I am not a fan of gimmicks. When a snake oil salesman comes my way, I go the other. When I was presented this propellers idea I was less than enthused. 10% fuel savings? really? Thats what they told me. I actually took on this project to run it on my boats just to quietly expose the myth that I thought I was dealing with. My thought was, if this idea is so great, why are we just hearing about it?
Mercury Marine is without a single doubt the best of the best when it comes to Props and propeller designs across the board for all marine outboard and stern drive applications. With over 20 different designs currently sold in their stable one would think, another prop? In my career I have had the incredible opportunity to learn from names like the late Dennis Cavenaugh and Scott Reicho also to be a part in development of some of the props we all use today for fishing, boating, and hauling ass on the water. So when Mercury presented this prop to me, I was like Ok, lets test it. Maybe there is something there. But 10%, really? thats allot and if its true, this thing will be on everyones boat.
The first application and the application we will study for the sake of this article – I ran this prop on was a Yellowfin 24 Bay Boat with a tower and 300 Verado Pro. When I cracked it out of the box I was thinking, my GOD this thing is Ginormous. The diameter was HUGE, over 16 inches, where normally I was running a 15″ and change diameter blade. I had doubts it would even fit under my cavitation plate and spin. The weight of the Enertia ECO prop was not what it should be for all the blade surface and the sheer size of this beast and what I was used to. It was pretty light, I am impressed with how light it was, lowering the centrifugal mass that the Verado has to turn before even any water has moved. Thats a big help in hole shot and all round performance. But its SOO big.. The proof would be in the testing.
Previous to trying this prop my Yellowfin 24 bay boat ran really well with a chopped tube, balanced and trimmed 4 blade Rev 4 that was lab finished by Mercury Racing on a 4.77 gear case and 1.75 stock ratio. I was pulling what I thought was pretty good numbers off that Rev 4.
Yellowfin 24 Mercury Pro Verado 300 with a Tower.
Three persons loaded to fish with 30% fuel and full bait well.
21″ Rev 4 Lab Tuned.
Best Cruise speed 41 mph @ 4000 Rpm 3.6 MPG
Best Top End speed 62 mph @ 6000 RPM 2.0 MPG
21″ Enertia Eco
Best Cruise speed 40 mph @ 3750 Rpm 4.2 MPG
Best Top End speed 63.5 mph @ 6000 RPM 2.13 MPG
The characteristics of this prop on this boat are pretty cool.
Hole Shot
I figured that the hole shot would suffer from the large diameter and monster blade surface. Nope, came out of the hole nice and steady, super smooth and no ventilation. I will say though that when I put an additional person on board or carry more fuel that the prop does make the boat a little (very little) sluggish on the hole shot. Nothing terrible but a little slower. This I combat with 2″ of lift on the jack and wham back to the drag races. Oh and a note: The larger diameter creates a little bit of a low pressure at the tops of the blades pulling some surface air making an exhaust note chamber. Super cool it makes the 300 Pro Verado sound like a mello old school V-8 as it comes up on a plane – I love it.
Handeling
I always think this should be a consideration when looking for the All In Wonder Propeller. The handling and feel that this prop provides in and around the dock is amazing. For single engine applications where it can count the most the larger blade surface coupled with the larger diameter seems to have a more immediate effect on the maneuverability of the several boats I have tried this prop on.
Trim Capacity
On my Yellowfin 24 the trim capability of this prop is a HUGE consideration. Its like having your own elevator on the bow of the boat. Hit the trim and due to the larger diameter and blade surface it carries the bow like the Mail dropping my drag coefficient like a bad habit and increasing my speed without a throttle advance. Therefore improving efficiency.
Rough Water Handling..
I truly love this propeller for rough water on my Yellowfin 24 powered by the Mercury 300 Verado Pro. Absolutely amazing. Different propellers respond in different ways across the spectrum when it comes to changing how the water hits the blades of the prop. On this boat the Rev 4 does a fine job staying hooked up through the rough seas
and encountering ventilation BUT.. when it gets truly sloppy and speed is not the fix to improve ride comfort this prop does the trick by being able to utilize the low end torque that is available in my Mercury Verado 300 Pro and go slow and still stay on a plane. I am able to drop back to 19 mph and stay on top with the Eco Prop versus the 24 – 26 mph needed with the Rev 4. Now thats HUGE.. Due to the larger blade surface and increased diameter this prop holds me up and allows me to slug my way home without beating my anglers to death.
Magic Prop?
In this industry I do whatever I can to avoid gimmicks as I mentioned. This prop is the real deal and will make many boaters happier. I am not saying its faster in all the applications I have run it but it certainly allows me to milk even more mileage out of my rigs per gallon of fuel burned. That alone is enough but add all the other stuff – Yup Magic…..
I have added several more Enertia Eco propellers to my fleet and had some profound results. By the end of this spring every one of my boats will be running them. 1/5/15
Capt. Steven Lamp
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