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Hi everyone.
I just bought my first boat. I grew up in NYC but moved to Miami so no previous boat experience.
My boat is a Boston Whaler with a Honda 130 4 Stroke. A guy I met on the dock tells me that I'd be better with a 4 blade prop. he said that it would be much better for wakeboarding and waterskiing to get me out of the hole?
Help?
Brett
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Posted 23 July 2010 - 08:48 PM
Hello,
Going from a 3 to a 4 blade will drop your RPM's about 100-150 RPM's, so not as much as a full inch in pitch, which will drop you down about 200 RPM per inch. So if you go from say a 19 to a 21 inch pitch, you will drop ON THE AVERAGE about 400 RPM.
If you go to a four blade you can throw another 150ish RPM on top of that. You are dialed in pretty well in terms of WOT (Wide Open Throttle). The four will give you better hole shot, faster plane a better hold on plane, which is nice if you ski or have a loaded boat. It will even without either of those. You will also usually get better mileage and less cavitation with a 4 and typically can trim them out a little higher, but you can also expect more bow lift initially, but again, you come up on plane faster and hold it better.
Typically the four will give you a sharper turn at speed before it "blows out" and you hit the cavitation spot. Where you lose on a four is top speed. More blades mean more drag in the water at top speed, but how often do you buzz around at WOT? For that couple miles per hour at the top, you should get a wider range of performance so in my opinion piss on the top end unless you have your hand all the way down all the time. If thats the case go with stainless or a three blade.
I would also check out Piranha props. They have come a long way. Virtually indestructible hub and you can change pitch and wheel size in minutes. Lighter on the spin so easier on the tranny and also if you smack something the blades go, you replace and your are on your way. Stainless you have a good chance of going in the lower end and repairing that or tossing your bent to crap or broken aluminum. Also less flex so better overall performance. I had a black max on and the Piranha kicked its butt. I love stainless, cuz the shinier things look the cooler, but the Piranha will just about keep up with it and I hate 2K repair bills when you hit that submerged rock.
Hope this helps!
Going from a 3 to a 4 blade will drop your RPM's about 100-150 RPM's, so not as much as a full inch in pitch, which will drop you down about 200 RPM per inch. So if you go from say a 19 to a 21 inch pitch, you will drop ON THE AVERAGE about 400 RPM.
If you go to a four blade you can throw another 150ish RPM on top of that. You are dialed in pretty well in terms of WOT (Wide Open Throttle). The four will give you better hole shot, faster plane a better hold on plane, which is nice if you ski or have a loaded boat. It will even without either of those. You will also usually get better mileage and less cavitation with a 4 and typically can trim them out a little higher, but you can also expect more bow lift initially, but again, you come up on plane faster and hold it better.
Typically the four will give you a sharper turn at speed before it "blows out" and you hit the cavitation spot. Where you lose on a four is top speed. More blades mean more drag in the water at top speed, but how often do you buzz around at WOT? For that couple miles per hour at the top, you should get a wider range of performance so in my opinion piss on the top end unless you have your hand all the way down all the time. If thats the case go with stainless or a three blade.
I would also check out Piranha props. They have come a long way. Virtually indestructible hub and you can change pitch and wheel size in minutes. Lighter on the spin so easier on the tranny and also if you smack something the blades go, you replace and your are on your way. Stainless you have a good chance of going in the lower end and repairing that or tossing your bent to crap or broken aluminum. Also less flex so better overall performance. I had a black max on and the Piranha kicked its butt. I love stainless, cuz the shinier things look the cooler, but the Piranha will just about keep up with it and I hate 2K repair bills when you hit that submerged rock.
Hope this helps!
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