Variable Pitch Propellors - Any Experience ??
tonyg...@hotmail.com
I am thinking of fitting a variable pitch prop, (either Power 2 or Torque-shift),
to a Searay 160, ( Mercruiser 130 - 3.0L / Alpha One Sterndrive), which is predominently used for mono skiing.
I want to improve acceleration and initial pull out, (I cant change the
boat because of local length
restrictions).
Does anyone have direct experience of using either of these props ??.
Thanks .... Tony
-------------------==== Posted via Deja News ====-----------------------
http://www.dejanews.com/ Search, Read, Post to Usenet
Paul and Cindy Kruse
tonyg...@hotmail.com wrote:
I have not looked at the price of variable pitch props for several
years, but back then I could buy three fixed props and have change
left over for the price of one variable pitch prop. Could someone
tell me if this is still true?
As a result of this, we always had two or three props, and simply
changed them out for different boating conditions. A prop is quick
and easy to change out, so we could not see any advantage to having a
variable pitch prop, which must be adjusted with about the same amount
of effort as changing a prop.
I also look forward to anyone who has more recent experieince with
variable pitch props, to see if I should modify my opinion with them.
As of right now, the only variable pitch props that I can justify
would be on very large boats or ships, in which changing a prop is not
so easy; and in which the pitch can be changed with a lever at the
helm station without getting wet. (They are also very good on air
boats, but that is another matter all together.)
plk...@iu.net (Paul Kruse)
TBrown8822
Sorry, probably need to clarify the reason why I am considering this
option.
Boat currently has a 21" High Five in order to get somewhere near WOT when
skiing at 34 mph. When we tried a 19" the pull out was much better BUT we
were in the "red" when we were at 34mph, this is due in some part to the
3.0L having a lower red line than the 3.0LX motor.
I only use the boat for skiing so an economical cruise rate is not
important.
Thanks for the interest so far, ...... Tony
Chuck.K
tonyg...@hotmail.com wrote:
>
> I am thinking of fitting a variable pitch prop, (either Power 2 or Torque-shift),
> to a Searay 160, ( Mercruiser 130 - 3.0L / Alpha One Sterndrive), which is predominently used for mono skiing.
>
> I want to improve acceleration and initial pull out, (I cant change the
> boat because of local length
> restrictions).
>
> Does anyone have direct experience of using either of these props ??.
>
> Thanks .... Tony
I've had a Torque-shift on my 21' Carribean for 4 years now. THE BEST
INVESTMENT ever made in the boat. Planes almost a full second faster,
gained 3MPH on top speed. Pulls skiers out MUCH FASTER. Less need for
trim.
Have 3 SS and 2 aluminum props for sale (if you know anyone who needs
em) since we just don't use em anymore. Save 1 cheap prop for the river
or bad locations.
Chuck.....
Keith Haynes
I have used a vari-pitch for the last two seasons. It is a product of
Land & Sea.
The boat is in storage for the winter and have no other details on the
prop. I, like Chuck would not trade it for any other fixed pitch prop
that I have used in the last 15+ years.
This prop is used on a 3.0L. My boat is a fish and ski 18' 9". It will
now handle two skiers fairly easily.
One word of advice, see if you can test the prop on your boat. I used
the one that is put out by Mercury and did not like it at all. It jumps
from one fixed pitch to another. The one that I now use eases out from
(13 to 21 pitch? I think) in a smooth motion depending on rpm's.
Good luck
Keith
acss...@acs.eku.edu
In article <32D037...@hcc-uky.campus.mci.net>, Keith Haynes <ha...@hcc-uky.campus.mci.net> writes:
> Chuck.K wrote:
>>
>> tonyg...@hotmail.com wrote:
>> >
>> > I am thinking of fitting a variable pitch prop, (either Power 2 or Torque-shift),
>> > to a Searay 160, ( Mercruiser 130 - 3.0L / Alpha One Sterndrive), which is predominently used for mono skiing.
>> >
>> > I want to improve acceleration and initial pull out, (I cant change the
>> > boat because of local length
>> > restrictions).
>> >
>> > Does anyone have direct experience of using either of these props ??.
I've had a Land & Sea Torque-Shift for several years. It works great. On
my boat (350 MAG) it isn't completely mantenance free. However, on 4 and
6 cylinder engines it may be much better. Plus I drive it pretty hard at
times. I have to replace some nylo9n blade shaft bushings more often
than I really care too (every year or year and a half). But it's not
that big of a deal.
