Marine Accessories

Have you ever wondered what the numbers on boat propellers are well the first number is the diameter which if the diameter of the circle made by the propeller the second number is the pitch, if the pitch is twenty one that means the boat will travel twenty one inches per revolution.  Most propellers are made from aluminum or stainless steel, their is a price difference but performance does not vary that much.

Composite and plastic propellers are generally used for emergency situations. Aluminum propellers, being the most common, have reasonable durability for most applications.

Stainless steel propellers are stronger than most all other propeller materials. Some advantages are longer life and high hydrodynamic efficiency derived from stiffer blades.

The correct size marine propeller is important because of the rpms that the engine will turn, if your marine propeller is not the correct size your boat motor will have to turn to higher rpms for the boat to perform properly which can cause engine damage.

If your boat has one engine the prop will turn clockwise and if you have two motors one propeller will run clockwise and the other will run counter clockwise and this will help the boat steer easier and keep the boat level.

Outboard propellers are as important as propellers for inboard engines because the damaged caused by a damaged propeller is the same.  A damaged propeller causes vibrations that will harm the gears in lower unit which can be a very costly repair bill.  Keeping an extra outboard propeller in your boat is always a good thing to do because if you do damage your propeller you can change it an not do any other damage to you outboard engine.  To make sure you are using the correct propeller for your boat check with your engine manufacture for their recommendation for the correct propeller.

Their are a lot of boat propellers for sale in the market today which makes it very difficult to to choose the boat propeller that fits you needs.  Turning Point Hustler Propellers is probably the best aluminum propeller on the market because of its design and it is priced to fit in your budget very nicely.  Hustler Propellers will get you on plane faster which saves gas and Hustler Propellers will help your top end speed and also helps when you are pulling someone behind your boat whether they are on a ski or tow able inflatable.

Aluminum boat propellers are a lot less expensive than stainless steel boat propellers and in a lot of ways work just as well, if you use a stainless steel propeller or any propeller for that mater you should always have a back up in case you damage the one on your boat so you can change the boat propeller and do not damage your lower unit.  Aluminum boat propellers come in different qualities so you want to make sure you get one that will work well with your boat and give you the performance you desire.  Aluminum boat propellers cost much less to repair so if you boat in a water way that has a lot of shallow water aluminum is the way to go.

Rascal aluminum boat propellers improve the overall performance of small HP engines. Specially designed propeller blades maximize top speed, acceleration, and grip on the water – no more blowouts caused by excess ventilation!  Rascal Propellers are the best aluminum boat props available for small horsepower motors at a very good price.

Aluminum boat propellers are looked at by a lot of boaters as not being as good as stainless steel propellers, well that is not totaly true.  Aluminum boat propellers are now made to work as well as stainless steel by using unique designs and sizes you do not have to be afraid to put an aluminum propeller on you boat, it may not look as pretty as stianless steel but its performance and price will make you happy.  A great benefit of aluminum boat propellers is that if you do hit something in the water it will only damage the prop not the outdrive unit.

To some, choosing the right boat propeller can seem like a job for a marine service center. Anything that has to do with the backend of the boat can be a scary thing. Despite popular belief, choosing the correct propeller for a particular boat and motor is actually a fairly simple thing to do, once you understand what a propeller really is.

First think of boat propellers as a gear, whether it be on a car or even a bicycle. The lower the gear, faster hole shot, more power, but revolutions are much faster so at a point you can only turn that gear so fast until you over rev the engine (or you legs). Now think of your car stuck in only 5th or 6th gear, very slow out of the hole, little torque, but eventually it will catch up with itself so you can cruise to a good speed.

The same basic concept applies to propellers, except with a prop you are committed to only one “gear”. So what to do now? Find the prop size that will give the best overall performance. Sound difficult? It’s really not.

Your engine has a recommended wide open throttle rpm range. Let take an example of an18′ boat with a 125 hp engine with a rpm range of 4500-5500. In most cases you purchase a boat with some sort of propeller on it. Let’s say this motor has a 21 pitch prop on it and at wide open throttle under a normal boat load, the engine turns 4900 rpms. Well it’s in the range so it’s the correct prop, right? Well yes and no. For the health and longevity of the engine it’s okay, but for overall performance, you want to run a propeller near the top of the range. Well how do you change the size to get that?

Remember this rule of thumb: For every 2″ of propeller pitch, rpm’s will change approximately 400 rpm’s. As you drop in pitch, rpm’s increase, and as you go up in pitch, rpm’s decrease. So if we want to raise our rpm’s we should choose a lower pitch prop. Following the rule, going down to a 19 pitch should raise our rpm’s to about 5300. That would help the hole shot and also gain us some more speed.

As you follow the rule of thumb, remember that sometimes rules are meant to be broken. This is not an iron clad rule, sometimes varying 2″ of pitch will only change rpm’s by 200. Switching prop brands or manufacturer, it can sometimes throw off the rule too.

At this point the most important thing to understand is that less pitch means more rpm’s, more pitch means less rpms. For your boat to perform at its peak, you need to run at the upper end of your engine’s recommended rpm range. That’s it. Once you’re there and still want more speed, handling, lift, etc, that’s when choosing the right propeller brand comes into play.

Here’s a simple adjustment you can make to improvement performance under varying boatloads: If you normally run with one other person on board, use that boatload as your measurement when determining your wide open throttle rpm’s. But if you sometimes load the boat with 2-5 more people or try pulling a water skier or tube, get another prop 2″ of pitch lower than your normal prop. It will compensate for added weight and drag and make a huge improvement on performance in these circumstances. But remember to keep an eye on you rpm’s when running a lower pitch for these circumstances.

Most props have the size marked somewhere on the prop, either on the barrel, on the blades, or in the front or back of the propeller. Use that pitch that you’re currently running as your starting point. If it’s already running correctly then that pitch is your pitch.