Mercury Racing Lab Finished
Propellers and Props
Article Written by Capt. Steven Lamp
The world of propellers is, at
best, an inexact science in its most structured areas.
Then lets throw in the different hull designs, weight
factors and needs for these boats that the owners want
out of their investment. Now we really have a mess.
Mercury Racing Lab Finished Propellers offers hope.
I personally have every prop I own for three different
boats and several applications each Lab Finished. For
Speed, Cruise economy, Riding attitude, Heavy load
carrying, ect. In my world, economy and performance are
what helps me win. The economy at the bank when I have
spent 15% less in fuel due to a tuned prop and in
tournaments when guys with more horse power than me are
seeing nothing but a dust trail and my transom. I
personally recommend Lab Finished props to everyone with
boats that run over 50 and some that don't. For the
price, the benefits are great and will be well worth it.
If top speed is your goal, then don't delay, every time
you go to the water and get beat by that guy who is
barely fast than you just think, I need my prop done. In
my opinion Lab finishing is the least expensive way to
add speed to a boat.
Mercury Racing Lab finished propellers (The Lab), offers
the consumer boater the opportunity to get the most of
their prop. Most think of The Lab to be just for racers,
guys who are trying to milk every once of speed out of a
setup that they can and that is true. One can look at
the Mercury Racings record in Marine Performance and see
that they are the best. Now the Lab offers the
recreational consumer boater the same advantage, on most
of the props found in the Mercury and Mercury racing
lineup.
Speed although a highlight, is not the only goal. Tuning
a prop can be done for a variety of things, such as:
- Hole shot
- Midrange Cruise Speeds
- Better Fuel Economy
- Acceleration
- Take out Proposing
- Increase Bow Lift / Stern Lift
Here is a lay persons way of telling how it works and
how to get The Lab to do the best for you.
You have your boat, your power and how you use it in
mind or on a sheet of paper. Now lets see what you would
like to improve on. Is Speed your need? or would you
like to be able to pull a skier out better? How bout
those long range runs you make to get to your fishing
grounds at cruising speeds, maybe save some fuel. Then
there is the boater who wants it all but understands
that he will sacrifice some places to get it. Lab
Finishing is for you.
Here is what you do.
Take your favorite prop or the one that the dealer gives
you with your rig that is the "best" prop for all your
applications. Check with your dealer to make sure the
Mercury stainless prop that you have is able to be
tweaked by the Lab, (Tempest, Trophy, Trophy Plus,
Mirage Plus, Bravo I, Rev Four, High Five, ect...) this
can be done by a simple phone call by your dealer to
Mercury Lab Finished Propellers. Next, go out with a
medium load and get some numbers. A GPS is very helpful
here as most water speedos are inaccurate. The numbers
that you will want are as follows. (This process may
work for Stern drive applications as well however this
process was written and intended for Outboards.)
Time to get on plane from dead stop in seconds.
Good way to judge time on plane is to see when water is
no longer around the boat but under the boat and
leaving.
RPM and flat trim (means no Trim tabs down and 00
degrees trim on motor) Speed increments
3000
3500
4000
4200
4500
5000
WOT
Top Speed with trim and no blow out.
There ya go, now go back to the dealer and tell him what
you are looking for to be improved on the way your boat
performs. He will then relay to the Lab your numbers and
the Lab will tell if finishing will help you gain.
Lab Finishing is not new, just that our boats are
getting faster and faster. Technology has us looking for
the perfect solution. I feel as though if your boat runs
over 50 You need to do it. The ultimate way to have The
Lab help you the most is by having your dealer contact
them before a propeller selection to start with. These
guys really know boats and propellers and will get you
on the right platform to begin with.
Any Questions about Lab Finishing or any other boating
Mods write to me at the following email address. I will
do what I can to get you the right info.
captsteven@me.com
You can also contact my good friend and prop magician
Scott Reichow at 920-924-2034 for further information
regarding Mercury Racing Lab Finished Propellers.
Good luck |
