Help propping a 300 suzuki

[kmoose]

There are a couple of things I would look into before I would pursue any more prop mods. First off, even the best bottom paint job is going to cost at least 1-2 knots. If it’s in need of bottom paint and is really rough and thick I would consider a strip and paint. One other thing is how high the water stain line is on the hull. I would go fill her with fuel and get a good weight on the hull at the nearest truck stop. Several of us have 300 Zukes on our 23’s that float at rest with the rear, outside chine at the waterline with no people aboard. Rule out the heavy hull first before we start talking about bracket height, setback, tabs and overall hull COG.

You have a great boat and like the rest of us owners, we all want the best performance. The knowledge base of members here will help you get there.

[Fr. Frank]

Bottom pain will cost you about 8-10% in top speed. A boat that runs 45 with a clean gel-coat hull will drop down to about 41 with most ablative bottom paints. Painted hulls also ride lower at the bow at a given trim angle because of paint-induced drag.

Moose is right: weigh your boat. Your Armstrong bracket is NOT a full flotation bracket, i.e.; it does not support the full weight of your motor. It mitigates the weight somewhat, at best.

With that bracket, you REALLY should be using a 4-blade prop to provide stern lift and maneuverability. And whether using a 3-blade or a 4-blade, remember to "prop for Max of Max at Max"

That means to prop so that you can achieve the MAXimum end of your MAXimum recommended RPM range when the boat is at MAXimum loading.

You may sacrifice some top speed, and be able to go above the maximum rpm range when lightly loaded, but you put a whole heck of a lot less strain on your motor that way. (And just because you can exceed the maximum recommended rpm, don't. Your motor will thank you for that, too.)

[TMala]

Have you gotten anywhere trying to figure out your issue? Just curious!

[willmosley]

I had my 18.5 Suzuki prop reworked, which turned out to have 2 bent blades, and it was very out of balance. That did improve performance, but I still need to raise the motor back up one hole. I still want to weigh my boat too. It’s interesting looking at pictures of the 23’s in the water, as the weight balance seems to vary greatly. My buddy with the potter hull’s bow sits about 5” higher than mine at rest. You can see the third chine out of the water on his. His stern also is a couple inches lower than mine. But it does look like a lot of the newer models like mine sit lower at the bow with lighter motors like the optimaxes. I’ll report back when I raise the motor.
Sorry I don’t know why the pictures are sideways.