New MV 34 owners

[welby]

Hello all, my wife Larisa and I just purchased hull #13 (I think) and are currently getting it ready for spring as it sits on the hard in Kent Narrows, MD!

So, you know, GULP!

We're new to powerboats that are as large as our new baby, but we're really looking forward to exploring with her! There's a pretty lengthy list of things left to do, and we're doing a mix of yard work/DIY to be sea ready by spring. The boat is the realization of nearly 20 years of planning and saving and we hope that we'll wind up living aboard for several years after we both retire. For now, we need to learn the boat, the maintenance, and the lifestyle. I've been ghosting the forums for a long while now - PDQ has been one of our "we'll probably end up on that kind of boat" boats for so long neither of us are still sure we're not dreaming! Happy to be here, hope to make some friends and hope we don't annoy you with too many questions!

First question: One of the immediate needs will be different props - the previous owner replaced the originals, but not with the same thing they were manufactured with. The result was a heavy engine load, slower speeds, and an inability to get the boat to hit anything close to WOT during the sea trail. I've read the 4 blade prop thread(s) and wonder if any of you out there 1.) Have 4 bladers and 2.) Found them worth the investment. We could probably get the current props reconditioned so that they perform better, but our preference is just to go with something that others have found to be tried and true. Thoughts?

I notice that folks tend to sign off with details, so here are ours:

Welby
PDQ34 "Traveler" (for now)
75hp, 3 blade
Kent Narrows MD

[duetto]

heh welby,

welcome aboard!

first, we too have 3 blade 75's and like you when we got our boat it was way over-propped. i dug thru my records and they are now 16x14. we've had them like that for 18 years (4000 hrs). we run at 3350 rpms and that gives us 13.5 knots.

as far as 4 blades vs 3. if you search this forum you'll find lots of discussion over the years but i don't recall any really compelling argument for 4 blades. my advice would be to bring your data (current speed and max rpms at full throttle and your current dia & pitch) to your prop shop and let them see if they can get your current props to where you need to be.

good luck and let us know what you decide and the results.

[PDQfan]

Welcome to the family!

When we purchased ours the surveyor noted that we couldn't achieve max RPMs. Upon haul out he discovered that the props were 3 blade 17x17 which were over pitched. There's only so much a shop can do to correct the pitch so we invested in new 4 blade, 17x13 props. We were then able to hit max RPMs. We are happy with the new props.
The power is nice and smooth though admittedly we had limited experience with the old ones for comparison.

[Don & Robbin]

Congrats on your new boat. We are headed to the Chesapeake in April. Maybe we will see you somewhere. We originally had 75 HP with 16x13 4 blade props and could not reach max RPM's. Repitched stbd to 11 1/2 and port to 11 ( due to reversing gear ). Our mechanic is adamant about not overloading the motors. They are much happier running a bit faster with lighter loads. The change increased our RPM's by 200. Our displacement speed was around 7.5 at 2200, and 13-14 at 3300. Our tachs were inaccurate at higher RPM's so the 3300 is questionable. Cats do not like weight so try to keep the boat light. It makes a big difference.
Don & Robbin
Ripple, hull 39
pdq039@gmail.com

[welby]

Thanks for the replies/advice all! Duetto - I'll take what data we have to the prop shop and see what they say. Unfortunately the previous owner didn't keep much in the way of data at all, so what we've got is what we collected during the sea trial. We're still laughing that we bought the boat just in time to store it! PDQFan we're taking a hard look at the 4 blade props; people seemed adamant that they help with noise a bit and give better bite when docking/maneuvering tight - I'll post when we decide on a course. D&R - thanks much for the weight and pitching advice - lots to learn as we bring ourselves aboard the new adventure!

More questions to come!

[gallf1]

Congratulations!
We just bought our 2006 Hull #82 last September and brought "Sea Gypsy" (formerly "Elizabeth Marie") down to Palm Coast,FL from Norfolk, VA.

I noticed that the 75hp motors were only getting up to 3600 rpm at WOT with a lightly loaded and clean bottom. Once home I started working on projects (New Isotherm Fridge, 400w of Solar and all new Garmin Nav systems) and finally got around to the props which were the original 16 x 14 three blade.

My years of boating experience told me that I needed to take one inch of pitch off to achieve the WOT spec of 3800 rpm. The prop shop I used looked at all my run data (hull weight, hull type, engine hp and transmission ratio) and came up with a one inch pitch reduction to 16 x 13 so it confirmed what I thought.

New pitch of 16 x 13 has me reaching 3800 rpm at WOT with a almost full cruising load of fuel and water with a somewhat clean bottom so I am happy with that.....the engine are less loaded and will run a little cooler too. Boat is more responsive now also.

Data after pitch reduction:
2400 rpm 8.7knots
2800 rpm 9.65 knots
3000 rpm 10.4 knots
3200 rpm 11.9 knots
3400 rpm 14.4 knots
3600 rpm 15.6 knots
3800 rpm 16.5 knots
Data was from running in the ICW against a 2knot? current, speed from Garmin 943XSV unit. Engine temps from IR gun was 168F even at WOT.
We like to cruise at 3000rpm which is pretty close to the recommended 80% of WOT so our cruise speed is 10.4 knots +

Best of luck
Felix

[rlys]

Welcome to the PDQ Family! If you would like to be kept "in the loop" for PDQ info regarding rendezvous, flotillas, maintenance updates etc., please send me your contact information and I'll add you to the owners database. Rhumb Line is proud to have kept the brand alive and the family together. We look forward to meeting you in the future.

Beth Simkins
Rhumb Line Yacht Sales
beth@rhumblineyachtsales.com