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Yamaha F115 Stainless Prop Guidance Please

Porsche

Porsche

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Greetings all...


As we inch closer to spring I've started shopping for some various items to enhance this coming boating season. One of the things I've been considering upgrading is the prop - from the standard white aluminum one to a stainless in the hopes of some marginal performance/thrust increase.


Unfortunately I'm clueless.... 


I have searched & saw some comments regarding prop rattle, which I would certainly like to avoid.


Can someone please educate me on the real life benefits & perhaps offer suggestions on which model I should consider?


Thanks in advance!!
 
While I'm definitely not the most knowledgeable person on here about props, or much mind you, I'm not sure you'll see much performance gain on a 115. One reason to switch to a SS is high hp / torque motors will cause an aluminum prop to distort from its designed pitch, causing lost acceleration / bite in the water. A 115 I would think may be right on the edge of needing. I would say for a 150 for sure, but maybe someone can chime in if they've ever noticed a performance gain on a 115.


Now there is also another consideration when it comes to props, bottom surface. Rocky bottoms may cause more damage to an aluminum prop, but save your lower unit, SS may not be affected by some small stones, but a big one could cause damage considering that the prop blades may be more solid than parts in the lower unit.


What kind of lake bottoms are you usually in?
 
FWIW, rocks the size of houses are common in many lakes in my region that were created by glaciers during the Ice Age. It's a major concern for me, so I'll definitely follow this thread for a while.


I'm not sure what type of prop my dealer is planing to equip my 21SFX/115 Yamaha Vmax with since I was too naive to check into it before I put my deposit down. I'd already been advised that I'd be better off with aluminum since it will be an extra measure of safety for my motor should I hit a rock. Also have read threads here that mention excessive vibration with SS props, something i want to avoid. I was thinking of going with the aluminum Yamaha SDS Pontoon Performance prop with 14"x13 diameter/pitch, based on a Benning performance bulletin.


Does this sound sensible? If my dealer won't give me the prop I want, I figure I'll buy the SDS above and keep the prop they supply for a spare.
 
The dealer should water test the boat, see what they wrong out of and prop accordingly. The SDS props are supposed to work extremely well. Maybe your dealer will let you try a few different options before you buy???
 
I had 115 Mercury on my 1st Bennington. My humble opinion is that a SS on a 115 is not worth it. You will not get a big or any performance lift and if your truly worried about the rocks, I would not go with the SS.
 
adkboater said:
The dealer should water test the boat, see what they wrong out of and prop accordingly. The SDS props are supposed to work extremely well. Maybe your dealer will let you try a few different options before you buy???
Click to expand...

The dealer is going to take me out in it & show me how everything works before they deliver it to my lake at a later time.


Alicedream, that's they way I'm looking at it too. Better to give the lower unit & drivetrain some cushion in case of a mishap. I'd never heard of aluminum props flexing under high torque, hopefully it won't make much difference with my 115. Maybe I can get the dealer to give me a couple of different props to try (pitch-wise) & just return the one I don't want. I'm going with a NMEA 2000 connection from engine to the chartplotter/fishfinder so I can see lots of engine information (fuel delivery rates) so I can dial in a prop.
 
Interesting thread. I am going to be taking delivery of a new 22SSLX with a 150 HP E-tec Pontoon Series and SPS tritoon. Evinrude has a promotion where they include a SS prop. We do have rocks and our lake feeds a canal system so we get shallow in the later summer. Maybe I will do the same and keep the SS prop as a spare and get an aluminum one for regular use. Or switch out the SS prop in August as a preventative?


Will the SS prop give a noticeable difference in our boat's performance?


Things to look for when buying a prop?
 
ontarioguy said:
Interesting thread. I am going to be taking delivery of a new 22SSLX with a 150 HP E-tec Pontoon Series and SPS tritoon. Evinrude has a promotion where they include a SS prop. We do have rocks and our lake feeds a canal system so we get shallow in the later summer. Maybe I will do the same and keep the SS prop as a spare and get an aluminum one for regular use. Or switch out the SS prop in August as a preventative?


Will the SS prop give a noticeable difference in our boat's performance?


Things to look for when buying a prop?
Click to expand...

Yes SS will make a difference on a 150 in performance because you have  more torque. In my opinion a 115 is great engine but it is not a motor your getting to be a speed demon or for high performance. It was nice engine in 2006 for me on a pontoon that went Max with two people 25MPH. I have a rocky lake also but I would get SS for any engine 150 and above and especially at the 200 and above. You just have to know your lake and be careful.
 
Maniac said:
FWIW, rocks the size of houses are common in many lakes in my region that were created by glaciers during the Ice Age. It's a major concern for me, so I'll definitely follow this thread for a while.


