www.iFourWinns.com

I am unlcear why the aluminum is a poor choice... my Horizon 200 came with the factory 3 blade 14.25x21 prop and after speaking with Solas directly, I ordered a 4 blade 14.25x19 which I believe will give me the same results the OP is looking for... coming on plane faster, holding plane at slower speeds and the the power to pull up skiers..

I understand that the aluminum may defelct under load, whereas the SS doesnt, but the added benefit to aluminum is that it bends and saves your outdrive... afterall, these are runabout, cruising boats.. dont need every once of performance...

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2007 Horizon 200 4.3 GXI, red and love it!!!

...and I can tell you have never run a SS prop.

I've said it many times... Alum doesn't save your outdrive. There is a rubber hub inside the prop (alum too)... that saves the drive! And, yes, when you have only ONE gear, you need every ounce of perfomance you can muster from BOTH ENDS of the spectrum. SS does much better than alum in gaining low end performance, as well as improving top-end.

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Walt B
"Debt-Charged"
Black '07 H210SS
6.2L Bravo One turning a 21P HIFive
Wakeboard Tower with Perfect Pass Stargazer version
Missouri River; Kansas City, Mo.

I went from VP SS to Aluminum Solas. It was horrible. It always felt like the boat couldn't get grip, or that it was always "slipping" traction. Hard to describe but it was def. the worst $100 I've ever spent. I went from 19 pitch SS to 21 pitch Solas AL and I actually lost 3-5mph across the board. 4000 RPMS was 30mph!! Complete trash.

And yes they do need every ounce of performance. Every once of performance = lower cruise RPMs = longer engine life = better fuel consumption = less downtime and maintenance. That's like saying "Hey, you don't need good tires on your car. Just throw some bald used ones on there, you won't know the difference"

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1981 Columbia 8.7
2015 Yamaha FZR - 87mph - sold
2006 Yamaha GP1300R - sold
2003 Chaparral 215 SSI - sold
2009 Stingray 195CS - sold
2000 Four Winns H180 - sold
1976 O'day Daysailer II - sold
Rick's Four Winns H180 Mods/Upgrade Thread

Yeah, I'm kind of getting that impression. I'm trying to fit one into the budget before my next river trip (possibly).

That's why i was asking about pitch drop (or not). If I went SS, do i drop to a 19p or stay with the current configuration (21p).

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"Every normal man must be tempted at times to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin to slit throats." - H.L. Mencken

OEM is 23p. Dropping down to a 19p and the top end will greatly suffer along with cruise MPH and GPH. You will have to manually limit the RPM's because if you just go WOT it will over-rev. Unless you're really loaded with weight.

Cruise MPH in an H180 seems to be perfect at around 30mph when I owned one, so with the 4.3GL you'll want 30mph cruise at no more then 3200rpms for best fuel consumption. With a GPS do you know what you're doing now?

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1981 Columbia 8.7
2015 Yamaha FZR - 87mph - sold
2006 Yamaha GP1300R - sold
2003 Chaparral 215 SSI - sold
2009 Stingray 195CS - sold
2000 Four Winns H180 - sold
1976 O'day Daysailer II - sold
Rick's Four Winns H180 Mods/Upgrade Thread

At cruise I'm doing right around 30 (give or take), and that's GPS'd somewhere right around 3000 RPM'S. WOT is 47 (GPS'd again)

I agree, the sweet spot for my boat seems to be between 2800to 3200 RPM's for cruising.

I guess my concern with going with 19p SS is unloading the motor too much and changing the cruise RPM's. If a 21p 3 blade SS will give me the same pull/acceleration/holeshot as a 4 blade 19p would then I may go that route.

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"Every normal man must be tempted at times to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin to slit throats." - H.L. Mencken

Ric - Its not realy an apples to apples comparison though... I am going from a 3 blade 21p aluminum to a 4 blade 19p alumium, so the material stays the same just the number of blades and pitch changes.. you changed material and pitch... at the end of the day, if i can get my boat pop out of the hole quicker and stay on a plane at lower rpms, then I am happy...


and your tire analogy is laughable... you dont need a set of super high performance tires on your daily commuter, you need tires that will handle the job of getting you to and from work safely and comfortably... same with the boat..
you dont need every top end mph possible to tool around the lake in your runabout and have a good time...

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2007 Horizon 200 4.3 GXI, red and love it!!!

BTT for final question:

If I go with the SS prop, do I stay with the 21p?

I've pretty much decided on each prop, I'm just figuring budget now to see of I can afford the SS. If I can, I'ma gonna do it!

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"Every normal man must be tempted at times to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin to slit throats." - H.L. Mencken

I cant answer your queston... however, I just installed my 4 blade 19p, aluminum Solas prop and love it.. didnt lose any on the top end but the mid range is fantastic!! The boat is very repsonsive now...

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2007 Horizon 200 4.3 GXI, red and love it!!!