I won't promise you any gain in top speed. You might even slow down on
top speed some. But the gain in acceleration from a dead stop more than
makes up for that for most people. The torque-Shift works well on most
V6 and V8 i/o's. It's not for the 502 (last time I checked) and
may not work on some 4 cylinder i/o's. It works on most of the V6
outboards... not sure about V8 outboards.
Dudley Cornman
Systems Programmer
Academic Computing Services - EKU
ACSS...@ACS.EKU.EDU
http://www.act.eku.edu/cornman/homepage.ssi
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*** When it comes to boats... ***
*** I'd rather have a new boat than a used boat... ***
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*** I'd rather have a used Bayliner than no boat at all... ***
********************************************************************
[Hans H. Hagberg
tonyg...@hotmail.com wrote:
>
> I am thinking of fitting a variable pitch prop, (either Power 2 or Torque-shift),
> to a Searay 160, ( Mercruiser 130 - 3.0L / Alpha One Sterndrive), which is predominently used for mono skiing.
>
> I want to improve acceleration and initial pull out, (I cant change the
> boat because of local length
> restrictions).
>
> Does anyone have direct experience of using either of these props ??.
>
> -------------------==== Posted via Deja News ====-----------------------
> http://www.dejanews.com/ Search, Read, Post to Usenet
I have experimented a lot with the Land & Sea Torque-shift. I even tried
to market and sell them here in Sweden a couple of years ago.
They are very fun to use and do indeed give a tremendous improvement in
acceleration. High end performance is not quite as good as fixed SS
propellers but better than aluminium.
Unfortunately I experienced severe quality problems with them so I had
to call the whole thing off. The major problem areas were as follows:
. They didn't seem to last very long on engines above 150 hp
. They did not last for many weeks in salt water
. Cam profiles cracked every now and then.
. Springs broke quite often
. Hubs cracked
. Propellers often got stuck in up-shifted position due to bad precision
in moving parts causing a lot of "play".
. Warranties were so limited that you would never get any replacement
without paying full price again.
I kept on trying these props from the time they were introduced until
1994. Despite all the problems I have had (and all lost money) they were
so fun to use that I am inclined to try again just to see if things have
got any better.
acss...@acs.eku.edu
In article <32D208...@aom.ericsson.se>, "[Hans H. Hagberg" <ehs...@aom.ericsson.se> writes:
> I have experimented a lot with the Land & Sea Torque-shift. I even tried
> to market and sell them here in Sweden a couple of years ago.
>
> They are very fun to use and do indeed give a tremendous improvement in
> acceleration. High end performance is not quite as good as fixed SS
> propellers but better than aluminium.
>
> Unfortunately I experienced severe quality problems with them so I had
> to call the whole thing off. The major problem areas were as follows:
>
> . They didn't seem to last very long on engines above 150 hp
I get about 1-1.5 years before replacing bushings. I'm planning to send
it back to them this time to be rebuilt before spring. I habe replaced
the bushings 2 times since new.
>
> . They did not last for many weeks in salt water
>
> . Cam profiles cracked every now and then.
I had this happen once... they blamed it on the way I broke the prop in.
It looks like it is just the nature of the beast.
>
> . Springs broke quite often
I've only lost 1 or 2 springs so far, which isn't too bad.
>
> . Hubs cracked
>
> . Propellers often got stuck in up-shifted position due to bad precision
> in moving parts causing a lot of "play".
>
> . Warranties were so limited that you would never get any replacement
> without paying full price again.
I'll second that. They don't stand behind their products at all. They
are a race oriented shop and I guess they assume that everyone races
their products.
> I kept on trying these props from the time they were introduced until
> 1994. Despite all the problems I have had (and all lost money) they were
> so fun to use that I am inclined to try again just to see if things have
> got any better.
I stick with it because I don't think I can match the hole shot and top
speed combiniation with any fixed props. If I could, I would consider
switching. Besides, I read about people on here that have a couple prop
strikes per year and I fugure it costs me much less to maintain the TS
than it cost these people to repair/replace their props. I pretty much
don't have to worry about prop strikes.
Dennis Kreuzenstein
I have used the Land and Sea 11-26 pitch, 3-blade, solid hub unit for
about 250 hours. I had it on a Four Winns 200 Horizion with a 351 and
on a 240 Horizion with a 454. Once you get the prop "dialed in" and
you learn how to work it, you won't go back to a non-shifting prop.
