Dinged Up Prop

[BassThumb]

How bad does a prop have to be for it to do damage to your motor? How can you tell if it is?

Will a few small dings and dents throw it significantly off balance?

Thx, Joe

[Sfritr]

Way 2 Slow would be the Guru on this subject IMO.

[Way2slow]

Depends on the performance of the boat. A high performance boat can loose a lot with just a few small dings. Now, I'm talking 70 and above boats.

A 45 - 50 mph boat will hardley notice unless you've bent it. A prop with a rolled leading edge can make any motor loose power and speed.

Aluminum props have such poor performance, I've seen those beat to pieces and still not see much difference.

You can knock the burrs from small dings off with a stone (never use a file, prop shops will hate you) and get a good clean edge. Power loading is one of the main culprits for causing small dings.

[BassThumb]

Depends on the performance of the boat. A high performance boat can loose a lot with just a few small dings. Now, I'm talking 70 and above boats.

A 45 - 50 mph boat will hardley notice unless you've bent it. A prop with a rolled leading edge can make any motor loose power and speed.

Aluminum props have such poor performance, I've seen those beat to pieces and still not see much difference.

You can knock the burrs from small dings off with a stone (never use a file, prop shops will hate you) and get a good clean edge. Power loading is one of the main culprits for causing small dings.

Mine tops out at about 50 with a light load, and I'm using an aluminum 4 blade prop. The edge isn't curled over, just a little scuffed up with a dozen dents and dings the size of a grain of white rice.

If you don't mind me asking, why will the prop shops be upset if I touch it up with a file? I've touched it up lightly a few times already with a file and hammer. I never really planned on having it worked on. It a $90 prop and the places around here charge $50-60 and they say they don't even balance them.

[Way2slow]

Files leave small deposits of metal from their teeth imbedded in the metal that can cause the guy tig welding it a lot of extra work. Aluminum props that you are not going to have repaired, files are no problem. I agree, I would never spend the money to have an aluminum prop repaired, of course I would never waste the money to buy one to start with.

I know the sticker shock for a good stainless is a bit rough, but once you ever run a good stainless, you will wonder why you ever messed with aluminum props.

Now, I'm talking one thst matches you boat. There are tons of different props, for all kinds of different hull designs. Most bass boads do better with a high rake prop, one that will give good bow lift. That's why I always say try before you buy.

[BassThumb]

Thanks for the help. This is my first real boat and I haven't tried many props. It may be time to experiment and try a higher pitched prop. I've been using an aluminum 19 pitch, 4 blade prop since I bought the boat a few years ago. I don't really care about top speed, they lakes I fish are mostly small. I usually run at 3000-4000 rpm and 25-35 mph. The boat is a 2004 Stratos 275 Pro XL with a 90 HP Johnson Bombardier on it. It tops out at about 45mph with two people and a good sized load. What prop should I take a look at?

Thanks, Joe

[Way2slow]

Don't assume a higher pitch prop is going to help, usually it's just the opposite. You want a prop that will let the engine turn very close to it's max rated rpm with you normal load. With the mass majority of two strokes, it's actaully better to turn 100 rpm over max than 200 rpm below. One major exception to this rule it the old ficht's, the injectors in those are already maxed out so it's better to keep them a couple of hundred below max.

I did mention using a high rake prop, but rake and pitch are two totally different terms. Pitch is the how far the prop will move through the water with one turn. Rake is how much of an angle the prop has away from the motor. Increased rake will give more bow lift, getting more hull out of the water. Less wet hull equals less drag. Less drag means more speed. Increased pitch will reduce rpm, give slower hole shot and can actually slow the boat down by droping the rpm below it's peak range.

Look at an 18" pitch Renegade if the prop you're running now will give you max rpm, You should notice a big difference in hole shot.