Prop to strut clearance

[73nordicman]

Hello, putting my nordic back together and wandering the clearance between the prop and the strut?? thx

[K-034]

Depending on where the strut is, you want it as close to the strut as possible, to far back, is hard on the prop shaft, moving the prop forward or backwards changes the handling of the boat, also make sure the prop shaft is up against the out put shaft of the v-drive, a lot of guys put quarters in the coupler to space it back,

[Sanger_Spectra]

we go as close as we can and still be able to get your puller around the prop and not have to uncouple the shaft from the gear box

[73nordicman]

ok i installed and with the shaft against the output on the v drive the prop is approx1.5" away from the strut. should i cut the shaft down? also i have not driven this boat yet so i do not know how it handles yet. this was the equipment that was previously installed.

[73nordicman]

we go as close as we can and still be able to get your puller around the prop and not have to uncouple the shaft from the gear box

ok thanks

[2manymustangs]

ok i installed and with the shaft against the output on the v drive the prop is approx1.5" away from the strut. should i cut the shaft down? also i have not driven this boat yet so i do not know how it handles yet. this was the equipment that was previously installed.

I think 1.5" is a ton of clearance BUT also, cutting 1.5" is toooooooooooooooo much to do in one step for sho... That can/will RADICALLY change the way the boat works...

Hang tight here and see what others weigh in with, you will get the straight POOP or a contact that will give u the straight poop...

Again, moving the prop 1.5" is a SHIT TON!!!!!!!!!! Moving the prop 1" is still a SHIT TON!!!!!!! Moving the prop .5" is ALLLLOT!!!

Proceed with mucho caution...

What kind/how much power do you have?

[wannabe]

Is this a new prop shaft? It almost could not come out of the boat, and everything re-assembled and be that far out. With decent horsepower, the furthest you want your prop away from the strut is 1". As the power increases, the load on the shaft increases and you want less room there.
O.K. here is the deal. The way you get balance on your boat when running at speed is with the propeller placement. You need the prop under the boat enough to keep the nose suspended. (keep it from porpoising) The less torque you have, the further under the boat you want it. (shorter shaft/closer to the strut) It is really hard to add to the prop shaft, so I say cut 1/2" off and run it. If it handles poorly, then cut a bit more, etc. when you get to the point that your handling starts to go the wrong way, stop cutting and add nickles or quarters between the shaft and the output of the v-drive for cheap spacers to act like the shaft is a little longer. It is a long day of work and testing at the lake, but get it right and the boat will pay dividends for a decade to come.
There is no right space between the prop and the strut. It is where the boat handles the best with the power you are running. Just comes with a precaution to not run it too far away from the strut or you can break a shaft and lose that magic propeller to the bottom of the lake. Each strut is put in place with a certain power idea in mind. The chance that we are running the exact power it was designed for is insane. Get it to where the boat is happy. But NEVER let the prop hit the strut. That is catastrophic!! If you do some research, the winningest boat in APBA history played this game and found the strut was set in the hull just a bit too far back and the prop has to be so close to the strut to make it work that they have to release the prop shaft from the v-drive, slide it back a bit to get a prop puller between the prop and the strut and pull it off that way. That is a close as you want it.