It works great! You will need to work on it now and then but it's
very easy with the propper tools. I have even changed the cams
without removing the prop from the drive and in the water from the
swim platform (not recommended).
My current boat has a 502 and it is too much power for this prop so I
have it for sale if you (or anyone else out there) are interested.
It's in good shape, no dings. Fits OMC Cobra and Merc. It comes
with I, X, ZZ cams, 30 and 45lb springs, and tool kit. $350.00 plus
shipping.
-Dennis-
acss...@acs.eku.edu
In article <32CEF5...@gogis.com>, Jim Lince <jli...@gogis.com> writes:
> TBrown8822 wrote:
>> A neighbor across the cove has a variable pitch prop "Land and Sea"? on
> a 351 i/o. In crusing in his boat it's just like having a two speed
> automatic transmission, in fact it sounds that way. Out of the hole, it
> accelerates very quickly and the engine tachs up, then it "shifts" and
> the tach drops back down (I'm going by engine sound) and continues
> accelerating. So you get a pull prop and then a cruise prop all in one .
> I think it might be the ticket for a 3.0 and skiing.
I have some 1991 literature (L&S catalog) that has a flow chart in it for
choosing the best cam profiles. It says in order for a TS to work
properly the boat must run over 38 mph, with at lest a 17" pitch prop at
4500 rpm. This applies to any stern drive reguardless of engine size.
I think the TS is not recommended for 502 big blocks or some modified
454's etc.
Gregory W. DuFour
tonyg...@hotmail.com wrote:
>I am thinking of fitting a variable pitch prop, (either Power 2 or Torque-shift),
>to a Searay 160, ( Mercruiser 130 - 3.0L / Alpha One Sterndrive), which is predominently used for mono skiing.
>I want to improve acceleration and initial pull out, (I cant change the
>boat because of local length
>restrictions).
>Does anyone have direct experience of using either of these props ??.
>Thanks .... Tony
>-------------------==== Posted via Deja News ====-----------------------
> http://www.dejanews.com/ Search, Read, Post to Usenet
For the price it better do a good jod, I think they go for about $700.
The test data that I saw showed improvements on hole shot and top end,
but the improvements were not as good as what I saw when I installed a
Mercury QuickSilver High Five prop ($450). I would suggest that you
TRY BEFORE YOU BUY.
P.S. Make sure that you try more than one or two props before you make
a decision, that first test run with a performance prop makes any
alunimum look like bad. So don't jump to conclusions too fast.
Good Luck,
Greg DuFour
Edward J Akison
On Sat, 04 Jan 1997 04:11:04 -0600, tonyg...@hotmail.com wrote:
>I am thinking of fitting a variable pitch prop, (either Power 2 or Torque-shift),
I use the Aero-Star prop, It works well, had it about two years, sent
it back for warranty repair for a broken shift knob. They had it back
in 7 days, and are very helpful over the phone.
ED
da...@cris.com
>tonyg...@hotmail.com wrote:
>>I am thinking of fitting a variable pitch prop, (either Power 2 or Torque-shift),
>>to a Searay 160, ( Mercruiser 130 - 3.0L / Alpha One Sterndrive), which is predominently used for mono skiing.
>>I want to improve acceleration and initial pull out, (I cant change the
>>boat because of local length
>>restrictions).
>>Does anyone have direct experience of using either of these props ??.
>For the price it better do a good jod, I think they go for about $700.
>The test data that I saw showed improvements on hole shot and top end,
>but the improvements were not as good as what I saw when I installed a
>Mercury QuickSilver High Five prop ($450). I would suggest that you
>TRY BEFORE YOU BUY.
>P.S. Make sure that you try more than one or two props before you make
>a decision, that first test run with a performance prop makes any
>alunimum look like bad. So don't jump to conclusions too fast.
>Good Luck,
>Greg DuFour
Good Lord! ~$700 for a prop that some are reporting having reliability
problems with and 0 warranty? Thats a bag full of alum props. And
problematic in salt water? Pretty heavy downsides...
Dudley(or anyone else)...whats keeps you all committed to this? Is it
just the initial outlay and now you *have* to make it work? Is the
acceleration improvement really worth those downsides?
Just curious,
Danny
da...@cris.com
am
It Works but just don't hit a rock or you will be back to putting on your
old prop after you find out how much it will cost to fix the variable pitch
one!
da...@cris.com wrote in article <5bchni$8...@chronicle.concentric.net>...