best quality 3 blade ss prop of these 3 ?

[JJB]

Which 3 blade ss prop has the best quality of these three ? solas , Turning point or Apollo ? also which one would be better for max rpms of the three ?

 

[donnymac]

Re: best quality 3 blade ss prop of these 3 ?

I'm in the process of prop shopping myself. The one thing that stands out is no to Solas. 3 blade, 4 blade, stainless, I'm leaning towards Mercury/Quicksilver.

 

[walleyehed]

Re: best quality 3 blade ss prop of these 3 ?

For one to "stand out" you must first decide what your performance goal is...
It's really not a fair question, as Solas has many different designs, Turningpoint has 2 in SS and the Apollo is by itself, by Michigan wheel corp.
So I have to ask...."stand out for what?"

 

[donnymac]

Re: best quality 3 blade ss prop of these 3 ?

By "stand out" I mean the half dozen prop shops I've spoken to and a dozen guys that are probably knowledgable on the subject have suggested that Solace may not be the best made prop to be had. I don't pertain to be an expert, just passing along what I have heard over the last couple of years. Which tells you how long it takes for me to make up my mind. Having said that, after a few years of talking to people and asking lots of questions I'm leaning towards a 4blade S/S Mercury/Quicksilver. Is it the right choice? Hopefully for me it is. Just chatting about props. Don't take any one persons opinion on anything.

 

[walleyehed]

Re: best quality 3 blade ss prop of these 3 ?

No problem...let's chat!
May I ask why the 4-bld?
You either have a high performance outboard that you can raise to get full use of the technology of the 4-bld....or you have a very hard-to-plane sterndrive and want best cruise?
The type of boat, the engine in use and the intended use of the boat will be the deciding factor in whether a 4-bld would be good or not, and what design would be best if you did go with a 4-bld.
The higher-tech you get, the more application-specific it gets.

 

[donnymac]

Re: best quality 3 blade ss prop of these 3 ?

Ok, more information is always good. I own a Campion 552 sport cuddy 19 1/2ft. It weighs about 2900lbs. The 17 pitch allum. 3 blde allows the FI. 4.3 Vovlo to spin at 4900 rpm. Too high, but I use it for tubing with the kids and maybe some knee boarding. Top speed(not that I use it with the 17) is 46mph. I'll leave it on if my two buddies, myself and liquids are board for a weekend of fishing, but I only run at 30-35mph anyway. Now, when my wife and I want to cruise the gulf islands, I'll put on the 19 pitch allum. Top speed is close to 50 and RPM is around 4600. Still cruise at 30, but, rpm is lower and so is fuel consumption. Why I'm looking at a 4 blader is 1, I like stainless steel 2, Most of the hours spent on the boat are cruising anyway. Anytime I can rev lower and retain speed is good time. I'm not in a hurry to convert to 4 blade or stainless, so I have tried to learn as much as posssible about subject. Oh, I think an 18 pitch on the 4 blade might do double duty and I may not have to change props when the kids want to go tubing

 

[walleyehed]

Re: best quality 3 blade ss prop of these 3 ?

You've pretty much described what a Stiletto Bay Pro II does for ya, and I'm "thinking" 20P is the lowest available in the BP II.
I'll do a small bit of research and look back at some test data on our wellcraft and see what we had there for the 4-blds...

 

[donnymac]

Re: best quality 3 blade ss prop of these 3 ?

Now I'm getting all propped up again I just read some info on the Bay II. The add mentioned "progressive pitch" and bow lift. I just put Bennett trimtabs on to alleviate the bow lift I was experiencing. Not that it was bad, but the trim tabs work well. In lumpy water I can plane down to 20mph and cut threw the waves. But I sure like the looks of the BayII. P.S. they do come in a 18 pitch, what do think?

 

[walleyehed]

Re: best quality 3 blade ss prop of these 3 ?

You'll get more "over-all" lift with the Bay Pro 1, 2, and 3 the Pro Bass is the serious Bow lifter...not what you want.
Tell me your drive is an SX.....If it's Not an SX, we may have a problem there.
Also I want to mention there is a difference between Bow-rise and Bow-lift. By putting the tabs on, this deadens bow-rise. The Stiletto series is not going to cause Bow-lift problems, especially in the 4-bld, and you should still have control over lifting the bow enough to ride "clean".
Let's hear for sure that you do or do NOT have an SX drive....
The BP II is available in 18 as well.

 

[donnymac]

Re: best quality 3 blade ss prop of these 3 ?

Yes, it's a SX. $319.00 for the Pro II is the best price so far. The tabs, at speeds around 30ish let me trim the prop as opposed boat angle. That didn't make sense. Anyway when the water is calm and I want to cruise in the high 30's I'm trimmed quite far out, almost at the end of the scale. Now I'm riding super "clean" but heaven forbid I miss a rougue boat wake At this trim the boat /prop feels like I'm actually losing thrust, but because the boat is riding so clean GPS speed doesn't really change. So I'll trim in a little, the bow drops a bit and I'm pushing a bit more water, but the boat feels like it's being pushed more horizontally. Anyway 18 or 20 pitch and what I'm I actually going to get in regards to performance, fuel economy, etc with a 4 blade s/s Pro II?

Thanks for your help, I'm definantly excited about props again!
D.

 

[LeftFeild]

Re: best quality 3 blade ss prop of these 3 ?

I'll leave it on if my two buddies, myself and liquids are board for a weekend of fishing, but I only run at 30-35mph anyway. Now, when my wife and I want to cruise the gulf islands, I'll put on the 19 pitch allum. Top speed is close to 50 and RPM is around 4600


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:redface: I wouldn't try to second guess WH but a 18p Bay pro II is gonna act like a 19p ss. Other than that i have found mine a delightful prop.....(delightful ...) It has provided the boat with a lot of midrange range tourque, much smoother than a 3 blade (vibration) and very little loss of speed .....it has a lot of lift.

If it would keep you motor in the correct rpm range it's a winner....

 

[walleyehed]

Re: best quality 3 blade ss prop of these 3 ?

The rule of thumb on the 18P 4-bld acting like a 19P 3-bld is correct....in general, BUT, with the over-all lifting of the 4-bld, they tend to lift a sterndrive type rig in a way that leaves less boat in the water..less drag.
There is always a way to improve the performance in the hole-shot area with modified vents, although not as effective as would be on a 2-stroke outboard, you can still get some help on a sterndrive and pass a bit of the exhaust to help spool-up.

 

[donnymac]

Re: best quality 3 blade ss prop of these 3 ?

I just talked to a guy at Boat World(I think) He mentioned that Stilletto and or Pro II is changing to a 2 piece set-up. What the heck does that mean? Oh and I'm about 2 key strokes away from ordering the Pro II stainless 4 blade 18 pitch. No refunds. Talk about nervous.

 

[Dhadley]

Re: best quality 3 blade ss prop of these 3 ?

They sell Stiletto right here at iboats. I believe they have an exchange program. Might be worth checking out.....

 

[walleyehed]

Re: best quality 3 blade ss prop of these 3 ?

Call the iboats megamall and ask for props... see if they can get you a Stiletto P/N 45418, and make sure it will qualify for the exchange program...I believe it will.

 

[donnymac]

Re: best quality 3 blade ss prop of these 3 ?

I'm on it, Thanks W.

D.