# Best powertech prop for Maverick HPXT



## PatrickO (Jul 18, 2016)

2003 Mav HPXT WITHOUT jack plate. I jump out of the hole with the trim on about 3.5-4

Yes I know a foreman prop is best, but I'm not spending $600-700 on a prop

Thanks in advance!


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## PatrickO (Jul 18, 2016)

forgot to mention motor... 2003 70hp Yamaha 2-stroke


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## Capnredfish (Feb 1, 2012)

You might add what you expect the best prop to do. None do it all.


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## PatrickO (Jul 18, 2016)

yeah I guess its a loaded question... I don't know a thing about props which is why im asking. I guess I want a good balance between hole shot and speed. My current prop has no cup and the blades are getting thin (but I can get 36-37 MPH WOT at 5500 rpms). Ive never driven my boat with a "properly" suited prop.


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## Capnredfish (Feb 1, 2012)

I’m willing to bet PT would have a good recommendation. I can’t since I’ve never run your Hull. Chances are they have sold many for that boat. They would just want all the metrics you can provide. The more info the better


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## PatrickO (Jul 18, 2016)

ill give them a shout, thanks


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## SomaliPirate (Feb 5, 2016)

I'd call Ken at Propgods, tell him what you have and what you want out of the skiff. I'm pretty happy with the prop he sent me.


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## Matts (Sep 2, 2015)

For the record, I only payed 550 plus shipping for my Foreman prop. I have that and a PT prop with less cup.


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## Tilly_Copano (Feb 12, 2017)

If your in Texas bite the bullet and put a jackplate, cav plate and a Foreman prop on. I have the same year HPX-T and ran it for a year without a jackplate/cav plate and it's a game changer. I have a crazy mike prop but it's on par with Foremans and I would never go back to running without this set up.


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## Smackdaddy53 (Dec 31, 2012)

An HPX-T without a jackplate is like a 4x4 with street tires. 
When you buy a PowerTech prop you’re buying a Foreman because he designed most if their shallow props. True story.


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## BudT (Jun 29, 2018)

Not sure where your at, but if you can find a good prop shop locally that is my suggestion, this way you can get face to face with someone and hopefully they can help you get what you want out of it. Setting up a boat / prop for optimal performance is not black magic. For many it has required hours of trial and error and on the water testing. For some they have been able to duplicate and benefit from what others have found success with. One thing to keep in mind, optimal to me may not be optimal to you. I have spoken with Jack and Ken both and I can tell you they both know their business and are super nice guys that like talking boats.

I am personally in the process of setting up a new boat, to my knowledge it will be the first to run a short shaft motor on this hull. I did a ton of research, found a guy who was willing to share his experiences, has a reputation for making small boats perform optimally, has extensive experience with the outboard I will run, and the credentials to back it all up. I will drive 30 miles past two good prop shops to get to the best guy I could find in my area. I say all this to say what is good enough for one guy may not be the solution for the next. Also I draw on several years of experience (30 years ago) of running duck boats with outboards in very shallow water. I may not be a prop guy, but I know what I want one to do.


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## RJTaylor (Oct 4, 2017)

They're going to tell you to run a 4 blade, most likely the SWW4.

Foreman wants 695.00 now, and acted like I'd never run a boat when I talked to him. Power Tech got my money.


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## TheAdamsProject (Oct 29, 2007)

Call Marcus at PT he will get you squared away. I have a brand new Foreman wrapped in a towel collecting dust but it is for my Tohatsu 50 4stroke.


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## Smackdaddy53 (Dec 31, 2012)

RJTaylor said:


> They're going to tell you to run a 4 blade, most likely the SWW4.
> 
> Foreman wants 695.00 now, and acted like I'd never run a boat when I talked to him. Power Tech got my money.


If you want the best shallow water prop it’s not coming off a shelf. Jack knows his shit. Don’t bash him on this forum.
A 4 blade is a POS on a Maverick HPX Tunnel, it’s just the “go to” prop people sell when someone asks for a shallow skiff prop. A cupped 3 blade will outperform a 4 blade in every way on this hull and motor.


