New Prop in the budget...advice before I buy

[SmokyMtnGrady]

Hey Ya'll:
Last fall I asked about the pros and cons about going to a 4 blad SS prop for my 228. I am considering buying one from one of the dealers suggested in the thread. However, before I buy the prop I am wanting to get an update from anybody else who went from a 3 blad to 4 blade and their fuel economy improvements, if any. The admiral thinks I should put the money towards something else than a prop (lol), and I just want to get some more input before buying.

I spoke with Yammaha down in Ga and the guy while nice and so forth didnot have performance numbers for the boat and kind of implied none of their brand of 4 blad props would do. They suggested a company called Turbo Prop which Yammaha recently acquired.

Thanks for any performance updates or ideas....

 

[Tucker]

Sorry Bob, don't have an answer but I am curious. Prop discusions always get my interest probably because I know so little; and, the more I read the more I see I'm not the only one! I was told that a boat should be proped to achieve max rated RPM's. In the case of the Yami's, with such a large max RPM spread, one should try to achieve the upper limit or a little higher. In my case, the range is between 4500-5500 RPM, and guys try to prop to achieve 5800-6000 RPM WOT. It's an individual boat thing and speed and fuel economy are at their best when this happens. I don't savy 4-blade props, what's the advantage? What's wrong with your current prop? Aren't the 4-blades close to $800? Are you having $800 worth of problems with the one you have?

 

[duconce]

Hi Bob
I just installed four blades and have been very happy with them. They cost about 460 each from the PropGods and that included shipping and install kit for Yamaha motors. I don't know if it will improve gas mileage much, but they won't hurt it. The props work great on my boat, 265 express. The PropGods will exchange the prop for 35 if you don't like them. The Quicksilver props [3 or4 blade] in my opinion work better than the Yamaha props.

 

[SmokyMtnGrady]

I have read here and other places a 4 bladed prop can improve cruising performance in terms of fuel economy, improve cornering in tight turns and help with performance in a larger following sea. We cruise with our boat and water sports perhaps 75% of the time and fish 25%. I want to improve the water sports and cruising performance in particular. I have a nice Yammi Saltwater Series II prop. I am happy with it, but with fuel prices going up, I am looking and hoping a 4 blade prop would do the trick. If I could go from 3.0 mpg to 3.5 with a 4 blade prop...then maybe $$$$ is worth it? If I burn 14-16 gallons an hour that is a savings of almost 2-3 gallons an hour or $8 to $10 based on the price of gas. I was on the phone the other day with Strikezone here and Keith made a point, if 4 blade props were much better in fuel economy, then why would we see so many more 3 bladed props? Maybe when gas was cheaper than water it made no real difference.

 

[duconce]

Three blades are generally cheaper to buy and dealers tend to stock more of them.

 

[Boat Hound]

Go used and save a ton of dough. FWIW I do have a set Mercury Offshore that I ran on my F225's (17") which has been on my shelf for awhile. If you interested, let me know. I think I would be willing to separate if you just need a RH.

 

[Tucker]

Mine are all chipped to hell and I'm sending them out. As a rule, do SS props loose pitch?

 

[Boat Hound]

Never heard of a prop of any kind losing pitch. Do you mean to you go down in pitch when switching from Aluminum to SS? I think sometime you can go up- Typically SS props can have thinner blades, making them more efficient.

 

[Tucker]

On the bigger boats with bronze props, they loose pitch all the time. I don't think the stainless props do though.

 

[bayrat]

Like boathound says; go used if you know what you want. eBAY has a very active prop listing. I bought a merc mirage plus(15.5 x 17 3 blade) for $175.(think theyre $460 or so new)came in the original box and looked brand new (might have been). Lots of guys buy props, only to find out that they dont work on their boat and they wind up on e bay. Take a look for awhile; cant hurt. And if you do find one on there and it doesnt work out you can always flip it out again. There are way more merc props than yami's so stick with them You will need a flo torque hub adapter as well..about $40. I wont be mounting mine till the spring but being we have the same engine I can give you the model # of both the prop and hub kit if you wish..good luck