A4's vs A5's

[KingFish]

After recently pulling off our props (c3's) for maintenance we decided to take the boat out for a run with our spare props (A4's). We saw much improved performance (top Speed 27knts). after seeing how the A4's perform we want to test the boat with a set of A5's. If anyone has a set of A5's lying around may we borrow them to test on our boat?

[Malu Lani]

John at blackmans told me that A4 is the best prop for the billfisher.

[NoSlack]

That boat is real heavy, keep an eye on your temp and how long she takes to get to rated RPM when you push the throttle up. You'll get a lifetimes worth of use out of a 90% loaded diesel and just a few years out of one pushed to 110%.

Mike

[KingFish]

we are not trying to over stress the boat/engine just see how a set of A5's perform on with a light load. When testing the A4's we had 3 people on the boat and around 45 gal of fuel, empty bait tank, empty fresh water tank. we would like to perform the same test with A5's.

[Wizard]

What motor do you have? I run A5s or A6s.. have some around, not sure which ones. Need a new set of one or the other myself. But I run a KAD42

[KingFish]

We have the AD41-P with the DP-E... With the A-4's we came up to speed very quick. We tested it a couple of times bringing the throttle up slowly until we hit 3,900 RPM... We still had a lot of throttle travel (over 1/2 inch) after reaching 3,900.

Since most of our use will be running "light" (if there is such a thing in a Blackman) with 3 adults and a child, 1/2 fuel and either a empty bait tank or at most 1/2 full... We are going to buy another set of props and would like to try the A-5's to see what kind of performance we get loaded as described... such as max RPM, max speed, speed at 3,600, 3,400, etc and the temp of the engine. We don't expect the water temp to be an issue at this time because of the 58 degree water... We do a lot of fishing in the San Francisco area and the water is always cold up there (50-55)...

By the way, the cheapest we have found the new propellers for is $624.84 which includes shipping and no CA sales tax at:


http://www.marinepartsexpress.com/pr...FQU6awodgilkPg

If you know of anywhere cheaper would appreciate to know where.

[Wizard]

I can never find deals on VP props... only used through friends on here sometimes. I think my mains are !6s, and I have !5s hanging in garage.. will double check over weekend and post.

[Knot Now]

What gear ratio? I have the 1:1.78 with a AD41-P and I am running A-3s
Phil

[KingFish]

Ours is the AD41-P with the DP-E which is a 1:1.95. With the C-3's (SS with 3 blades front and back) we toped out at 3,900 and 21 kts. With the A-4's we again toped out at 3,900 and 26.5 kts and still had more throttle travel. In both cases water temp stayed the same at 195 but we have not calibrated to see just how accurate the gage is. Need to do that.

We just want to experiment with the A-5's to see what we get. We are thinking of running the A-4's when heavy and the A-5's when light. If this works out, we will be selling the C-3's.

If your gear ration is 1:1.78, recommend you try the A-4's if you have not already done so. If we had that gear ratio, I would buy the A-5's without hesitation. I went to Blackman's and Steve pulled the invoice for the engine and outdrive and it is a 1:1.95. I thought we had the 1:1.78 as well.

[Knot Now]

http://sandiego.craigslist.org/csd/boa/557287757.html

A-5s for $350

I do not know this person.