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Propeller Dinged on Edges

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2013 20 SLX

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St Louis Mo
This weekend I skinned the edges of my propeller on my 70 hp Yamaha

it was in the sand some and scratched and chipped white paint off it

one minor ding to it too.

Metal on prop seems very soft, will I do better with a

stainless steel one ?

Any help on this, :unsure: no marks scratches or dings on the fin under

it...Just the prop

Ron
 
Ron,

Do you feel any "vibrations" in your rig now that you have "dinged" up your prop. There are lots of theories and answers for SS vs Aluminum.

If you live in a rocky area, then SS may not be the way to go. However, in soft and sandy areas, SS has its benefits. SS will not flex like aluminum so there is a possibility of getting extra performance and less damage against "soft Hits". Today's props usually let the weak link being the hub on the propellor. This consists on a plasic hub which will fail prior to a major drivetrain failure. Typically, over 150hp, SS is pretty much standard. The aluminum blades can't take the torque applied by a large V6 motor and will flex at WOT or near that number. Resulting in less performance as the slip percentage grows.

I've duck hunted all the way from Canada, to Michigan to the south Texas area in the Gulf of Mexico. Most hunting boats run a 4 blade stainless for holeshot and blade durability. Duck boats tend to be heavy with Decoys, gear, and people. A 4 blade out of the hole is amazing. What most guides and hunters do, is to punch it while making a sharp right or left hand turn. This does 2 things. Gets the motor high enough out of the water (as you turn) and lets the prop grab in "clean water" and gets on plane with minimal water. We also run a hyd jack plate on our 19 foot Lund Center console hunting boat. This helps too to dial in the "X" height of the motor compaired to the bottom the hull and skeg relationshiop.

Our Duck hunting boat runs a 4 blade SS in the fall for all the reasons above, but we run a aluminum 3 blade during fishing season. Lighter weight boat in summer means we can running a higher pitch and stay in the reccomended RPM range and a 70hp really can't put out enough torque and power to warrant a SS prop due to flex issues that a aluminum would have.

Check your lake surroundings. Soft, sandy, muddy bottoms, a SS prop will absorb the damage that would curl up a Al blade prop. If you have rocks to contend with, the more then likely your aluminum prop would be you best choice

Todd
 
What he said ^ hehe

Derrick
 
As far as the paint being scratched off, I wouldn't worry about it. If the ding is bad enough to cause any vibrations, then you need to repair it. Any local prop shop can repair minor damages pretty inexpensivley. I my opinion, I would stick with the aluminum over stainless as I don't think you'll see any benefit with the stainless on a 70 hp motor. The aluminum is also a lot cheaper.
 
If you're worried about rocks, stay with an aluminum prop. If not, the stainless is definitely the better option (stronger), but not necessary if the extra money doesn't fit in the budget. As Todd mentioned, most of the hubs of the newer props are designed to let go if the prop should strike a hard object. This, however, doesn't always prevent damage to the propshaft. Many times, just the shock of a stainless prop hitting something hard is enough to cause the propshaft to bend. In the past I have thrown a blade on my race boat and bent the shaft just from the shock of the blade releasing from the hub.

I've said it many times here, the best bang for the buck is a Solas prop. The Solas is economical to buy and offers excellent performance in either aluminum or stainless. A Solas Amita 3 or 4 blade aluminum for your Yamaha 70hp can be bought for $90-100 and stainless for $250-260 at Boats.net. That's quite a savings over the Yamaha props. Boats.net sells Yamaha and Mercury props too.

IMO, for what you'd spend in repairs, I'd put that money towards a new prop.
 
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Ben & Suzy said:
IMO, for what you'd spend in repairs, I'd put that money towards a new prop.
Click to expand...
Agree, save the one you have as an extra in case you do hit something hard. Always a good idea to have an extra prop, prop hardware and tools on board.

Steve
 
I used to go through an aluminum propeller a year on my inboard outboard. When I bought a new boat, it had a stainless prop, and it made 10+ years without a scratch.

On a 70 hp motor, the kind of prop depends on what you do with your boat, and how deep your water is. If you get in the shallows, go with a stainless. It'll save you money in the long run.

EBay is a great place to buy a stainless prop without mortgaging the souls your future children.
 
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If you've got a sandy/muddy bottom which it sounds like, then the stainless would be a good move. If you don't think you're going to hit anything then stay with the aluminum. My toon came with a solas aluminum and there was a big difference when I went with the Enertia. With 70hp I don't think you'd notice much. If you don't have any vibration and you can't see any decline in performance, keep whats on there until you really need to change it. My $.02 B)
 
Don't forget that there are prop shops in most major cities, and they can do wonders to repair a bent/broken propeller. Aluminum prop repairs are very reasonable in cost.

Prop shop owners most often have strong knowledge, and their experience is free when you do business with them.
 
If the prop is just tattered on the leading edges, any competent aluminum welder can fix it at a reasonable price. IMO, if it has pieces missing or is bent, ditch it and buy new. Can it be repaired....yes, but the cost to repair will be 75% the cost of new.

A stainless will show little if any performance gain, but the durability benefits are well worth the investment.
 
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