CONTINUOUSWAVE

I just bought a 1982 Outrage 18 with a 1996 Johnson 150 Ocean Runner engine. The current propeller is made from aluminum. The engine mounting height is all-the-way-down, not one-hole-up as recommended.

I would like to get a Vensura propeller in 17-pitch, but come to find out, they are no longer made.

I might buy a REVOLUTION4 17, but I have read it’s for boats larger than an Outrage 18. I looked at the Laser II 19-pitch, but [some literature indicates] they are only for engine of 135-HP or less.

My boat will be reasonably loaded. with three people and supplies.

The boat will be used on Lake Michigan, and eventually some bluewater when I live down South. I do not need to break the 50-MPH; top speed is of no priority to me.

I want a propeller that lifts up the boat, is good for tight maneuvering, has good bite in choppy and rough water, and will not damage the engine gearcase.

Please help. I have been reading every thread I can, and I seem to be more confused then when I started. Thanks.

Outrage 18 Owners with a Johnson 150hp engine recommend the following propellers:

14-1/4" x 19" OMC SST
Michigan Vortex 19”
Stiletto 14 1/4 X 17 - 3 holes up

Unless noted, these recommendations presume engine is mounted two-holes-up, top bolt in the third hole down from the top.

Size only applies to the specific make and model of propeller listed and is not transferable.

If you want to do testing, contact Ken Reeves at http://www.propgods.com as he will take returns for a small restock fee. He knows Boston Whaler boats and propellers.

I should have mentioned I would like a stainless steel propeller.

The recommended OMC SST propeller is a stainless steel propeller. The "T" was for Teflon coating, which gave the propeller the appearance of being painted black. The "SS" was for stainless steel.

The OMC SST propellers are three-blade propellers with generally good all-round characteristics.

The Mercury REVOLUTION4 series propellers are very large, very heavy, very large blade area propellers. I would not expect a REVOLUTION4 propeller to be workable on a 150-HP OMC engine from the 1990's.

I tested a REVOLUTION4 17-pitch (the lowest pitch available at the time of my test) with a 1992 225-HP OMC engine. The results were not good: too much propeller load from the four large blades and too much CLUNK shifting with a FLO-TORQ II hub due to the heavy weight.

A very good three-blade large-blade-area propeller is the Mercury MIRAGEplus series.

Regarding Ken Reeves at PROPGODS, he is very expert in the field of propellers and sells many different models. On his own boat I believe he uses a MIRAGEplus with a SOLAS RBX rubber hub kit. That is also what I am using on my boat. See

Using SOLAS Rubex Hub with Mercury Propellers
https://continuouswave.com/forum/viewto ... 45&p=38755

I have spent days doing research. Many threads are old, and the recommended propellers are not available anymore.

I have narrowed my propeller choice to an ENERTIA 18 pitch.

[Give your] thoughts [about selecting an ENERTIA 18 pitch for the OMC 150 and OUTRAGE 18].

The Enertia's are really expensive and many sizes are on backorder.

Call Ken (above) or Dave/Doug at Lockeman's or Dan's Discount for a comparable prop to those listed.

http://www.propgods.com
http://www.lockemans.com (they really know Johnson/Evinrudes and whalers
http://www.dansdiscountprops.com

Colaboks wrote:I have narrowed my propeller choice to an ENERTIA 18 pitch.

[Give your] thoughts [about selecting an ENERTIA 18 pitch for the OMC 150 and OUTRAGE 18].

The ENERTIA propeller was developed for extra speed. The principal feature of the ENERTIA is that the boat speed will improve at full throttle because the propeller will be turned 200-RPM faster than other propellers of the same pitch rating. How this is achieved is not explained, except that the propeller material is some form of Unobtainium™, and the propeller blades are made very thin. The thin blades are probably the biggest influence on the improved boat speed. The Unobtainium™ metal is said to be sufficiently strong to be workable with the thinner blades, and it also is said to flex. This is a conundrum because usually flexing propeller blades are considered a deficit not an asset.

