Should I buy a stainless steel prop?

[dy168]

Re: Should I buy a stainless steel prop?

Cuzner and Quietcat,<br /><br />I only been to Lake Mead a couple of times. Too many jet skis, very dangerous. I usually drive further south another 15 miles to Willow Beach (Arizona) to launch there, I either cruise upstream and get to the bottom of Hoover Dam or go downstream to Cottonwood Cove. I once ended up in a place called Kathleen Landings further down on Lake Mohave but the water is too choppy that way to continue on Lake Mohave. Lake Powell is beautiful. Lots of cool desert landscaping, feel like I am cruising in Mars.

 

[QC]

Re: Should I buy a stainless steel prop?

riverwolf,<br /><br />You absolutelty need to try Temple Bar. I boat on Mead, Mojave, Havasu and Parker. We love them all. Mojave the least, but I really like Willow Beach. Mead the best but a special love affair with Parker. If you don't like the Boulder Basin part of Mead you will hate Katherine Landing . . . Temple Bar is heaven and you can get into the Grand Canyon from there if the lake is at 1200 ft. and above.<br /><br />

<br /><br />This should look familiar if you like Willow.

 

[walleyehed]

Re: Should I buy a stainless steel prop?

Let's go back to props for a minute....<br />more damage occuring due to stainless props is very wrong information....props have come along ways over the last few years and the hub material in a SS prop is designed to cut loose with less force than the hub used in aluminum, and therefore less damage, if any, will occure.<br />I know guys (Dhadley) that have shelled gearcases with a standard alum prop. Great thing about SS is if you do hit something that cuts the hub loose, in most cases, a file job and a re-hub is all that's required....with alum, it's new prop time.<br />New generation SS props aren't the "Bad dudes" you think they are. Most cases the SS will save you money over several years time.

 

[dy168]

Re: Should I buy a stainless steel prop?

walleyehed, now you got me confused? Should I get a SS prop from the info I provided above or just another alum.<br /><br />Quietcat, lets bring the topic to destinations before we get into trouble.

 

[demsvmejm]

Re: Should I buy a stainless steel prop?

What difference doe sthe appearance of the prop make? I mean I trailer my boat too, but when you ar eusing the prop, does anyone see it? It's underwater. And that's the way it should be most of the time Am I right? If it's dry and visible you're not having fun Anyway, a $10 can of paint,a nd a $3.00 pack of sandpaper once a year sounds alot bette than $400.00 for a SS prop. But then again, I'm more into substance than bling. Maybe that's why my wife calls me cheap. I prefer frugal.

 

[walleyehed]

Re: Should I buy a stainless steel prop?

riverwolf, the price of SS vs alum is the fact you are investing in more performance and durability.<br />You can bend a blade on an alum and never notice it by looking, but vibration sets in and can shell your lower unit over a short period of time.<br />I run SS ONLY on my Rude 200...I run SS ONLY on my merc 70, and when I had my 40HP merc, I ran SS on it too....<br />We've run the OMC SST's since they came out about 40 years ago, and NEVER have I or anyone I fish with, have ever had any lower unit problems.<br />If you want the best over-all performance, go SS...If money is a big factor, stay with alum if you need to..

 

[dy168]

Re: Should I buy a stainless steel prop?

Walleyehed, my alum. prop is 14.25 x 21P, I am not looking for better performance or holeshot, $$ isn't a factor, only $249 here on iboats.com, so if I want to go for the SS prop, should I stick with the same size prop? I have the 3.0 Alpha I I/0 with 135hp. Only thing that I don't want is DECREASE the performance of what I have now.

 

[walleyehed]

Re: Should I buy a stainless steel prop?

Stay with the same pitch if you are within your rpm range now....Diameter changes sometimes, but is incorporated into the design...so if they show a 14-1/2X21, don't panic, it'll be just fine.<br />If it's 14-1/4 like you have, thats fine too...<br />Which prop are you looking into???

 

[dy168]

Re: Should I buy a stainless steel prop?

Walleyehed, there are two (14.25 X 21P) on sale here in iboats.com. One is the Express SS - $249, the other is the Michigan Wheel SS -$318. May be I go with the Express. What do you think?

 

[Capn Mike]

Re: Should I buy a stainless steel prop?

Just switched to 15 X 15 SS on my 23' Striper (200 Johnson) after 5 years on AL props.<br /><br />I've never been happy with the AL prop: couldn't get more than 5000 RPM (32 mph) with a 15 X 15, and a 15 X 13 zipped over 6000 rpm and only 27 mph top speed. I did have the 13-pitch cupped, so it's sort of a 14 pitch, and that helped: 34 mph @ 5200 rpm.<br /><br />Anyway, the SS is interesting. Hole shot is much better than either Al prop, and it's 38 mph @ 4800 rpms with a slight drop in fuel milage. I can easily get 5600 rpm and 40 mph, but there's a significant amount of cavitation , so it looks as though I need to drop the motor a notch. All in all, though, I believe I prefer the SS. <br /><br />And yes, there's a hub that's supposed to slip if I hit something. In the Columbia River, there's debris all year round, and my AL props usually end the season with chips or chunks knocked out. Don't think that will happen with the SS.