Pitch Perfect: New Performance Prop Options for Outboards
Mercury Racing is expanding pitch options for outboard engine fans.
December 30, 2014
Visitors to the Miami International Boat Show can always count on new-product debuts from Mercury Racing, but the Fond Du Lac, Wis., high-performance marine engine and propeller company tends to play those introductions close to the vest until the show opens. However, the company has revealed that it will unveil several half-inch pitch increment Bravo I XS four-blade outboard propellers at the upcoming 2015 Miami event in February.
New-product debuts are standard fare for Mercury Racing during the Miami Boat Show, but the company rarely tips its hand before the show opens. Photo by Jay Nichols/Naples Image.
According to Scott Reichow, Mercury Racing’s performance propeller manager, the company will display 23-1/2-, 25-1/2-, 27-1/2- 29-1/2- and 31-1/2-inch pitch Bravo I XS stainless steel wheels at its booth in the Miami Convention Center. Reichow added that although the props will be officially "unveiled" when the show opens, they already have been validated and tested, and can be ordered today.
"The new half-pitch Bravo I XS enables owners to fine-tune their smaller performance-oriented center-consoles and bass boats," said Reichow. "For example, we've run across situations where 29-inch pitch wasn't quite enough and 30-inch pitch was too much. The new 29-1/2-inch pitch Bravo I XS would be the perfect solution for that particular boat. And, for some applications, the half-inch pitch will offer additional bow lift for enhanced efficiency and top speed. We're really excited about this latest addition to our popular Bravo I XS propeller family."
Reichow said demand for new Mercury Racing propellers, including CNC five- and six- blade stern-drive cleavers, the Bravo I FS, XS, OC, and XC families, as well as Maximus and Pro Max models is still strong. That demand forced the company to discontinue its customization and repair services for in-field propellers earlier this year, he said, and the company still offers those customization services in-house for new propellers.
"We continue to be extremely busy—even as we enter the "off-season," said Reichow. "In fact, demand has been so strong that we've added propeller technicians this year with plans to add even more in 2015."
Reichow emphasized that customers with existing propellers still have a Mercury Racing-approved option for tuning their props, as well as repairing damage to them.
"We certainly haven't 'abandoned' our customers who prefer to customize or repair their existing props," said Reichow. "Frank & Jimmies Propeller Repair Center, based in Florida, is the only authorized Mercury Propeller Dealer focused on repairing and customizing Mercury Racing propellers. They've been in the prop repair business for a number of years—and Mercury Marine has been associated with them since 1992—with two locations in the U.S. as well as numerous locations in the Caribbean."
