HPBCANADA.COM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdsi1bARVZc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wU2zON-6xsE

These are two excellent actual RACE videos because of the charts displayed in the bottom of the screen. One shows the speed and the other shows the location of the boat on the race course. The videos also show the competition.

If you had the same video for your boat, it will tell you everything you need to know about you're boat's set up THAT DAY and how it performed and how well you drove.. Lake testing will help you with prop selection based on speed and obtainable rpm with each prop.


QUESTION:
- What did you notice in the videos and could a prop change improve the boats performance?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMTWENDTv8s

Yes, the top end speed was very good, but the acceleration was average at best. I would give up some top end for better acceleration.

Agreed! Especially for when it's time for a shorter course

I will do the top one first.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdsi1bARVZc

Here is what I see:
Jake gets a great start, he is first into the first turn with the second place boat on his outside.
On every turn his entrance speed is approximately 40 mph and his exit speed is 50 mph.
The boat is fast thru the turns.
Jake is able to keep the second place boat at bay and is in control of the race.
He is close to equal in acceleration and top end with the second place boat.
The only way the second place boat can win is a driving error by Jake or he runs deeper into the turn
and cuts behind Jake to get the inside lane.
The boat is topping out speed wise at 55-56 mph about half way down the straight.
Is the boat at peak RPM 7100 to 7300?
If so the boat can turn a little more pitch. It should be able to keep the same acceleration and add a mile or two on the
straight.
The boat appears to be in the late walking stage on the straights. It is just about to fly. That is good. It just needs a bit more speed
to get out of it. There is more speed in this boat!
I would do 3 things...one at a time
[1] try a prop with more pitch to see if it will pick up 2 mph.
[2] move the driver position back 6 inches
[3] add one more inch of setback.
I think this is a 59 to 60 mph combo.

Here is the second one....This is only my opinion.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wU2zON-6xsE

Jake gets a poor start. He is mid pack at best.
The boat is great in the turns with an exit speed of 60 mph and he is passing boats in the turns.
He only gets the first back straight with ANY good water.
The boat runs up to 75 mph on that straight. It is pulling all the way!
After the second lap the race is a wash for him because of the rough water.
He cannot stay in the throttle to get the speed. The other good boats around him have the same problem.
The boat is running super.
Had Jake got a good start and been top 3 into the first turn.
He would have had a good chance of winning.
Would I change anything? NO!
I would get more race time- seat time with this set up and practice my starts.

In the second video
the boat seems to have good top end in the clean water.
But had a much harder time in the rough and dirty water as the race went on.
I don't no the prop he was running there but a bigger diameter could help with the hold on the water.

Good point. Todd, Thom and I all like more diameter in our props. Jeff Titus even with his Texas cut narrow tip blades prefers a smaller blade of 12 inches or less on a T boat. Both have worked well on the nitro and SST60 lower units. Jake currently is the only one having good success with a 12 X 22 thru hub Mercury on a nitro case. I put the youtube prop video in the first post because it points out how props from the same casting, made exactly to the same specs by the same prop guy in the same time period can and do perform different. Add to that the FACT that the same prop will perform differently on every boat. A prop that is golden on one boat can be average on another boat even if the boats are the same. The prop is KEY in improving your boats performance. There is 3 to 4 mph in props. You cannot make up that difference in the powerhead.

SUGGESTIONS:
[1] NEVER spend big money on a prop without testing it. Best is in a race.
[2] try to have 3 props. #1 is the best. You never alter #1 you work on 2 and 3 to make them better than #1. Never alter number 1 until it is your number 2 or 3 prop.
[3] props can be altered up and down 2 inches in pitch. If you need a 22 pitch. Buy a 22 and alter it if necessary.
[4] if you buy a small prop you cannot weld it bigger....size does matter, If you buy a prop to rework, buy bigger diameter than you think you will need and one with good blade thickness.
[5] count on spending hundreds of dollars in rework costs. Make sure you tell the prop guy what the boat is doing. The prop you
get back is only as good as the information you gave him. Sometimes you go backwards in a rework. It is a learning lesson.
[6] Try every prop you can. The pitch on the prop can be wrong. A prop that did not work on one boat could work on your boat.

The T racers all know that it is the DIRTY WATER [rough water] after lap two that is the main reason why T boats cannot improve their position in the heat without driver error[s] by the drivers ahead of them. How can you make the rough water an advantage for you over the competition? You will not always get a top 3 start if there are 8 to 10 boats in the heat? In T850 most of the boats can run 72 mph plus in good water, but only 66 to 69 mph in dirty water. What can you do to run 70 to 72 in the dirty water? It does require a different driving style and one that needs to be practiced. The prop is most important in this style of rough water driving.
WHAT DO YOU DO?

Would love to here some tips from some seasoned drives!

LC and Jesse are getting close with their T750 boat. Rusty in T850 had the style but not the correct set up. Let's see if we get some more posts.