Stainless steel prop

[Kitchen363]

I have a 20' Bentley with a 90hp Mercury 4 stroke. After one season of boating I banged up my stock aluminum prop pretty good in the Ohio river. My question is do I spend $300+ for a more durable SS prop? Or spend $100 to get another aluminum prop? I just hate to get the cheap one and have to fix it every couple of years. I think the SS prop will save me money over the long run.
Also would I really see any extra performance from a SS prop on a pontoon??

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Stainless steel prop

Prop selection for performance on a pontoon, especially stainless is a waste of money in my view. The issue with stainless props is that they are tough. So what's the issue? Because they are tough, strike a rock like you did with your aluminum prop and you risk doing lower unit damage. With the aluminum prop, it took the beating. With stainless, the prop shaft and gears take a beating. If you think spending a hundred bucks on an aluminum prop every few years is a big deal, check out lower unit parts costs and repairs. That prop is a steal in comparison. For best performance install a pontoon specific prop with pitch that puts the engine at the top of the manufacturers recommended wide open throttle rpm band and performance will be what you get.

 

[imported_John o]

Re: Stainless steel prop

Prop selection for performance on a pontoon, especially stainless is a waste of money in my view.

Depends if you have a performance pontoon or not. On a slow two tube it may not make any difference at all. On a three tube with a big motor the speed difference between props could be 4 or 5 mph or more.

The rest of your post was pretty much right on.

 

[gilby1955]

Re: Stainless steel prop

I agree with the other post, price a lower unit for you rig and that will make your mind up for you. last LU I put on my old Ranger was 2200 and that was years ago and I still had to have the SS prop worked on to boot. Stay alum.

 

[Kitchen363]

Re: Stainless steel prop

Don't the SS prop have a plastic insert in the hub that will "throw out" if you hit something hard to prevent damage to the lower unit?
I love the idea of a couple mph faster top end. Am I being realistic thinking I'll gain some top end speed?
We ski and tube most of the time we are on the water. My boat will run around 24 mph fully loaded with people and gear.

 

[boat1010]

Re: Stainless steel prop

I'm not sure why you think that a stainless steel prop is so strong and don't get damaged. If you hit a rock with a SS prop. you can bet it will damage the prop as well as possibly doing damage to the lower unit. Like Silvertip said, for that price I would be willing to replace the prop every year than spending around $300.00 for a SS that could need fixing or replacing in a couple of years. And I doubt that you would see any performance difference with the pontoon.

 

[steelespike]

Re: Stainless steel prop

2 or 3 mph increase on a pontoon by prop selection would be near impossible.
Unless your present prop is a poor choice.
The stainless is not a miracle cure; speed increase could be as little as a few tenths
to a couple of mph.On rare occasions with a poor selection a decrease can occur.As far as being tougher
the stainless will hold up better in soft contact sand etc.If I was likely to be having hard contacts I don't think I would use a ss prop.

 

[Kitchen363]

Re: Stainless steel prop

I think I'm going to just get an alumium prop and get my old one repaired to have as a spare.
Thanks all for making me save my money!!

 

[IWLAFART]

Re: Stainless steel prop

As a boater in the Potomac River I would not suggest a SS prop in a river due to floating junk just under the surface.
It is better to ruin an aluminum prop than to replace a crankshaft using a SS prop.
Stay safe,
Doug

 

[PaulsMarineSalvage]

Re: Stainless steel prop

Stick with the aluminum. Stainless will do nothing for your application except cost more to repair or replace!!!!!

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Stainless steel prop

I certainly am not arguing that there is no performance advantage with a stainless prop. I also don't argue that they will not be damaged if you strike a rock. As was mentioned, not only will the prop be damaged but because they are tough, the lower unit can be impacted as well. Since this poster seems to have an issue with prop damage, it makes no sense to risk two high priced systems when one cheaper one will work fine at the cost of a very small performance difference. Ever price a pontoon specific stainless prop? In case you are not familiar with these props they have very large blade area and are commonly called elephant ear props. Because of their rounded, almost uniform blade shape, they work much better when reversing than a standard performance oriented prop. With a pontoon, docking maneuvers require good reverse thust.

 

[dodger11]

Re: Stainless steel prop

Listen and read Kitchen363. Silvertip and Steelspike are giving great advice, experiance and time have spoken. It sounds like you are going to take their advice. What a great reference tool these forums are for us that have questions!

 

[mtntoons]

Re: Stainless steel prop

I have a Premier 235 (23 ft.) performance PTX tri-toon with a new 2010 Yamaha F-250 and command control. Just got the initial break-in done with 10 hrs. on the engine. Currently running a 14x19" aluminum prop. With a dealer rep and trying different hole positions and props I am getting about 38 mph max. I think the boat is capable of closer to 45 mph but maybe I'm dreaming. Wondering what you think I could gain with the stainless prop? Since the current aluminum prop seems optimal would I change size with a stainless or stay the same? Should I stay with Yamaha factory props? That is what dealer recommends. I am aware of the pros and cons of aluminum vs. SS but am just considering the speed factor for now.

Do the engines run faster after break-in? BTW, I am reaching the 6000 RPM limit with the current prop at 38 mph. Thanks for any ideas.

 

[ezrollin]

Re: Stainless steel prop

After reading this I think I'll keep the alum prop,got it for $25 new and sell the two ss used props I picked up when I bought a parts motor for my alum bass boat.