Perhaps the real attribute of the ENERTIA is that the propeller is sold in pitch increments of only 1-inch. This may be the real key to getting the extra 200-RPM out of the engine and a boost in top boat speed: the propeller pitch can be selected to put the full-throttle engine speed right into the perfect range for optimum power output, where a 2-inch pitch change might overshoot or undershoot the desired engine speed at maximum throttle. And the ENERTIA was developed in the early days of the VERADO and other four-stroke-power-cycle engines which generally need to be able to accelerate to the very top of their allowed engine speed range to produce maximum power. A c.1996 OMC two-stroke engine most likely will actually produce its peak power output below the maximum allowed engine speed by several hundred RPM.

Also, you remarked initially:

Colaboks wrote:I do not need to break the 50-MPH; top speed is of no priority to me.

In the context of that statement , an ENERTIA seems to conflict with your stated goals.

As PHIL T notes, the price tag on the ENERTIA propellers is probably about double many other choices. There are many used OMC SST 17 propellers around that would cost about $150 if in very good to excellent condition.

Now, all that said, I would sea trial and test an ENERTIA on my engine if I did not have to buy a $700 propeller and have no option to return it for full refund if the test was not impressive. I would like to test the ENERTIA just to see what outcome would occur. (And I would also like to test the totally different ENERTIA ECO propeller, which was developed specifically to boost fuel economy with the supercharged VERADO engines, but that is another story and another thread.)

Here is a comment about the ENERTIA posted in December 2005 by a fellow who worked in the propeller division of Mercury Marine, right after the ENERTIA was announced:

I happen to work in the propeller division at Mercury Marine. I would like to try and answer some of the topics brought up here regarding the new ENERTIA propellers.

• The suggested retail price for the ENERTIA will be $646.
• The new X7 alloy is 30% stronger and four-times more durable. This allows us to cast the propeller with thinner blades. Thinner blades means less resistance, less resistance means greater performance--without sacrificing durability.
• We are a member of the National Marine Propeller Association, and we have sent several of our early prototype X7 ENERTIA propellers to various members to perform welding tests and various types of repairs. The response we received was that they are not that much different to work with than conventional stainless propellers. Thus I would guess that any type of repairs that you might need would be relative to what you might pay currently for a conventional stainless propeller repair.
• These propellers have been tested and still are being tested on a variety of applications and conditions, which is part of the reason the propellers will not be available until the second quarter.
• The HP claims are based upon the fact that we gained 2-MPH top end speed during our testing. If you compare that increase in speed to HP it results in 17 HP gain.
• The testing results that you see in a lot of the Enertia promotional material are using a MIRAGE propeller as a baseline.
• We have found that the ENERTIA propellers tend to turn another 200 to 300 RPM pitch-for-pitch which should prove to be beneficial on the newer higher-horsepower four-stroke engines.
• Additionally we are offering the propellers in 1-inch pitch increments to help dial in the appropriate WOT range of the a lot of the higher horsepower four -stroke outboards.

Those comments solicited several follow-on questions, but the contributor did not respond in the forum nor did he respond to direct email inquiries.

To see some test reports of using an ENERTIA propeller you can read

ENERTIA Propeller Results
https://continuouswave.com/ubb/Forum4/HTML/005046.html

The first-hand reported outcomes are quite mixed in their enthusiasm for the ENERTIA. This is surprising on just the basis of human nature: if you spend $700 on something that is supposed to improve performance, there is a tendency to find something that was improved.

Is the OMC SST prop still available from BRP? But under a different name (viper)?

Seems the OMC SST prop is the often recommended.

Ask Lockeman's.

They will definitely know.

I don't know the exact status of BRP propeller manufacturing. They halted production of all outboard engines in May 2020. Whether or not they are still making propellers is not clear to me. I don't think that BRP actually made their own propellers. I think they had them made by SOLAS.

There are thousands of OMC SST propellers out there and available as used propellers for a fraction of the $700 cost of a new ENERTIA.

Moving to any decent three-blade steel propeller will likely result in improved performance compared to an aluminum three-blade propeller on your rig.