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## Matts (Sep 2, 2015)

Jack has great service as well. Just call him and in a few weeks, prop will be shipped to your door. 
Best,
Matt


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## RJTaylor (Oct 4, 2017)

Smackdaddy53 said:


> If you want the best shallow water prop it’s not coming off a shelf. Jack knows his shit. Don’t bash him on this forum.
> A 4 blade is a POS on a Maverick HPX Tunnel, it’s just the “go to” prop people sell when someone asks for a shallow skiff prop. A cupped 3 blade will outperform a 4 blade in every way on this hull and motor.


How is stating he talked to me like I don't know how to run a boat bashing him? I didn't criticize his work, or say anything derogatory.

PT will recommend a 4 blade if you aren't running a jack plate. They recommended a 3 blade heavy cup on mine, because I have a jack plate.


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## Smackdaddy53 (Dec 31, 2012)

RJTaylor said:


> How is stating he talked to me like I don't know how to run a boat bashing him? I didn't criticize his work, or say anything derogatory.
> 
> PT will recommend a 4 blade if you aren't running a jack plate. They recommended a 3 blade heavy cup on mine, because I have a jack plate.


I know Jack personally and the only reason I ever heard him talk to someone like that is because instead of letting him know how they want their boat to perform they tell him how to do his job. I hang at his shop and hear how he talks to his customers. Nothing pisses him off more than a guy that tells him what prop he needs instead of asking. He is THE shallow water prop man on the Gulf Coast. He’s in his mid 60’s and has been running skinny water longer than most of us and our fathers. If you second guess his expertise he will talk to you like a misbehaving grandchild, if you respect him and what he does you will get the best prop for your rig and some of the best boat driving advice out there.
His custom props are $695 because they are twice the prop a shelf prop will ever be. The blades on mine are about twice as thick as those cheesedick shelf props that everyone thinks are so great because they are about $300. If you can cut cheese with your prop it’s going to need to be reworked in no time due to cavitation erosion and every day running. Mine looks like the day I bought it and I run the hell out of it. There’s a reason good boat builders use Jack’s props and why main stream builders buy shelf props and don’t recommend taller transoms to offset the depth of a tunnel and build boat with tunnels and rig them without a jack plate because the only time they ever ran a boat in 6” of water they ended up pushing it out because they dug a trench and shut down.

Here’s a shallow water prop with about 250 hours on it rigged right. 34 plus mph, jumps on plane in half a boat length and runs with the hull bumping bottom all day. Notice my transducer is flipped up, it stays like that right now because it hangs down too low. I’m about to remove it.


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## Capnredfish (Feb 1, 2012)

I too have a foreman modified PT prop that Beavertail had him do when I bought it. At least that is what I’m told. Modifications were noticeable however. He did develop a 3 blade for my skiff, but it’s hard to spend that kind of money when mine performs well.


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## txredfly (Sep 10, 2015)

The hpxt doesnt need a jackplate. Just mount the cav plate even or slightly higher than the top of the tunnel. with the 70 2 stroke with the big lower unit my friends hpxt runs an nrs3 here in texas with exceptional performance. Squeege the bottom dry getting up performance without a compression or jack plate. Also surprisingly fast top end. If small lower unit (13 spline) would look at the swc4. I run that on my 17.8 tunnel.


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## Bruce J (Mar 4, 2018)

I've fished with a couple guys, Chuck Scates and Eric Glass, who could get a stock Mav HPXT up in a puddle with no jack-plate, no compression plate, and probably any prop you could bolt on there. But those guys are absolute magicians with that boat and the rest of us are mere mortals. The other goodies, particularly the jack-plate and best prop make life much easier for the rest of us.


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## RJTaylor (Oct 4, 2017)

I 


Bruce J said:


> I've fished with a couple guys, Chuck Scates and Eric Glass, who could get a stock Mav HPXT up in a puddle with no jack-plate, no compression plate, and probably any prop you could bolt on there. But those guys are absolute magicians with that boat and the rest of us are mere mortals. The other goodies, particularly the jack-plate and best prop make life much easier for the rest of us.


