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Props 3 blade vs 4 blade stainless vs alum

dbiele

New member
"i have a boat i reciently pur

"i have a boat i reciently purchased it had a few bugs to work out, cracked head & junk ignation, bent prop. i want to buy a new prop and don't really know what to buy my prop is a 13 1/4 17, moter is a 3.0 omc gm 4 cyc. boat 17 ft. v-bottem with bad prop engine turns 4100 speed about 34 mph i have kids that like to ski & tube i am looking for a good all round prop. some people say stainless some say alum. some say 3 blade some say 4 blade it is confusing to me, i have always ran outboard jets on flat bottom boats. i would appreciate any input or experances thanks."
 
"Stainless will give you the b

"Stainless will give you the best performance. However, there is a potential downside - it's not very forgiving if you hit something. Aluminum has some "give" to it, which is why it does not have the performance that SS has. SS is so strong that it does not bend or lose its shape at high RPMs.

If you hit something with a SS prop, you run the risk of significant damage to the LU. An aluminum prop will most likely lose a piece of itself or may just shear off one blade (I speak from experience here!).

SS is also much more expensive than SS.

FWIW - I use an aluminum prop. I easily pull two tubes and can pull a skier at 35mph. I do lack a good hole shot, but I think that's not all the prop's fault - a 3.0L I/O just doesn't have enough ummph to pull an adult up out of the water on one ski. I'm also on lakes that are full of hazards, so aluminum gives me peace of mind.

I'm sure you can find a graph of SS vs. aluminum performance at various RPMs - maybe even in this forum."
 
chris are you running a 3.0 if

chris are you running a 3.0 if so what rpms will your engine turn and what top speed do you get with what prop size and pitch
 
"my 3.0L has a 14.5x19. i can

"my 3.0L has a 14.5x19. i can get in the 38ish range at 4200rpm and well-trimmed.

that said, i rarely push it to that point. it might go faster, but i'd rather not push the envelope. i think my setup is rated for 4600rpm max."
 
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