When trying to ensure that your boat is working at its best, you should always start by looking at your propeller type.
After all, getting the right propeller in place will boost your boat’s performance, regardless of whether you’re focussing on water skiing or gentle cruising. Moreover, it can heavily affect your boat’s speed and power. But, if you’re completely new to the boating industry, no worries. We’ve got you covered.
Keep on reading for our full breakdown of all things related to boat propellers, how they work, and how to find the best propellers for your needs.
Propeller Type 101: The Inner Workings of Propellers
Let’s start with the basics of boat propellers. So, blades of equal length and size encircle the hub of the propeller. The blades are twisted such that when they spin, they force water backward.
The boat is propelled forward in the water by this pushing. When seen from the back, most blades spin in a right-hand (clockwise) orientation. In dual-engine setups, left-hand propellers are coupled with right-hand propellers to keep the boat steady and minimize steering.
Depending on your preferred types of boats, you’ll be able to narrow down the types of propellers you can use.
What Are Your Current Issues?
Generally speaking, the easiest way to pick the right propeller for your needs is by identifying your current problems.
Is your boat slow to get out of the hole and to board a plane? Are you not going as fast as you believe you should be? Are you looking for a way to save money on gas?
Do you want to improve your overall performance? Is your present prop significantly blowing out or venting in turns or while accelerating? Do you want to enhance the watersports performance of your boat for tubing, skiing, or wakeboarding? After you’ve established your objectives, you may go on to the selecting stage.
Engine Revving: Too Low or Too High?
If you choose the right prop (WOT), your engine should operate within the specified rpm range at Wide Open Throttle.
Your owner’s handbook, or your technician or dealer, should have this information (typically 5000–5500rpm for an outboard or 4200–5000rpm for a sterndrive). Allowing your engine to under or over-rev at WOT may cause harm to your engine. Selecting a prop with a different pitch may remedy overrevving or under revving.
Pitching up or Down?
The relationship between engine RPMs and pitch is inverse. Engine RPMs will be reduced if the pitch is increased and increased if the pitch is decreased. A two-inch increase in pitch will often result in a decrease of 300 to 400 rpm.
Returning to the issue of WOT performance, try a propeller with a lower pitch if your engine is under revving. Consider a propeller with a greater pitch if your engine is overrevving. A two-inch reduction in pitch, on the other hand, will increase 300 to 400 rpm.
Elevation and Weight Elevation Considerations
Many small trailered boats are utilized in various altitudes, including high mountain lakes and sea level bays. Engines generate less power at high altitudes due to lower oxygen concentrations (approximately 20% less at 7000′). You may partly compensate for this loss of performance by carrying a second prop with a lower pitch, which will make it simpler for the engine to reach the proper rpm at WOT.
As for weight issues, if you have a lot of heavy gear inside your boat or pull skiers or wakeboarders. Sometimes, the original equipment prop may have too much pitch, causing your engine’s rpm to below.
Two props with various pitches make sense if you vary configurations, sometimes running light and other times laden with camping gear. Carry two full or modular props with varying pitches to adjust your prop’s pitch to various situations.
Cavitation and Ventilation
Ventilation issues arise when surface air or engine exhaust gas is pulled into the propeller blades. The boat’s speed slows, the engine screams and over-revs, and the propeller suckers in air. Excessively tight turns, a motor placed too high on the transom, or an engine that is over trimmed all cause high degrees of ventilation. Props that are not suited to the application, poorly built props, props with little or no cup, or props that are old or have broken edges or cup profiles may all cause ventilation.
As for cavitation, here’s what happens. Water vaporizes or “boils” owing to the severe absence of pressure on the rear of the propeller blade, which is sometimes mistaken with ventilation.
Many propellers partly cavitate during normal operation, but severe cavitation may cause “cavitation burn,” metal erosion, or pitting the blade surface.
Correct engine height (outboards), dents or sharp edges in the leading edge, improper polishing, too much cup, or a bad blade design are all causes of cavitation. Cavitation may also be caused by turbulence-producing protrusions beneath the boat ahead of the prop, such as thru-hulls, sensors, or other turbulence-producing protrusions.
Prop Talk and Terminologies: Propeller Nomenclature
Sometimes, you need to be familiar with the industry “lingo.”
The diameter and pitch of a propeller are given as two integers, with the diameter always mentioned first. The distance between the center of the hub and the tip of any blade is two times its diameter.
Smaller prop diameters are often associated with smaller engines or high-performance boats. Pitch is the potential forward distance traveled by a propeller during one revolution, measured in inches.
Because there is always some “slip” between the propeller and the water (about 10% to 15%), the actual distance traveled is less than the theoretical amount. Consider pitch to be the same as speed or the gear option on a car’s gearbox.
Turning Point Propellers use squeeze casting to produce thinner blades. They provide stainless performance at costs comparable to aluminum.
The degree to which the blades tilt forward or backward in respect to the hub is called a rake. Rake may have an impact on how water flows through the propeller, which can influence boat performance.
Aft rake serves to raise the boat’s bow, reducing the wetted surface area of the hull and increasing top-end planing speed. Today’s steeply raked propellers may need the purchase of a high-performance trim tab. The blade tips of these new propellers may collide with your engine’s older type trim tabs.
