Stainless Prop Vs. Alum.

[woodNfish]

Striperking, the problem is the submerged stuff that you can't see. The first time I launched my boat into salt water I ran my prop through the muddy bottom looking for the channel. That scoured all the paint off the outside edges of my blade. I was lucky I never hit anything solid and I remember it everytime people start talking about SS props. Shortly after I put a SS skeg uard on my engine. That was a good investent!

Putershark - I pulled the numbers for propulse out of my head from when I looked at prices on their site. My prop is a 3-bladed 13x19 merc. I can get it repaired at soderbloom for $32 and for an extra $8 they'll powdercoat it. I can get a new Hustler prop with the hub kit for prop for $91. I'm not sure what the shipping cost is, but if it is too high I can get a Michigan Wheel replacement for 110 including shipping. I'm still significantly below the cost of a Propulse. By the time I need another repair, I may have a new boat with a different engine, so I can't justify the added cost. I'd rather put the difference toward a GPS system.

[Dick@merrittmarine]

90% of the boat's we sell go out with a SS prop. We have not seen any gearcase failures as a result of a SS hub not letting go when grounded or from a strike. We feel that a SS prop is a worthwile investment, they last longer, won't repitch themselves when run thru mud or sand, don't deflect when accelerating, Oh yeah, they really look great when the boat is on the trailer.

If other dealers are checking this post, we would like to know if you are replacing gearcases due to SS props.

Dick

[Cincinnati]

Originally Posted by Dick@merrittmarine

90% of the boat's we sell go out with a SS prop. We have not seen any gearcase failures as a result of a SS hub not letting go when grounded or from a strike. We feel that a SS prop is a worthwile investment, they last longer, won't repitch themselves when run thru mud or sand, don't deflect when accelerating, Oh yeah, they really look great when the boat is on the trailer.

If other dealers are checking this post, we would like to know if you are replacing gearcases due to SS props.

Dick

I don't think that all impacts are cured by the rubber hub. Impacts are also lateral, that is, stress to the prop shaft. My rig was rear ended in the Summer of 04 while I was trailering. The motor was partially trimmed up with a transom saver. The car ran directly into two of the three blades on the prop and, of course, the skeg. The aluminum prop blades gave and the prop shaft was saved. I believe that a SS prop would have 'held up' to the impact and the shaft would have broke clean off. Similar impacts can occur under water when underway and colliding with rocks, etc.

Separately, I'm glad my boat was made of plastic! Hate to see what would've became of a glass transom in that collision.

[Putershark]

I would also like to know if your local user base even has any real flats around to ground on? Not many places are like the Inglis area of Florida south to the Keys where you can be a mile offshore and even ground (on the bottom) your boat. That is kind of hard to do in many areas unless it is a hazard to navigation that was already sunk there.

In sections of Tampa bay alone, one can almost walk all the way across, so we have to balance failure rates with local conditions, local knowledge, and fishing styles... Let us also add the variable that Triumph does not make a true flats boat, so how many such failures would your average Triumph only dealer even see?

In my area and the type of fishing I do, it is a constant threat and "I" would much rather grind up, thump, break, bend, peel paint off of any prop long before thumping a custom lower unit designed to run in water levels even with the bottom of the prop hub and still feed water to the engine... That is why I have a Triumph 190 hull also, for Gel coat and I (like my Ex) don't get along very well together! Ha-Ha…

Now I do have a buddy of mine in our office that just had his Suzuki lower unit rebuilt (he thought the engine locked up) for the "second time" from thumping the bottom.

Care to guess what kind of prop he had? Aluminum with no spun hub and that prop is still in use (and hear you thought I was going to say Stainless Steel )

Care to guess what kind of prop he is looking at getting? Composite...

Now was it the first thump or the second one that trashed (again) even more gears in the lower unit? Who really knows, but there was one constant during the entire ordeal and that was.... His checkbook got thumped 2 times (ouch) to fix it.

