One year to the date of major mechanical failure...it is finished.
I am going to have the folks at the shop put on a different prop because I can't get full RPMs (6300) the one they gave me (16"x21.5"pitch). I think that a 16"x20" or 20.5" should do the trick.
Here are the preliminary performance numbers with the current prop. I would expect that my speeds listed here will not change a whole lot with the lower pitched prop, just the RPM's associated with each speed.
WOT: 0.7 mpg @ 5850 (couldn't get full RPMS), 53.3 mph With a 16"x20"pitch and the same prop slip I should get 53.4 mph @ 6300 RPMs.
Best Fuel: 2.9 to 3.0 mpg @ 3250 RPMs, 26 mph
Cruise 2: 2.4 to 2.6 mpg @ 3750 RPMs, 30 mph
Cruise 3: 2.0 to 2.1 mpg @ 4000 RPMs, 35 mph
Cruise 4: 1.3 to 1.6 mpg @ 4650 RPMs, 41 mph
As for the ride...Perfect. The boat sits in the water just right and is balanced as if it was meant to have a bracket and outboard on the rear all along. It definitely handles the chop better. Yesterday it was blowing about 20mph out of the north and my wife and I were zipping across the top from 30 to 40 mph as smooth as silk. I haven't really tested it out in the open ocean yet, but I did take it outside the inlet for a few minutes and it handled the solid 2-3 very well. I don't have a windshield on the thing just yet and I wasn't in the mood to get catch a bunch of spray.
A couple more trips out to break it in and it'll be time to shoot some fish.
