Switching from Aluminum to Stainless

Chris Z

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Syracuse, NY
After lots of shopping and research I finally ordered a stainless prop for my F150 and 2275GCW. I started this process over a year ago but was unfortunately sidetracked last spring with ridiculous water levels at camp and on Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River.

Anyhow, I thought I would share the process with you folks if you're interested.

Current prop is the black aluminum model that is very popular with my dealer. It is sized and pitched well and it will make an excellent spare. The new prop that arrived yesterday is the popular Reliance SDS that has tested well and is recommended by Yamaha for my particular boat and motor combination. One of their Performance Test documents deals with this prop and my model and boat configuration in particular.

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The latest version of the Reliance SDS has done away with the added expense and complexities of extra parts when swapping and should just slide on in place of my black prop using the existing thrust washer, spacer and castle nut. You can see the front and back of the new hub here:

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So, I'll be making this swap later this week when I get back up to camp and with add some performance numbers and handling observations then.

I'm looking for a little more dig out of the hole, a better mid-range, better grip on the water (less ventilation), and maybe even another MPH or two at the top. We'll see.
 
Thanks for sharing and yes, please update us on your results.
 
I'd be interested to see how the alum compares to the SS on a larger motor such as the 150.
 
Nice! Mine is the old sds setup and we love it. I say we but my wife could care less about the prop!! Ha.
 
The aluminum prop that I will remove tomorrow was not a bad fit for the boat. With just a couple of people onboard I was always able to see about 5900 RPM and 38 mph after cleaning the toons. Favorite cruise speed when we're just out and about has been:


I'll be interested to see the difference here and it the top. :p
 
Finished my switch to stainless and spent a bit of the weekend finding the differences and similarities... they are many. Very pleased with this props ability to get the punch of the motor to the water without fuss.


I'm hoping that you can have a look at this video of some slalom skiing we did on Saturday. Well, I should say that my next door neighbor did behind my Benny. The yank was quick and effortless and it's amazing how little you can feel him back there. I'll have some comments and comparisons in another post. Btw, his wife and two kids were also in the boat, too.

So far, not a single regret. :)
 
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Ok, now that I have a few minutes more. What's changed...?

Shifting is much cleaner and quieter. That's telling for the the SDS system because the prop is heavy compared to my aluminum one. Also, running in gear at idle is now silent. I had quite a bit of chatter with the old prop and a touch of vibration that didn't go away until I loaded the motor a bit up to 900 or 1000 RPM.

The design of the props are a bit different. The old prop has basically a flat trailing edge that does not soften towards the blade tips, this style was a popular choice for my old Yamaha 115 on a past boat (white) as it still is today on many larger Yamaha four strokes. The Reliance has a rounder and quite thick trailing edge that shows a considerable cup and softens more quickly towards the tip. Here's a comparison pic:

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The feel of the boat changes noticeably due to these differences. Trimming and the ability of the prop to hang onto the water are very different. Sharp turns would always unsettle my aluminum prop unless I trimmed it way in. The new prop is more generous with it's grip allowing you to spin the wheel harder and even add a bit of throttle all without a blow-out.

That said, the Reliance also runs more efficiently for speed without trimming it way out like I did with my aluminum prop. As a result, the boat runs a bit flatter when it's up on it's strakes.

So far performance is similar and with the water temps running in the low 60's I'll need a warmer day before I get in at the beach to clean the pontoons so I can have an accurate look at the top end and speed at a few key RPM's. Coming back in from skiing with 3 adults and a couple of kids in the boat I saw 38 mph at about 5800 rpm's trimmed out about 3/4's of the way up the gauge.

So far, the only down side of the Reliance is the price. Other than that, it's all smiles.
 
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So far, the only down side of the Reliance is the price.

Not really a down side, just the price of fun! Glad to hear it worked for you!
 
Thanks for the details. Also, cool video!

Thanks! We were all surprised at how well the Benny handled a slalom skier and it was the first time I've pulled out that tow pylon for skiing. It's a well engineered addition.
 
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