www.iFourWinns.com

New and first time boat owner here!
i have a 2001 horizon 180 with the 4.3 in it.
anyone have any prop recomendations since i just bent the original one? or where i could find a cockpit cove?

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2001 horizon 180 4.3
2011 GMC 1500
#leatherheadmafia

Welcome. There are a lot of different props out there depending on what type of use. I have a 21 pitch aluminum prop that gives me a little extra pop up out of the water. The boat came with a 19 pitch prop. I like the aluminum props because i go onto some shallower lakes and the aluminum props are self sacrificing compared to a stainless steel prop.

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2014 Four Winns H180 RS
14' 70's Lund

Welcome to the forum! We had a 2000 H180 with the VP 5.0 Gi (250hp). It was bittersweet upgrading to the Cobalt because we loved the H180 so much.

The previous owner swapped had installed a SS prop before we bought it but it was over-propped, meaning the max engine speed was below the optimal RPM range.

Here is what I wrote about it after the swap:

Went from a SS 14.25 x 23p to a SS 14 x 21p and love it. The issue with the 14.25 x 23p was it appeared to be over-propped with top speed coming at 4200-4400 RPM. The new prop has the same top speed but comes around 4800 RPM, right where it is supposed to be. The hole-shot is much improved as well. Plus it looks nice and shiny.

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NEW - 2000 Cobalt 246 w/454 Magnum 385HP | SOLD - 2000 FW Horizon 180 LS w/5.0Gi 250HP Volvo Penta

I've had your same boat since 2003 with the Volvo Penta SX drive. After I damaged the original aluminum prop on a submerged tree, I did some research on alternatives and settled on a composite prop made by Piranha (piranha.com). The advantage to a composite prop is you get a stiffer blade than aluminum, and the individual blades are sacrificial - they'll break rather than transmit energy up the drive-line.

Each blade is replaceable without even having to remove the prop from the drive. This means I can replace one or more blades on the water and not ruin the day if I hit something that damages the blade (I keep a spare set on-board.) I also had an issue with using the boat at lakes in the mountains, around 6000' elevation. Most of my boating is at sea-level, and since the 2001 4.3gl was carbureted, you need a different prop at that altitude. So I have another set of blades I can pop in whenever we're up in the mountains.

You don't say which out-drive you have, but I have the Volvo SX drive. I put a 4-blade hub on to increase my hole-shot, but this sacrificed a little top-speed. The 4-blade hub plus 4 blades runs about $175. Spare blades are about $20 each.

After 8 seasons with this composite prop, my only complaint is cavitation on tight turns when retrieving a downed skier/boarder. This may be due to the surface area on the 4-blade Piranha design; but as it only occurs on relatively high-power and very tight turns, I never investigated further. The 4-blade Piranha on this boat will pull a 200lb skier on a slalom ski (me) out of the water with 5 adults in the boat in just a few seconds.

I have never heard of that type of prop before. That sounds like a great idea! I may have to look into that.

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2014 Four Winns H180 RS
14' 70's Lund