New guy with a guestion

Chris Craft #1024 is a T-36 15X17 RH for a 1-1/4" shaft. The a Chris Craft #1025 is a T-36 15X17 LH for a 1-1/4" shaft. those are the original specked out props for your boat with 327 and 1.5:1 reduction gears. (From Superdisc - Jim Wick)

welcome aboard! Got pics? Is is an express, or flybridge, or another model? Great boat!! While its out of the water, will you check to make sure the trim tabs work?

Jeff, Chalene is correct on the prop size that is exactly what is on my boat Stardust. 1968 31 Commander Salon hull #1 out of the Tenessee plant. We just hauled out and did the starboard packing gland , port was fine and not dripping but is installed with a smaller packing gland requiring a hose within a hose connecting it to the shaft log… not great. We had both props tuned and polished and just logged 3-1/2 hrs at around 1500 rpm. Breaking in the packing box loaded with the green putty packing. It finnaly settled in after about 8 hrs total running time. We burned 2 gallons starboard engine, 6 gallons port. The moron mechanic they used had both distributors off by one tooth…. I was able to jump the starboard engine and get it timed correct using small plastic mirrors from Amazon and a timing light. The port engine has a Sierra distributor that I am unable to pull, waiting for an answer from the factory as I have no instructions and am unable to find anything on line. I am the 3rd owner of the boat originally delivered to a gentleman on the Columbia River. It was kept in a boat house until three years ago when the second owner trucked to LaConner, just north of Seattle. Both engines rebuilt , electrical redone, upgraded slternator egc. I have had it for the last 9 months cleaning up what was done incorrectly. If I can figure out how I will attach a photo.

First and foremost, a big thanks to Charlene for the quick and accurate response.

Whitney, it does not have the flybridge and I'll post some pics soon.

John, I appreciate the confirmation on the props. I am now looking to buy a pair of these new or used.

Since I don't have a good history on the boat. My plan is to reinstall the starboard engine, renew the prop shaft seals or packing. not sure which yet. I'm going to do an alignment on both flanges just to know that they are done right.

My wife and kids are going with me this weekend to start cleaning. Mainly the scum on the hull.

Also, I'm curious about auxiliary power to the boat when away from the dock with engines not running. Since there is no generator, should I install a power inverter that would run off it's own set of batteries for the cabin power?

@Jeff Rackmyer what do you want to power? I find inverters to be not-so-efficient and you can run so many things just off the 12v house batteries... i mean, all your lights, your stereo, they even make 12v coffee makers... you just want to make sure you can still start your engines so make sure you understand which batteries start your engines and which make the coffee... If you are talking about running AirConditioning, or the electric stove, or a TV maybe you need to talk to someone else, but I try to make it where everything runs off a bank of house batteries.

Makes perfect sense

An inverter is worth it if you can fit enough battery (and ideally some solar panels) to support it. It's often less efficient than using 12v appliances, but in many cases, a 120v version of an applicance is so much cheaper that the efficiency penalty is worth it. And having 120v power available all the time is just extremely convenient if your systems can support it.

A proper house battery bank, inverter, and solar panels is probably the best thing we've done to our 381. A non-flybridge boat with a hard top is a good candidate for solar, as there's good space to install it.

Found a pair of props. 16 x 16 1 1/4" shaft. Any reason these would not work?

@Robert Slifkin i'm interested in solar, my 36 has an enormous open hardtop now that I've removed the fb... and i'm curious... so... how does the solar work? does it go to some type of solar controller/router? and then it basically runs a charger during the day for the batteriies? I'm curious if there are solar panels that are low profile and not ugly... this could be a whole thread!!

@Whitney Pillsbury The solar panels connect to a charge controller that uses the power available from the panels to charge the house batteries. Amount of power available depends on the panels you have installed and how much sun is hitting them, of course.

Here's a picture of the panels on the forward cabin top of our 381. This is 2x 410W panels. Appearance-wise it'll depend a bit on how big the panels you use are and how high off the deck you mount them (an inch or 2 is good for airflow, they work better with some airflow to keep them cool). There also panels available with black frames and more of an all-black appearance to the face compared to the more conventional looking panels I have (which are residential house-sized panels).

At some point once we replace the bimini with a hard top I'll add more solar and make some further battery and inverter upgrades which will allow us to handle cooking and hot water on solar/battery power. We're currently generator dependent for those activities when away from shore power, but everything else is covered by solar/battery power unless the weather is really bad. With good sun during the spring / summer / fall boating season we can reliably generate 3 - 3.5 kwh of power in a day. Once we factor in hot water, cooking, etc. (basically everything except HVAC) I estimate our total daily power consumption will be around 6 - 7 kwh.

@Jeff Rackmyer that’s very ‘close’ - but why not buy the exact ones that were identified for that boat?! But if you want to try those you found 1. Confirm with members here, or reach out to people to confirm that extra inch in diameter isn’t a problem- it might be?! If ok… you could always try the props with that pitch and repitch them after your shakedowns and long cruise. Who knows that may be a good pitch. It’s a costly exercise sending props out to he pitched, I had an extra pair on my last big commander and would “swap” them when I would try a different pitch. I am thinking about taking pitch off my current props but it’s low on my list, maybe during winter haul.

I would invest in a perfect pair or carefully confirm those are not too big! There were many 31’s made, you should have no trouble getting more data.

I am searching everywhere for a set of used 15 x 17's. Got a quote for a new set of aluminum props. Oh my, pricey.

I'd prefer a set of brass/bronze props, which these 16 x 16's are. And the price is decent. Whatever I end up with, there will be better ones installed before I get it in the water

I am not trying to find something to make the boat perform better but I would think that one degree less, in pitch, would be easier on the engines. Obviously, these would increase the cruising rpm's and just might allow the r's to bring the engines into a better power range. It's the diameter that concerns me the most. I will measure the clearance tomorrow.

Went on Ebay this morning and guess what? I scored a set of 15 x17's. # 1024 and #1025.

$450 for the pair. The prop god's have spoken.

Is the boat a sedan or an express? Mine is a fly bridge sedan and came with 15x15 mickey mouse wheels (rounded blades). The fly bridge sedan has considerable more weight aft than the express, that may be the difference. That said, I have since upgraded to the more modern style props that are 15x16 with a super cup and they have been amazing. Hope this helps and welcome to our addiction.

David where can I find the info on your new props?

I would not go with 16x16, my brother had them and was terrible trying to plane the boat. I have a set of Chris Craft round blade #1264 blade # 9965 & 9966. They were original to a fly bridge express with 327 F engines. If interested you may call 609-412-6767 Dave

Thanks for the prop offer… I have 2 sets of the original 15x17 , 3 blade props

Michigan Propeller. I think you can google them