Prop dings and chips

[fisherman73]

My prop has a few pretty small ( maybe 1/8" or smaller) chips and dings in the egdes of the blades. Is this enough to reduce performance or cause problems ?

 

[strokeoluck]

Re: Prop dings and chips

This was my first year of boating, so you may want to listen to the veterans here. However, I had one prop rebuilt, replaced one prop this summer and the one that's still on the boat has a couple small dings/nicks in it about the size you describe (one a bit bigger). I simply grabbed a file and took out the rough spots. It seems to work just fine. I'll probably leave it alone until/unless it gets beat up a bit more and then we either repair it or replace it.

By the way, some good advice I received here was to always keep a spare prop on board in addition to the tools necessary to replace it. The one time I needed those things, they weren't on board. Now they're packed away ready for us - it's nice insurance.

 

[northernmerc]

Re: Prop dings and chips

I assume we are speaking of aluminum props. (SS is another matter.)

Filing off rough spots is a good idea. Another thing one can do is to fill the nicks with an aluminum epoxy mix. After letting it harden, file or sand off the excess and spray a little paint on it. That actually works with some fairly large nicks; I've filled gouges that extend one-half inch or so into the prop blades. The epoxy mix is very strong. You can end up with a prop that looks and works much like new. And it's a lot cheaper than paying someone to fill in the gouges with aluminum welding.

 

[junior1113]

Re: Prop dings and chips

if its a 10 hp i would use it. if its a 50+ i would have it fixed and balanced. with enough hp an unbalanced prop CAN cause vibrations damaging lower unit and or seals and bearings.