Oyster beds and Coral Heads are also "just slightly" harder than Sand and Mud bottom and more along the lines of slamming your boat at 30 knots into the foundation of your house. So you have to balance your local threats, fishing style, and local water knowledge with what you can or “should” run pending of course, the current balance in your checking account…

Now I would love to have one of those nasty looking 5 bladed SS puppies (might still get one yet ) and more than likely would pick up 5 knots of top end speed, but that is a real gamble in my area and that 5 knots of top end speed (I don't even run wide open, not at 3 bucks a gallon) is not a real priority right now.

So yes, I am very interested in hearing the failure rates from other areas of the Nation and then ask yourself if you in "your" area are willing to take that risk for I am not... If you are always in deeper water and fish offshore by all means, get one! Matter of fact, Stainless would be all that I would run so I can get away from the nasty afternoon storms! Knee deep water or less well.... it is / could be your checkbook that gets the final thump if you are not real careful


Tight Lines!
Dave

[bigsissy33064]

I own a 17' 2001 Logic with a 90hp. Johnson Ocean Pro. I switched props the following weekend that I bought it to a : OEM Johnson SS stainless prop and it changed every thing! I went from 35mph. at 5000 rpms. to 43mph. at 5900 rpms. The stainless was a lot more $$ but, I gained 8mph. and a whole lot more trim. The alum. prop flexed so much at high rpms. that it lost pitch and could not pull the bow out of the water with two people on board! It became so much easyer to steer at higher speeds. No more bow plowing for me! 2001 was the last year for Logic.......R.I.P. The reason that I say that is because they are no longer rated for a Max hp. of 90. I asked a Triumph dealer at the Ft. Lauderdale International Boat Show why the newer 2002 Triumph boats didn't have the same horse power rateing and he said because they were useing a smaller steering wheel and it couldn't take the tourqe of a 90 horse.

I hope all this helps you a little bit? Good luck with your boat!

regalloway@earthlink.net

[woodNfish]

Bigsissy, A smaller steering wheel couldn't take the torque? I dunno, that sounds like a lot of baloney to me. I'm thinking engine HP has to do more with the weight of the boat and strength of the transom, and nothing to do with the diameter of your steering wheel.

Also, how do you know your aluminum prop was flexing under load? Just because you got more speed with a stainless steel prop? Is the diameter and pitch of your new prop the same as your old one? I have a 75hp engine on a 17' Triumph and I can do 43-44mph on my top end. My calculator says you should be able to do about 53mph with the right prop and engine trim, and I don't think you need SS to do it.

Here's my calculations: 75hp/44mph=1.7speed factor 90hp/1.7speed factor=52.94mph

woodNfish

[suitekids]

Hi there Bigsissy, Try to consider this in your equation,your first speed of 35 mph @5000 rpm vs. 43 mph @ 5900, It isn't apples to apples, I like Stainless myself, but your gains are not with that, You might attain 1-2 mph using stainless vs. aluminum, providing diameters and pitches are the same,Stainless props are a little more aggresive with less slippage than aluminum, with a 90 hp on a logic 17 which weighs about 900 lbs less motor, gear and occupants/fuel. you should be swinging a 19 or 21 in. prop, A 19 at the minimum, I run a 17on my 75 and do 43-44 @ 6000 trimmed, Bigger hp motors can swing a bigger pitch which has more bite and travel vs. rpm thru the water less slippage etc. etc. It's really not rocket science but it is a pain to get the right pitch and max rpm combo correct, but a bigger pitch at the same rpm will result in faster top end speed as long as you are running within the wot limits of your motor. I just think you should be running faster than woodnfish and I with your 90, so either your pitch is still to small or your boat is overloaded, sounds to me you are running a 17 inch or 19 inch, maybe try a 20 it should handle it no problem. If your outside fishing, Stainless is "the only way to go"....IMHO.Dan

[2manytoyz]

Originally Posted by bigsissy33064

... I asked a Triumph dealer at the Ft. Lauderdale International Boat Show why the newer 2002 Triumph boats didn't have the same horse power rateing and he said because they were useing a smaller steering wheel and it couldn't take the tourqe of a 90 horse.


regalloway@earthlink.net

The 170 series uses a mechanical steering setup (per my dealer when the question was asked). On higher HP boats, they use a hydraulic steering system. Has nothing to do with the size of the steering wheel. The mechanical type system just can't handle a larger motor.