Testing New ACME 5 Blade Prop

[houstonshark]

I've tested a couple props so far and I think we have determined that a larger 14.5" prop just doesn't work that well on my boat. We are not sure why but the 1235 just didn't do much for my boat other than raise my fuel bill!

We were surprised at how well the stock 1631 prop performed once we put it back on after having the 1235 for a month or two. ACME thinks it may have been a hull clearance issue as the 1235 was only about 3/8" - 1/2" away from the hull.

I tested another 14.5" prop, a 5 blade 2245 M39 which actually got the boat out of the hole a little better than the 1235 (almost 2 seconds faster) but did not hold speed very well. I only ran the 2245 for a day as it was closer to 1/4" from the hull. The RPM's were much lower on the 2245 as was the fuel consumption but it was just too close to the hull.

We've been waiting for a couple weeks for them to finish up a new 5 blade, the 2407 (13.50 X 14.50 VL5B 1.125 .060). I just received it today and can't wait to put it on tomorrow for when we go out on Sunday (barring a complete rainout). I'll report back on Monday.

[Timmy!]

That's cool that you are able to work directly with them like this. Good luck!

[racerdave]

I am excited to hear this review

[skippabcool]

I was going to ask if you and wicked have a special hook up or are they willing to send out test product to anyone?

[lancehon]

My buddy's been working with acme on a five blade for his centurion. So far not so good, but they are still trying

[duffymahoney]

My acme 5 blade is the best thing I have done to my boat this year. I can surf with 3k in ballast and still be below 3k rpms.

[Wakeman22]

Will be interested in more reviews on these.

[houstonshark]

I was going to ask if you and wicked have a special hook up or are they willing to send out test product to anyone?

I wouldn't say I have any sort of special deal, but maybe just a good relationship. Jim and Todd at ACME have been great and are always very helpful and informative. They have a 30 day money back guarantee and they completely understand that there's no 'one size fits all' when it comes to props and what the customer is wanting to achieve. If you want to return the prop to try out a different model, all you are out is the shipping.

Unfortunately, we haven't found anything that's really stood out or been a huge improvement. I'm hopeful that this is the prop.

[houstonshark]

Well, it's on and ready but an 80% chance of rain for tomorrow doesn't look promising.

[houstonshark]

Well, I wasn't able to really get much testing in yesterday as we discovered that we have a bent prop shaft. We still used the boat but had a bad vibration from about 10-15mph when running any rear ballast. It didn't seem as bad with no weight in the rear but was still there so we took it easy.

The prop seemed to do fine but it wasn't real aggressive out of the hole. It was pretty consistent though. It seemed to pull the same with no weight as it did with 50% rear ballast (I always run the front full when boarding).

It's going in the shop tomorrow. Any suggestions?

[skippabcool]

I may have missed it but do you know how you bent the shaft? Can you see it or just have the vibration?

Hopefully you get fixed quick and your back in boating soon.

[houstonshark]

I may have missed it but do you know how you bent the shaft? Can you see it or just have the vibration?

Hopefully you get fixed quick and your back in boating soon.

No clue actually. We bent the stock prop early on in the season but never had a vibration with new props. I put the stock, repaired prop back on a couple trips ago and noticed an occasional vibration when pulling a rider up if the boat wasn't pulling straight ahead. For the most part though it was smooth. I just thought it may be the repaired prop.

The boat was at the dealer for service and they noticed that the shaft was out of alignment. I put the new prop on and right away we had the vibration.

[IDBoating]

Please report back. From what you're describing I'm not sure it's the shaft. Sounds like you had several things changing back there.

[houstonshark]

What sucks is that the water was as close to perfect all day as I've ever seen. Because of the high chance of rain, the river was nearly empty. We only saw maybe 5-6 other boats.

The water did get a little rough at one point so we stopped and waited it out. Seriously, this was as bad as it got all day!

[IDBoating]

Wow. Are you sure the vibration you felt wasn't from all that rough water? Maybe your propshaft is just fine and you need to wait for BETTER CONDITIONS!