded 5800 RPM and the 15" Vengeance yielded only 5300-5400 RPM.
That is more than twice the expected RPM drop based on only a single inch of pitch increase. We usually only see 300-400 RPM change for each TWO inches of pitch change.
Were all other factors the same between tests? Weather, load, etc.?
bloller posted 09-19-2008 05:35 PM ET (US)
Yes all other factors were identical. Perhaps less humidity but that should increase performance not decrease it. Other Bigfoot 60 owners have reported similar performance when going from one pitch to another if you do a search in this forum. It is just proof that until you try a prop, you never really know how it will perform on a particualar boat/motor combination.

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Author	Topic: Bigfoot 60 Propeller Options
bloller	posted 07-15-2008 07:53 PM ET (US) On a Boston Whaler 16-foot or 17-foot boat with [presumably a Mercury brand] 60-HP four-cycle motor with the Bigfoot gearcase and a Mercury VENGEANCE 13-3/8 x 14 propeller, what is the top speed and WOT RPM? How does it perform at cruising speeds? Also has anyone tried the Powertech stainless propeller designed for Bigfoot outboards that have a small (12.75) diameter and smaller blade area? They are the SBP3 line of propellers. I am waiting for some cheaper used propellers to try out wanted to expand my search. Any ideas would be appreciated.
Don Jr	posted 07-16-2008 02:21 PM ET (US) Not sure about that prop. I'm buying an aluminum Mercury Black Max tomorrow. I'm boating in the Thousand Islands (St Lawrence River - NY)this weekend and I'm afraid to hit a shoal with the 13 3/8 X 14 SS. I called Mercury and they told me the rule of thumb is to go up one pitch when switching from stainless to aluminum, and vica versa, so I'd be getting the aluminum equivelant which is a 13 3/4" X 15. I pick up a 2008 Sport 150 tomorrow at 3 PM. My first Whaler and I've wanted one for about 25 years. It's really hard to get any work done today or sleep at night.
fina	posted 07-16-2008 08:57 PM ET (US) My son has an old 16' Nausette with a 2002 60 HP Big Foot 2 stroke. Chuck at BW told me to go with a 13 3/4 x 15 aluminum black max we have not tried it yet
wldrns1	posted 07-22-2008 05:54 PM ET (US) Don, Where did you get your Sport 15? My wife & I are picking ours up on Thurs 07/24 at Chalks. We currently own a 1968 Sport 13. Getting a little rough ot there as we're not kids anymore. We're due. Let me know how you like your new boat! Joe
chopbuster	posted 07-23-2008 12:58 PM ET (US) I run a 2007 150 Sport with the stock vengeance SS Prop. I've attained 35MPH at WOT in the Cape May canal with the wind at my back. Never experienced any "chine walking" at any RPM or trim setting. Very satified with boat, engine and Prop performance.
bloller	posted 08-20-2008 09:47 PM ET (US) I just bought the 13 3/8 x 14 Mercury Vengeance SS prop. I will test it out tommorow and post my results. So far, I have tried four different props and I am not satisfied with the 14 x 13 uncupped Black Max as it revs to high with just me in the boat and it performs poorly at cruising speeds. The cupped version of 14 x 13 Black Max, the 13 3/4 x 15 Black Max and another off brand 15 pitch all perform satisfactory at cruising speeds. They push the boat about 3mph faster at a given rpm compared to the uncupped 14 x 13 Black Max but all four props only achieve 31-32 mph at WOT. I would prefer to use the 13 3/4 x 15 Black Max but it will only get to 5300 rpm at WOT. Max reccomended rpms for the motor are 5500-6000. Will prolonged use of this prop cause damage to my motor if the new Vengeance SS does not work out?
bloller	posted 08-21-2008 08:22 PM ET (US) Took the [unidentified boat] out today with the new [13-3/8 x 14 Mercury Vengeance stainless steel propeller]. It performed very well and I will be using it as my main prop. Engine topped out at 5800rpm . Cruising performance was better than the 14 x 13 aluminum but not quite as good as the 13 3/4 x 15 aluminum. Boat would plane at about 3600rpm and 18mph. 4000rpm produced 21mph and 4500rpm produced 24mph. Also, top speed increased from 31-32mph to 33-34mph.
bloller	posted 08-23-2008 03:15 PM ET (US) Sorry, boat is a 1970 16' Boston Whaler with a 2004 Mercury 60 Fourstroke Bigfoot EFI mounted one hole up. Numbers were taken with just me and 6 gallons of fuel added to the boat.
Tom W Clark	posted 08-25-2008 02:10 PM ET (US) bloller, I recommend you use the Vengeance propeller with a Flo-Torq III hub kit instead of the supplied Flo-Torq II hub kit.
bloller	posted 08-25-2008 04:42 PM ET (US) Tom, It came with the Flo Torq III hub kit. I believe you can buy it that way from Mercury now as it has a different part number than the Flo Torq II supplied prop. I don't like how the prop moves back and forth on the shaft but it does look and sound as if it provides better cushion to gear case.
bloller	posted 09-06-2008 04:31 PM ET (US) I think I might try a 15" Vengeance to increase my cruising speed. If my rpm's drop as low as 5200 rpm but I gain 3-4 mph at say 4000 rpm, then will prolonged use of this prop damage my engine? I ask this because I notice many engine manufactures allow a WOT range of 1000 for example 5000-6000 rpm on the Yamaha 60 HP four cycle. Mercury allows for only 500 rpm(5500-6000) on my motor. I have a feeling it will increase my cruising speed and will not effect my top speed as this was the case with a 15" aluminum but I do not want to stress my new engine.
Tom W Clark	posted 09-08-2008 11:53 AM ET (US) Try it and see. There is no substitute for actual experience.
Tom W Clark	posted 09-08-2008 11:56 AM ET (US) I should add that a one inch increase in pitch is not going to drop your WOT RPM to 5200. You will probably see a 150-200 RPM decrease, so if you are at 5800 now you will probably be at 5600-5650 RPM with the 15" Vengeance.
bloller	posted 09-08-2008 04:24 PM ET (US) Remember, the 13 3/4 x 15 BlackMax aluminum dropped my rpms to 5300 so I thought a 15 pitch Vengeance would do the same. Should I be concerned with being under factory recommondation by 200 rpms even though boat may give me increased speed at 4000 rpm which is what I am looking for.
bloller	posted 09-18-2008 07:30 PM ET (US) I got a 15 pitch Vengeance stainless steel prop and tried it out today. Just as I expected, my cruising speed increased by 3mph at any given rpm and top speed was not effected. The prop would also plane my boat at lower rpms as well. However, my wide open throttle rpm was around 5300-5400. My hole shot suffered a bit too but I don't care about that. I think I'm just going to use this prop anyway and take my chances since it is only 100-200 rpm below the recommended range. It just performs too well at cruising speed where I spend 99% of my time.
Tom W Clark	posted 09-19-2008 11:59 AM ET (US) Brad, That is really remarkable. The 14" Vengeance yielded 5800 RPM and the 15" Vengeance yielded only 5300-5400 RPM. That is more than twice the expected RPM drop based on only a single inch of pitch increase. We usually only see 300-400 RPM change for each TWO inches of pitch change. Were all other factors the same between tests? Weather, load, etc.?
bloller	posted 09-19-2008 05:35 PM ET (US) Yes all other factors were identical. Perhaps less humidity but that should increase performance not decrease it. Other Bigfoot 60 owners have reported similar performance when going from one pitch to another if you do a search in this forum. It is just proof that until you try a prop, you never really know how it will perform on a particualar boat/motor combination.