Aluminum Vs Stainless Steel Props

[DMW1960]

First Off Let Me Say Thanks To Oss For His Help And Instruction! Couldn’t Have Done It Without You! You Took The Time To Explain Things About Props That No One Else Would Do For Me. Lol Oss You Told Me Maybe 2 Mph More!!!

First Off Let Me Say I Know Nothing About Props Period! I Just Had The Original Aluminum Mercury Prop On My Boat That Had Some Damage On It. And I Wanted To Find Something That Wouldn’t Tear Up As Easy Up On Truman. And Trying To Find Someone Who Will Take The Time To Explain Diameter, Pitch And All That Stuff To You Without Charging You An Arm Or A Leg Is Hard To Find. And Who Do You Believe Someone Who Is About To Make A Bunch Of Money On You? I Was Lucky Oss Looked At My Prop And Also Checked Out The Prop That I Ordered Before I Ordered It.

Before I Go Any Further I Want To Say I Wanted To Go To A Stainless Prop Without Making Any Changes To My Boat. I Wanted The Same Size Prop And Everything Else Except I Wanted To Go From An Aluminum To A Stainless Steel. I Was Already Happy With My Speed And Control Until Today! Read On!

I Have A 175 Lowes Mod-v Crappie Stinger With A Mercury 50 Hp 2 Cycle.

Here Is What Happened Today With The First Trip Out With The New Stainless Prop, I Did Nothing To The Boat Except Change From An Aluminum To A Stainless Prop. Boat Was Loaded Just Like It Is Normally! Ok I Had An Extra Sandwich Today!

I Was Able To Clock A Top Speed Of 32.4 Mph, Checked By Gps And Speedometer. Normally With Just Me In The Boat The Most I Have Ever Gotten Out Boat Is 30 Mph. Most Of The Time It Is Just Right At Or Right Below 30 Mph With The Original Aluminum Prop.
The Max Rpms Have Not Changed At All, Still Running At 5,000!

Something Else I Noticed Today The Boat Got Right Up On Plain! No Messing Around! And The Boat Handled And Drove Better In The Wind And The White Caps. It Worked Well Going Cross Ways In The Wind, With The Wind And Against The Wind. It Seemed Like That I Didn’t Have To Use As Much Throttle In Ruff Water To Have The Control That I Feel Comfortable With To Maintain Boat Control. I Was Able To Trim The Boat Out Easier Going Into The Wind And The Boat Didn’t Bounce As Bad. I Didn’t Burn As Much Fuel Today As In The Past Fishing The Same Areas. Fact Is Today I Covered More Water Than I Normally Do.

I May Be Crazy Ok So I Am Crazy, It Also Seemed That The Boat Had More Power! Now I Might Be Able To Pull That Tube Easier That We Purchased Last Year To Pull The Kid And His Future Wife Around On!

Cost Factor: New Aluminum $150.00 – New Stainless Steel $300.00 - $350.00

Repair Costs: Aluminum $50.00 - Stainless (oss Says I Don’t Want To Know!)

I Found Out Some Other Little Dirty Secrets In Shopping For A New Prop! What They Don’t Tell You Is That They Will Price You A Propeller, Then Tell You That You Will Need A New Hub Kit! That Will Add An Additional $30 To $50 Dollars In My Case.

These Local Jokers Prices Didn’t Include Sales Tax So That Adds An Additional 6% Or More.

I Got Lucky How I Don’t Know! I Couldn’t Win A One Horse Race! I Found A Place Online That Sells New Michigan Wheel Apollo Stainless Steel Props! I Hate Ordering Something On Line Because I Never Get The Right Size Or Nothing Else! Lol Thanks Again To Oss For Double Checking Me!

Ok So I Ordered The New Prop For $209.99, They Included A New Hub Kit For Free! Shipping By Ups Was $10.95. Since I Ordered It Out Of State, No Sales Tax! Total Invoice Was $220 And Some Change. I Figure I Saved Myself About $200.00!

The Reason For This Thread Is I Figured I Might Be Able To Help Someone Else Who Is Thinking About Changing Props. Do Some Shopping, Compare Apples To Apples! I Priced The Same Apollo Prop At My Boat Dealer And A Prop Shop.

After Comparing An Aluminum Prop To A Stainless Steel Prop With My Boat, Would I Spend The Extra Money For The Stainless Again? Heck Yeah In A Heart Beat! The Difference Is Just Too Much! Boat Handles Better, Kind Of Like The Difference Between Having Power Steering And Not Having Power Steering. People I Am Telling You, I Have Been Not Fishing As Much To Save The Money To Help Pay For The Extra Costs For The New Stainless Prop! Sure Glad I Did! Going To Repair My Old Prop And Keep It In The Boat As A Spare.

