18" Prop on a 2022 23LSV

[Shea]

Has anyone tried an 18" prop on a 2022 23LSV?  

I have a good friend that tests props for ACME.  He is was into props as they send him a LOT to try out.  He suggested putting an 18" prop on my 2022 23LSV.  I asked the dealership and was told in would be a little too close to the gel coat and thought it might not be the best idea.  I just used the Wakemakers.com prop finder and the only prop suggested for low speed performance at 6000ft+ elevation to be an ACME 3513 which is 18" x 13".  

I'm normally surfing at about 6700ft of elevation and can use all the advantage available.  

Anyone have any thoughts on this?  Has anyone tried an 18" prop on the boat I have? 

Thanks Crew for any thoughts or recommendations.

[klntime]

I have not personally used an 18" prop yet,  but see no reason you would have an issue with it.  I've thought about trying their 18x16.   You are only losing 1/2" of clearance.  Honestly, If you are worried call ACME - they likely know more about this than most dealers would.

[Shea]

18 minutes ago, klntime said:

I have not personally used an 18" prop yet,  but see no reason you would have an issue with it.  I've thought about trying their 18x16.   You are only losing 1/2" of clearance.  Honestly, If you are worried call ACME - they likely know more about this than most dealers would.

Thanks so much @klntime  For some stupid a** reason I had it in my head it would be 1" closer to the bottom of the boat.  Of coarse not...  It's a half inch...  As you can tell, I really struggled with math in school.  So thankful for the math tutors that got me through, and thank god I could throw a baseball really hard or I probably wouldn't have gotten into college in the first place.  I like the idea of an 18x16.  Will look into and give it a try.  

Cheers & thank you!  

[CaptainMorgan]

Hope you can avoid the 13" pitch, thats really low and means engine will be screaming.  Assuming you have m6, 16 sounds much better.

[Slayer]

What are you looking for with an 18" prop on that boat?  I'm curious because it's the same as my 2021 23LSV and I never had any desire for an 18.  In fact, I used the "speed" prop, which based on my elevation performed exceptionally well, even when heavily loaded with people and ballast.  I was able to keep surf RPM lower and increased cruising speed.  It was a win win.

[wdr]

IME, any prop that has less than 3/4” stand off from the tip of the prop to the hull will induce prop burn. I am dealing with that now with my 2019, but I have mitigated the issue. 

[Shea]

51 minutes ago, Slayer said:

What are you looking for with an 18" prop on that boat?  I'm curious because it's the same as my 2021 23LSV and I never had any desire for an 18.  In fact, I used the "speed" prop, which based on my elevation performed exceptionally well, even when heavily loaded with people and ballast.  I was able to keep surf RPM lower and increased cruising speed.  It was a win win.

That's interesting.  I'm looking to reduce RPM, or at least stay where I'm at while adding more weight to the boat.  Not that I was unhappy with the surf wave last summer, but I feel it could be better.  I have some friends that are obsessed with props and a few of them have suggested putting an 18" on my boat.  All of them own Malibu or Axis boats, so they are very familiar with them. One of them suggested a different prop for my 2017 awhile back and it completely changed the boat, lower RPM and much better wave but that was just going to a more aggressive cup.  This is definitely a much bigger change so I wanted to throw it out to all of you and get thoughts.  I love my new boat, but after putting 150 hours on it last summer I still felt like I didn't have the surf wave completely dialed and I've seen first hand how much of a difference the right prop can make. 

[Cole2001]

What prop do you have on it now? To lower rpm you will want more pitch but that will perform worse at high alt so in turn increasing diam will help.

Edited January 12, 2023 by Cole2001

[wdr]

IME, a 1” diameter increase was a HUGE change in performance. I was previously running the 2773 (15x13) which was a good performer for surfing and cruising on my M5. It put it in the peak torque range for the motor 3800-3850rpm for were I needed it. It was IMO mistakenly or not, still kind of high to be seeing those rpm’s all of the time. I was told by the shop manager when I bought it that the M5 liked the revs and basically “to drive it like I stole it”, pass! On a whim I borrowed my friends spare 16x15  off of his Supra SL 400. For how I use it, I absolutely love the performance (500 rpm drop) and nothing changed on the wave. The increase in diameter, overcame the pitch change which was a bunch. However, it did come at the cost of dealing with the prop burn, which I new would probably be an issue. That being said, if I could have thrown props at it, I might have been able to find a 15.5 x15 or 14.5 that would have worked almost as well without the burn. Point being, I would want to try before I buy first. The 18 is going to be a crazy big jump for even crazier big money to potentially not be happy with it. 

[CaptainMorgan]

28 minutes ago, Cole2001 said:

What prop do you have on it now? To lower rpm you will want more pitch but that will perform worse at high alt so in turn increasing diam will help.

this is a good point.  need more info on your starting point (prop, boat setup, rpm's observed). 

may be other non-diameter changes you can explore.  (and try before you buy like @wdr says is smart)

[Shea]

Thanks all,

According to my build sheet I currently have an OJ WakePro V4 1778, it's a 17 x 15.5 but the boat is in storage so unfortunately I can't confirm that.  

I have few hundred pounds of lead on the port side.  I usually fill all ballast & pnp, then drain the non surf side a bit depending on how many people I have in the boat on a given day.  Wedge somewhere in the middle and then move accordingly depending on how I'm doing on speed and what the wave is looking like.  This is a photo with just a couple of us in the boat. 

