Honda BF50 gear/prop issue

Hi everyone,

Wondering if someone could provide me with some advice .

Picked up a late 90's Honda bf50 last year, the outboard was in mint condition with super low hours. It had spent approximately 8 -9 years in storage.
When I took possession I went over the unit top to bottom and replaced and changed everything as per service interval/timeline.

I took the boat out for the first time this weekend and when I accelerated it had popped out of gear. It did this multiple times so I assumed the dog clutch or gear was cooked. Making the most out of it I used my trolling motor and fished the rest of the day. I decided to give the outboard another quick try, to my surprise the gear held . I tried some harsh acceleration from out of the hole and other types of scenarios to try and get it to happen again. It did not fail however and worked consistently well.
Should I still be concerned or did something possibly get stuck after sitting for so many years?

My next question was regarding the prop.
I am a bit over propped, the dealer had sold me a prop based on the details of my boat. What I am getting is 30mph at 5100rpm wot. Manual says to try and have rpms around 5500 to 6000 for the BF50.
I'm approximately 400rpm from the optimum rpm, should I be concerned or leave it be.
I was just trying to avoid buying another prop as they're obviously very expensive from the dealer. I use this boat only a few times per year at most.

Thank you for any advice.
Adrian

1. My bet on the shifting issue is regarding the shift cable adjustment. You might want to confirm that's been done correctly. Also possible, is a sticking cable. If it's not shifting smoothly and it's not possible to shift with maybe 2 fingers, the cable and/or shifter may need some attention. Cables going bad at that age not unusual at all.

2. The prop. So many "if's" here. If max performance, that might be necessary to get the boat on plane for instance, is of no concern or doesn't make any difference to you, then leave the prop you have on it. However, if you are looking for a little more "zip" or to get the boat on plane quicker, maybe go with the next size smaller prop. My target rpm would be 55-5600. They're rated for 6000, but at that speed, they sound pretty busy.....

Thanks very much for the advice Alan.
Took the boat out again this weekend and motor worked great with no issues.

If I were to go down a pitch or 2 to raise the rpm to be in the optimal rpm range or closer to would this just increase my hole shot speed and decrease top end?
Or would I possibly see a better top end speed also with the rpms being higher ?

I played with that idea a little with a BF50 on a 17' alum side console fishing boat one day. I had 2 props. One would turn 6200, the other 5600. Acceleration with the prop that would turn 6200 was REALLY impressive, but the sound of the motor turning 6200 at wide open throttle was something I didn't care for.

The 5600 rpm prop was fine accelerating from a stop, easily planing the boat, but it wasn't nearly as "sporty" when accelerating at lower speeds. The 5600 rpm prop was about 1mph faster than the 6200 rpm prop, and the motor didn't sound anywhere near as busy at wide open throttle.

Both props would let the boat slow to 16-18mph while staying on plane. A 4 blade prop (I didn't have one handy at the time) might lower that another 2-3 mph if that's important to you.

Those were my results. You can maybe use them to judge which you would prefer....

Perhaps my experience could add to your data......

I did a prop swap on my 1998 BF50AW as follows:

My boat is a 1988 Arima Sea Sprinter (15'). It is a lightweight fiberglass fishing boat, under 1000# (hull weight). Small deadrise in bow area, but mostly flat midway to transom.

It had a 3 blade alum prop 11 1/4" x 13". With two big guys aboard 500# full tank of fuel (16 gal) I would get to 5400rpm WOT.
It struggled to get up on plane, but would do it.

Switched to a 4 blade alum prop 11 1/8" x 11". Same load, I got to 6000 rpm WOT and much quicker to plane. I usually run 5500rpm when on plane but try to avoid WOT of 6000rpm. My current prop is the sweet spot for my boat/set up.

Hope this info. helps some.