I'm not sure what type of prop my dealer is planing to equip my 21SFX/115 Yamaha Vmax with since I was too naive to check into it before I put my deposit down. I'd already been advised that I'd be better off with aluminum since it will be an extra measure of safety for my motor should I hit a rock. Also have read threads here that mention excessive vibration with SS props, something i want to avoid. I was thinking of going with the aluminum Yamaha SDS Pontoon Performance prop with 14"x13 diameter/pitch, based on a Benning performance bulletin.


Does this sound sensible? If my dealer won't give me the prop I want, I figure I'll buy the SDS above and keep the prop they supply for a spare.
Click to expand...

Maniac, I've boated on Ambejejus up there for many years and I would go with an aluminum. Between the rocks and logs it would be the safe bet.
 
ontarioguy said:
Interesting thread. I am going to be taking delivery of a new 22SSLX with a 150 HP E-tec Pontoon Series and SPS tritoon. Evinrude has a promotion where they include a SS prop. We do have rocks and our lake feeds a canal system so we get shallow in the later summer. Maybe I will do the same and keep the SS prop as a spare and get an aluminum one for regular use. Or switch out the SS prop in August as a preventative?


Will the SS prop give a noticeable difference in our boat's performance?


Things to look for when buying a prop?
Click to expand...

For that motor I'd stick with the Rebel series, running a 15pitch on my 200 and it's fantastic all the way around. I can get a mph or two with the viper 16pitch but the bottom and mid is not as good and it burns a lot less gas!
 
Thanks for the comments and advice everyone - sounds as though my wimpy 115hp doesn't have the torque to support a stainless prop. I wasn't really looking for a significant gain, just a noticeable one.


I live on a chain of lakes with no rock issues other than one spot on the river that joins two lakes. Easy enough to stay clear.
 
cwag911 said:
Maniac, I've boated on Ambejejus up there for many years and I would go with an aluminum. Between the rocks and logs it would be the safe bet.
Click to expand...

Lol, so you know what it's like! Aluminum it is. Like Porsche just stated, if the 115 doesn't have enough torque to distort an aluminum prop under hard accelleration, there's really no sense in spending the extra $ for SS and then have greater risk of damage to the motor as well.


Is it possible that an aluminum prop will turn up faster than a comparable (diameter x pitch) SS prop?


cwag911, if you're ever back to Ambajejus & have spare time, give me a heads-up if you want to get together. I'm only about an hour away & would be honored to give you a tour of my realm in the Downeast Lakes region.
 
Maniac said:
Lol, so you know what it's like! Aluminum it is. Like Porsche just stated, if the 115 doesn't have enough torque to distort an aluminum prop under hard accelleration, there's really no sense in spending the extra $ for SS and then have greater risk of damage to the motor as well.


Is it possible that an aluminum prop will turn up faster than a comparable (diameter x pitch) SS prop?


cwag911, if you're ever back to Ambajejus & have spare time, give me a heads-up if you want to get together. I'm only about an hour away & would be honored to give you a tour of my realm in the Downeast Lakes region.
Click to expand...

I'm guessing that won't happen but if it does, I'll look you up. Appreciate the offer.
 
I'm not sure even a 150 has enough torque to justify a SS prop. I have a high end Enertis SS and a cheap aluminum quicksilver Black Diamond (same as Black Max in the quicksilver line) and I think there's only 1 mph speed difference. The Enertia rocks as far as handling though. No blowout compared to the black max.  


On a 115, prop design could be more important than the metal. Remember, an aluminum is MUCH lighter and can spin up faster, so it could perform better than SS for smaller engine sizes.  Plus aluminum is quieter - no rattle.
 
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Thanks, K. If the dealer won't include an aluminum Yamaha SDS prop, I'll buy one outright and keep the prop they supply for a spare.
 
kaydano said:
I'm not sure even a 150 has enough torque to justify a SS prop. I have a high end Enertis SS and a cheap aluminum quicksilver Black Diamond (same as Black Max in the quicksilver line) and I think there's only 1 mph speed difference. The Enertia rocks as far as handling though. No blowout compared to the black max.  


On a 115, prop design could be more important than the metal. Remember, an aluminum is MUCH lighter and can spin up faster, so it could perform better than SS for smaller engine sizes.  Plus aluminum is quieter - no rattle.
Click to expand...

The Yamaha stainless SDS props don't rattle.
 
When I had my 115, it came with a 15" stainless prop.  Performance was OK but the prop rattled at idle.  I changed to a 13" aluminum 4 blade.  The boat handled better, better hole shot and ran the same top end as the 15" stainless with no rattle at idle.
 
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