Cupping of the propeller blade’s trailing edge is typical on many propellers.
A downward bend in the blade’s lip (similar to a plane’s wing with the “flaps” down) provides a better hole shot, less slippage, and ventilation and aids the propeller’s bite on the water. A cupped prop will reduce rpm by 150 to 300 and enable the engine to be trimmed with the prop closer to the surface.
Data Points and Measurements Needed
Once you have a vague idea of what brand or specifications you want, you’ll need to collect the following data points.
Otherwise, it’ll be more akin to looking for a needle in a haystack. You’ll need propeller and engine data, as well as boat data.
- Present prop pitch
- Number of blades
- Present prop diameter
- Right or left-hand prop rotation (clockwise is right hand)
- Preferred materials
- Shaft diameter and number of splines or keyway type
- Manufacturer’s part number
- Rated horsepower
- RPM at WOT
- Number of engines
- Manufacturer, model, and year
- Gearcase size
- Power trim or trim tabs
- Displacement in cubic inches or centimeters
- Hull material
- Hull shape
- Present/desired top speed
- Length overall
Those are some of the basic information that you’ll want to share with your potential manufacturers or boating supplier.
Choosing the Right Blade Count and Pitch
Now that you’re familiar with the foundational terms, it’s time to consider your boating location, typical speed, and load. If you want to use the boat for various purposes, you may need to change the propellers. The propeller you choose directly impacts the engine’s RPM and, as a result, its performance.
With a typical load, choose a propeller that puts the engine RPM at the middle or higher of the wide-open throttle range, otherwise known as WOT.
This operating range corresponds to the maximum horsepower your outboard can produce. You may find the operating range of your engine in the owner’s handbook.
Once you’ve determined the operating range, check your engine’s propeller handbook to choose a pitch, blade number, and material combination. To conduct a water test, choose a variety of propellers. You should test the propellers in the same circumstances that you would operate the boat in—the same load, gear, and water. Set the trim angle so that the boat travels at the fastest possible speed above the water.
Run the boat at full throttle and use a tachometer to measure the maximum engine RPM. Switch to a propeller with lower-pitched blades if the RPM falls below the specified operating range. Pick a different propeller, preferably one with higher-pitched blades if the RPM is greater.
The RPM shifts by 150-200 RPM for every inch of pitch size. Aim for the suggested operating range’s middle or above. Remember that high altitudes decrease engine power, so select a lower pitch to maintain the same RPM as at sea level.
The engine height also influences the propeller’s performance. Adjust the engine mounting height after you’ve found the appropriate prop to get the greatest mix of speed, dexterity, and acceleration.
Begin with the anti-ventilation plate, which should be flush with the boat’s bottom. Raise the engine one mounting hole at a time until the performance is unsatisfactory, then lower the engine one hole at a time until the performance is acceptable.
Keep a backup prop aboard in case of an emergency. One suggestion is to purchase a spare propeller with a pitch two inches lower than the regular propeller. Because of the slower acceleration and greater power, this pitch decrease is ideal for tow sports like water skiing.
Selecting the Best Materials
Most outboards and IOs come standard with aluminum props, which are both cheap and easy to fix.
Bronze or nickel-bronze-aluminum alloy props with three and four blades are used on inboards. Aluminum or stainless steel replacement propellers for IO or outboard boats are available.
The most popular and least costly material is aluminum. Most outboard and sterndrive applications are compatible.
Due to stronger, thinner blades and more sophisticated designs, stainless steel outperforms aluminum in terms of performance. This is the best option at speeds above 50 mph or if your boat often passes through oyster beds or sandbars.
Stainless steel is more expensive than aluminum, but it lasts five times longer. Stainless props may be restored to like-new condition at a greater cost, while repaired aluminum props would experience metal fatigue and a loss of strength.
If you’re interested in going with stainless steel, you’ll want to check this out for more info.
Should You Pick a Four-Blade Propeller?
In either sterndrive or outboard applications, three or four blades perform effectively. Three-blade designs provide all-around performance as well as a speed advantage at the top end. Boats that are difficult to get on plane, underpowered, or utilized in watersports where top-end speed is not essential to benefit from four-blade designs.
In many instances, four blades with equal pitch will reduce your rpm by 50 to 150 rpm. Recreational boats with three-, four-, and six-cylinder outboards and sterndrives benefit from three-blade props, which provide excellent hole shot and top-end performance.
Three-blade props have blades covering approximately half of the available space within the circle created by the prop’s diameter (the Diameter Area Ratio). When you add a fourth blade, your DAR hikes up about 60% to 65%, resulting in greater power to freeze your boat planing at lesser rpm, a possible improvement in fuel efficiency, but also a 50–100rpm decrease at WOT.
Ready to Pick the Perfect Propeller?
We know that it can be rather overwhelming to dive deep into the wide range of boating equipment. But, we hope that our thorough guide has shed some light on how you can pick the right propeller type for your boat.
In short, start by collecting as much information regarding your boat and its needs. Then, you can find the right propeller.
And, if you’re looking for more easy-to-digest information, you’ve found the right blog. Check out our technology and business services sections for all the tips and tricks you could possibly need.
