3 blade or 4?

[LongJohnSilver]

I have general question about my propeller. I have a 16’ skiff with a 25 HP 2 cycle. With one or two people it has adequate speed and a decent hole shot. With 3 or 4 people it is obviously slower and has poor acceleration. With 4 people that is 2 adults and 2 children. I presently have a 4 blade aluminum prop. I want to get stainless steel, but would consider getting a different one if it would help getting on plane quicker. My major concern is not speed so I would be willingly to sacrifice speed to be able to get on plane when I have 4 people on board. Would a 3 blade make things better or worse with acceleration? Is this an item that I should take up with a shop and let them size up the boat, weight etc? Any advice is appreciated.

 

[walleyehed]

Re: 3 blade or 4?

With all due respect...most shops don't have the know-how to set one up.
As a general rule, the 4-blade gives better hole-shot if the pitch is right.
Max RPM tells us about where we're at with pitch, and it's important that you list the RPM you get with a normal load.
There might be some other options as well as a decent prop that may help depending on the info you give.