E-tec 60 hp - anything I should know?

[Minnesota Fats]

I just bought a 2006 E-tec 60 hp tiller - anybody out there have any experience with them? Anything I should know? Any recalls or service bulletins?

Also - it is hanging on a Lund Alaskan 1600. Anybody have any experience with propeller selection on this setup?

Thanks!

[marine_man]

Congrats on the purchase.

Everything I've heard on them has been positive, should be a good rig.

What does it have for a prop on it now? I would guess somewhere around a 15, but that's a pretty long shot in the dark without much information.

marine_man

[Minnesota Fats]

I should clarify - its a new rig (holdover motor), so it hasn't been propped yet. The dealer wants to put a 15" aluminum prop on it to start, but he doesn't have any direct comparisions because this boat is usually packaged with a Merc. I'm fine with starting there, but if anyone has experience maybe I can avoid a lot of prop experiments before I get it right

[Minnesota Fats]

Sounds like BRP recommended a 15"-17" prop. I think I'll start at 15" and see how that goes.

[marine_man]

You're dealer is going to get your the right prop, correct? Or are you stuck with the one you pick?

If that's the case then ask them to water test it prior to you taking delivery of it to verify the RPM is toward the upper end of the limit (5500 - 6000).

Hopefully they'll get you setup right.. pretty lousy if they don't end up with the right prop on your rig.

marine_man

[Minnesota Fats]

Yes he's going to let me exchange props until it is right, but I'm trying to avoid having to change props and go back and forth to the dealer a bunch of times if I can. I think 15" is probably a good starting point. If I can get 6000 rpms trimmed out with no load in the boat, I'll probably go back and exchange the aluminum 15" with a 15" stainless and be good to go.

[marine_man]

Acutally, the aluminum to stainless isn't a pitch for pitch swap typically...

You ususally back off 1 or 2 inches of pitch on a stainless due to the blades not flexing as much as the aluminum blades do.

Good luck with your new rig!

marine_man

[delcecchi]

I think that stuff about flexing is a myth.

Bass and Walleye boats has done prop comparisons and seen little difference until getting into the ultra High Performance applications. Check their HSOforum for more information.

[marine_man]

Ok, I'll buy that, but you still typically back off 1-2 pitches when switching to stainless steel...

marine_man

[680T]

So if flexing is a myth?What gets you better performace out of using a SS prop?I'm a river guy and never ran a SS prop due to the price...just wondering?

[marine_man]

Typically with stainless steel props they are able (due to the material I presume) they are able to cup the prop better, and are able to fine tune the prop to be the best of both worlds - good hole shot & improved top end speed.

The other benefit is wear - they don't pit like aluminum does, there's no paint to get sandblasted and it takes more to put a ding in them - the flip side of the ding benefit is that if you hit something solid you're more likely to inflict more damage into the lower unit than aluminum

marine_man

[delcecchi]

I think that SS props used to be more cupped than aluminum. I think that means the pitch varies on the blade from the hub to the tip of the blade.

And stainless doesn't ding as easily if you fish rocky areas.

There are two prop articles under "performance" but the one with both aluminum and ss is not there. It must be too old.

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[PerchJerker]

I don't totally rule out the flexing issue with aluminum props, although I agree that it gets overblown.

The big benefit of stainless over aluminum comes from the inherent strength in the steel, which allows prop builders almost unlimited flexibility in blade size, blade shape, rake, cup, number of blades, etc. Aluminum just wouldn't hold up in many of the steel configurations (maybe then flexing would be much more of an issue). To put it another way, with stainless you have many more options available (due to its strength) to find the "perfect" prop for your boat.

I also agree that you need to get into bigger motors to notice the benefits of stainless ---- something like a 90 or 115 at the minimum. I think the only benefit to going stainless with a 60 hp is that it might slow down your trolling speed, due to less pitch and a heavier prop.

[Minnesota Fats]

Thanks for the info

[680T]

Well I remembered to look at the prop this weekend.I put a 60hp e-tec on my 1990 680T in 2006.I don't have a tach on this boat.With the new motor and the prop size suggested I had an awesome hole shot but lost top end.I don't remember the original prop size.After running the boat on the river with a lap top hooked up the shop ended up putting a 13.25x17 on.Runs fine now.They did say I should add the system check with a tach.Maybe when the prez sends out the economic jump start checks I'll look into a tach.

[Minnesota Fats]

A 680T is a Ranger, correct? So it's glass - any idea on weight? How long is it?

I got a tach - I passed on the speedo but wanted to know my rpms.

Thanks for the info!

[680T]

Mn Fats,

Yes,Ranger and glass.I think the hull weight is 1050lbs.A little over 16.5'length.The shop I bought the engine from didn't seem to push a tach.Several people I talked to since recommend one.With me and gear I see 31 plus on the gps speedo.I've seen other posts and that speed seems to be close give or take a little.

[Minnesota Fats]

Mine is about the same length but a little lighter - does your boat have a shallow draft or is it a deeper v? If you are pushing that boat with a 17 pitch, i wonder if I'm too short with a 15 pitch.

[680T]

The 680 would have more v than an Alaskan I would think.I see the 90'model 680T is 800lbs not 1050.Have you tried doing a search here or on some other sites.I've seen more info on this.If the shop will let you try several props that would be a learning experience on what does what.Good luck.Let us know how it turns out...