I Just Wish Some Boat Dealer Would Have Told Me What The Difference Was When I Was Purchasing The Boat! I Would Have Had A Stainless Steel Prop On Before The Boat Ever Hit The Water The First Time! What I Was Told When I Asked That A Stainless Steel Prop Wasn’t Needed For My Sized Boat And Motor. And It Wouldn’t Make Any Difference! Boy Was That A Crock!

Anyone Wants The Website Just Pm Me Or If There Is Interest I Will Post The Link! I Had Never Heard Of This Place Before. I Called Them And Gave Them My Debit Card And Bingo In 4 Days I Had A New Prop! They Treated Me Good!

One Important Thing When Changing Out A Prop! Be Sure To Check Your Owners Manual To Check For The Correct Torque Lbs For Your Prop Nut, Mine Was 55 Lbs.

[catman]

stainless for sure, good post thanks.

[DMW1960]

stainless for sure, good post thanks.

THANKS CATMAN. I KNOW STAINLESS IS VERY IMPORTANT FOR LARGER MOTORS 100 HP AND UP PUSHING FIBERGLASS BOATS. I GUESS MY MAIN POINT WHEN MY LOWES DEALER TOLD ME THAT IT WAS A ALUMINUM CRAPPIE BOAT AND WITH A SMALL MOTOR IT WON'T MAKE A DIFFERENCE. I DON'T HAVE A FIBERGLASS BOAT AND A BIG MOTOR BUT I DO FISH THE SAME SPOTS. I TRAVEL THE SAME MAIN CHANNELS AS THE BIG BOYS. I AM JUST NOT IN ANY HURRY TO GET THERE. BUT I STILL WANT TO FEEL SAFE ON THE WATER AND HAVE SOME PERFORMANCE.

YOU KNOW WE HAVE ALL HEARD THIS OR THAT ABOUT STAINLESS ON MOTORS LESS THAN 100 OR 75 HORSE POWER. ALOT OF IT IS JUST RUMOR WITH LITTLE FACTS ON THE MATTER. AND THERE IS LITTLE TO ANY INFORMATION OUT THERE ABOUT DOING THE CHANGE. OH YES I HAVE SEEN POSTS ABOUT CHANGING TO A DIFFERENT SIZED PROP OR A DIFFERENT PITCH. BUT NOTHING FROM ANYONE WHO KEPT THE SAME SIZED PROP AND THE SAME PITCH. AND SOME OF THE PROBLEMS THAT PEOPLE HAVE HAD IN DOING THIS. THIS IS MY EXPERIENCE WITH GOING FROM A ALUMINUM PROP TO A STAINLESS PROP. JUST A PLAIN APPLES TO APPLES SWITCH OUT.

[gatorbitu]

Stainless is definitely the way to go. Glad you got a good deal on yours. Now get out there and tear the lakes up!:D

[WantinCrappie]

Good post Dan. Glad you got hooked up. So long story short the old man with the flapping jaws actually know's what he is talking about once in a while? :D:D

Oh, I can see the wrath coming already.

[DMW1960]

Good post Dan. Glad you got hooked up. So long story short the old man with the flapping jaws actually know's what he is talking about once in a while? :D:D

Oh, I can see the wrath coming already.

CHRIS YOU CAN DIG YOUR OWN GRAVE! I AM NOT GOING TO HELP YOU! LOL! BUT I WILL SEND FLOWERS!

YEAH IT WAS A LONG STORY. THERE IS A HECK OF A MARK UP ON PROPS. NO INFO EVEN ON THE MERCURY MARINE WEB SITE I COULDN'T EVEN FIND MY MOTOR THEY SAID GO TO YOUR DEALER. AND I TALKED WITH A PROP SHOP GUY, A BOAT DEALER, AND OSS AKA OLD STAINLESS STEEL. WHEN YOU PULL YOUR BOAT TO A PROP DEALER AND A BOAT DEALER AND THEY CAN'T OR THEY ACT LIKE YOUR STUPID FOR ASKING QUESTIONS. MONTY WAS THE ONLY PERSON WHO TOOK THE TIME AND ANSWERED MY STUPID QUESTIONS. MONTY TOLD ME MORE IN THE FIRST 2 MINUTES THAN THE PROP GUY. AND MONTY DIDN'T BLOW ME OFF BECAUSE I HAD A SMALL MOTOR!

HE TOLD ME THAT I COULD BRING MY BOAT UP TO HIS PLACE IF I WAS AFRAID TO PUT THE NEW PROP ON. I AM GLAD I HAD A FRIEND LIKE OSS WHO WENT THE EXTRA MILE TO HELP ME OUT. I KNOW I WAS A PAIN IN HIS BUTT!

[jackb]

Great post Dan! Lots of goo info there

[Kit Papermouth]

I've chunked some wood where the stainless came through unscathed.
I'm sure an aluminum wouldn't have faired so well.
Good investment!