 

[wdr]

Other than being on the wrong side of the boat, I am not seeing a problem. 😁

[Shea]

1 minute ago, wdr said:

Other than being on the wrong side of the boat, I am not seeing a problem. 😁

Is that better?  

[wdr]

Winner. I surf both side heel and toe side but prefer the goofy!

[CaptainMorgan]

Setup sounds great and That's one of the best regular side waves I've seen on a surfgate boat. 

Maybe you can change rpm a little but I doubt there is a lot of untapped potential that you release with a new prop. 

I would caution against believing the build sheet - thankfully I climbed under my boat to check before buying a spare...

Btw, I was once told by an acme rep that in some scenarios more cup can actlike extra diameter (not enough of a prop nerd to tell you why or confirm that statement).

[shawndoggy]

8 hours ago, Slayer said:

What are you looking for with an 18" prop on that boat?  I'm curious because it's the same as my 2021 23LSV and I never had any desire for an 18.  In fact, I used the "speed" prop, which based on my elevation performed exceptionally well, even when heavily loaded with people and ballast.  I was able to keep surf RPM lower and increased cruising speed.  It was a win win.

What's the highest elevation you've had your boat?

at 6700' like @Shea, it's like a fat kid on your chest pinching your nose closed.  Sure you can still breathe, but it's not easy!

Edited January 13, 2023 by shawndoggy

[Shea]

Thanks @CaptainMorgan I will ask my dealer to go into storage and give me prop info to make sure that is what's actually on the boat.  Thanks so much for the info on the cup, that's super helpful and good to know.  Make sense for sure. 

Thanks @shawndoggy  98% of the time I'm at 6700ft or slightly above.  I totally get the loss of power %  per 1000ft of elevation thing with anything that burns fuel.  That's why I try to nerd out on props.  I know just the right one can make a significant difference when you are dropping power due to elevation.  I've been through it with other boats.  When you find the right one for a given boat at a given elevation, it's crazy what a game changer it can be in fuel consumption and potentially surf/wakeboard performance.  

Thanks so much for all of your thoughts & ideas, much appreciated! 

[Slayer]

12 hours ago, shawndoggy said:

What's the highest elevation you've had your boat?

at 6700' like @Shea, it's like a fat kid on your chest pinching your nose closed.  Sure you can still breathe, but it's not easy!

Understood, and agreed.  My elevation is less than 1000' ASL, so it's definitely an apples and oranges situation.  I clearly didn't catch that he was at 6700'.  That's certainly a game changer.  

[Sixer]

I just looked at Wakemakers prop recommendation guide.  I have the 2805 (17x17) which is recommended for "general use" bur for "low speed performance" they do recommend the 3315 (18x16).  

 

https://www.wakemakers.com/collections/propellers

 

 

[Shea]

On 1/13/2023 at 8:18 AM, Sixer said:

I just looked at Wakemakers prop recommendation guide.  I have the 2805 (17x17) which is recommended for "general use" bur for "low speed performance" they do recommend the 3315 (18x16).  

 

https://www.wakemakers.com/collections/propellers

 

 

Yeah, it seems weird to me they are recommending this prop with prop burn being a potential issue.  I did call and spoke with someone at wakemakers.com.  I think they said if it's on the website, its been tested by ACME, but not necessarily by wakemakers.com.  I think that's what he said.  I was a couple martinis in at that point so don't quote me on that...  

I did find an ACME prop that is 17.5" x 16.  I think I'll give it a try.  Hopefully that will eliminate the prop burn and still give me a little more push for surfing.  I'll let you all know how it goes when the snow starts melting and the ice is off.  Might be June with the winter we are having here in Wyoming, but we need the water so I'll happily be patient. 

[wdr]

Less than 3/4” of clearance seems to be about where things start to get dodgy. If one added on 1” to the length of the prop shaft that would probably free up a bit of room, but my math sucks. 

Edited January 15, 2023 by wdr

[Shea]

1 hour ago, wdr said:

Less than 3/4” of clearance seems to be about where things start to get dodgy. If one added an 1” on to the length of the prop shaft that would probably free up a bit of room, but my math sucks. 

Yeah, just heard same thing from a buddy that tests ACME props.  He said 3/4" is the threshold.  I'm going to buy the 17.5" x 16, he is going to give me an 18" x 16 to try as well.  Will put them both on, measure, test and report back.  Unfortunately it will probably be 4-5 months from now, but I will let you all know how it goes.  

Cheers fellow MCrew folks!  Heading out for a birthday sushi dinner with my lovely wife.  Hopefully I'll drink too much sake and stop thinking about how many months it will be until the ice melts!  

[Tjards]

I have ran an 18x14 on a 23 lsv with m6 at 5000 feet and had ok luck. Personally I felt the rpms maybe a bit high and would of liked more pitch. Great bottom end but top speed was lacking. I think 18x15.5 would probably be the ticket.

[Bird]

Do yourself a favor and call O J. They will get you the best prop for your needs

[TaylorM]

For what it’s worth, I upgraded to an 18” prop, from the Malibu specified 17” prop. 1773(17x14) came on the boat which is a 2023 23LSV with M6 motor. I have confirmed with the 18” prop I maintain one inch of clearance. I have also checked, repeatedly, there is no evidence of prop burn. I run the boat fully ballasted, with PNP full and 400 pounds of lead. Crew size ranges from 3 to 8 people. The 18” prop reduced engine rpm approximately 500 to 600 rpm. We surf 11 to 11.2 mph with wedge setting at 2 and 2,800 to 2,900 rpm. We surf 100% of our time, no high speed performance numbers to give.