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Posts: 23
Location: Stewartville, MN | I need a new prop for my 2001 Yamaha F100. I currently have a 17 pitch aluminium one but it has a few too many dings. I was at Cabela's and they had a SS one in their bargin cave. It was a 13 1/4" with a 17 pitch Cabela high performance for $200. I had it in the cart, but my father-in-law was with us and he was concerned that I could ruin a lower unit if I hit something with the SS. I have often heard this worry about SS and am wondering if it is a true concern. I fish both lakes and rivers.
While on the subject, what is the best river guard to get. I am thinking if I can save money on the prop maybe I should just get a river guard with the savings
Thanks in advance for sharing your knowledge (I am a rookie boat owner) |
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Location: Windy City | Your father in law is telling you the truth. You can screw up a lower unit much easier with a ss prop. They will give you more speed but you have to be very careful with them. There is no give in stainless steel which means lower unit being more at risk. Depends on where your fishing and how well you know the water. That being said I dinged my ss prop this spring on a floating log. You have to decide on whats more important to you the added speed in the ss or not having to worry as much with an aluminum prop.
Edited by one last cast 7/22/2007 10:14 PM
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Posts: 80
| Just a matter of opinion, I think if you are going to hit something hard enough and fast enough to %$## up your lower unit. I doesnt matter that much what you are running the skeg comes first anyhow. Maybe the exception being a compprop. may save some damage. As far as a guard they do make skeg guards but with a 100 horse with power trim there is not a guard that will do much of anything. I used to have a 16 foot flat bottom that I had a metal fab shop weld a pitch fork head to the lower unit of a 25 horse and just kept the motor in the tilt up position. worked great for the back waters of the Old Man River. I would suggest getting to know the waters you fish well or sell your boat and get a tunnel hull or a jet drive just my 2cents. |
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Posts: 2384
Location: On the X that marks the mucky spot | It's not likely that running a stainless prop will be the difference between wrecking your motor. If you wack something that bad you're going to have more then enough damage to claim in on your insurance.
Just don't hit anything... |
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Posts: 3514
Location: Elk River, Minnesota | I'll chime in here as well. Go for the stainless. There is no doubt that stainless is much harder, but that also means it can take a few more things as well...like sand. if your blades hit sandy bottom, they will not blunt, bend, chip, etc. When going fast, you will bend a shaft/ break the lower unit with either an aluminum or a stainless, so in my humble opinion, I'd rather get the performance characteristics of a stainless. Besides...how often are you going to run into rocks anyway (in all seriousness here...think about it...)?
Steve |
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Location: Athens, Ohio | I currently have a 17 pitch aluminium one but it has a few too many dings.
After you get your new SS prop, take the old aluminum prop to a boat shop and have it sent away to be re-worked. You'll get it back almost good-as-new, usually at half the price of a new one. Then, you can use that one if you go to places where you suspect underwater hazards can wreck your new prop, and you'll have a great spare. m |
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SS props