I have Eric's old HPX-T.


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## txredfly (Sep 10, 2015)

Bruce J said:


> I've fished with a couple guys, Chuck Scates and Eric Glass, who could get a stock Mav HPXT up in a puddle with no jack-plate, no compression plate, and probably any prop you could bolt on there. But those guys are absolute magicians with that boat and the rest of us are mere mortals. The other goodies, particularly the jack-plate and best prop make life much easier for the rest of us.


Interesting Eric Glasses old boat is one of the ones Ive seen


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## txredfly (Sep 10, 2015)

RJTaylor said:


> I
> 
> I have Eric's old HPX-T.


There is probably more than one out there. This one 2000 model titled in 2001


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## Smackdaddy53 (Dec 31, 2012)

Bruce J said:


> I've fished with a couple guys, Chuck Scates and Eric Glass, who could get a stock Mav HPXT up in a puddle with no jack-plate, no compression plate, and probably any prop you could bolt on there. But those guys are absolute magicians with that boat and the rest of us are mere mortals. The other goodies, particularly the jack-plate and best prop make life much easier for the rest of us.


They must be wizards because you aren’t jumping out of a puddle while drafting 6-7” plus another 3-4” of prop below the bottom with no jackplate I don’t care who you are. I learned to holeshot and run skinny on an HPX-T about a decade ago and have been running mine for three. Come ride with me and I’ll show you how to jump up sitting on bottom. Just sayin’...


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## devrep (Feb 22, 2009)

for a tunnel hull SWC4 or SWC3.


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## Bruce J (Mar 4, 2018)

Smackdaddy53 said:


> They must be wizards because you aren’t jumping out of a puddle while drafting 6-7” plus another 3-4” of prop below the bottom with no jackplate I don’t care who you are. I learned to holeshot and run skinny on an HPX-T about a decade ago and have been running mine for three. Come ride with me and I’ll show you how to jump up sitting on bottom. Just sayin’...


You can think what you want, but I've been there done that with both of these guys. Chuck would trim the motor out a couple inches beyond the trim range (into tilt) and crank the wheel all the way over. The motor/prop was almost lying flat on the water. He'd get my weight forward and to port, and he'd hang onto the side of the console with his butt hanging over the gunwale to get all the weight on one side. Then he'd really hammer the throttle and somehow, truly magically, we'd come out of literally any water we could float in. I've tried it many times in my original HPX-T and could never figure out how he did that. I don't remember Eric's technique to be anywhere near as radical, but his boat was also dead stock, not a single option, and he fished all the skinny water for South Padre and could get out of anywhere.

That said, these guys were magicians with these stock boats and there's no doubt your setup is SUBSTANTIALLY better for anyone else who wants to get the max shallow water performance from the HPX-Ts without being a savant.


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## G_straus822 (Feb 18, 2016)

RJTaylor said:


> I
> 
> I have Eric's old HPX-T.


I ran an HPXT with a yam 60 4stroke. I know that it’s a different setup but I ran a PT SCD4. It was a either 14 or 15pitch. No jack plate or cav plate. I currently run a SCD4 15pitch on my HPXS.


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## trucha del mar (Apr 1, 2016)

I run an HPXT with a 4 stroke 60 and used to run a PowerTech SCD4 13", but switched to a SWW3 13" and like it much better. It does not blow out in turns and stays hooked up better with the jack plate way up. Your set up will likely be different, however...call or email Marcus Clements at PowerTech and talk to him...he is a great guy to talk to and probably has a very good idea of which prop of theirs would do the trick.


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## crboggs (Mar 30, 2015)

Smackdaddy53 said:


> if you respect him and what he does you will get the best prop for your rig and some of the best boat driving advice out there


This was absolutely my experience. Almost couldn't get him off the phone after asking him about his custom intake covers and his thoughts on how to mitigate prop torque. 

Very similar to my experience talking to Harry Spear. 

Both are salty guys who have forgotten more than most of us will learn.


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