Im going to try something different. What im interested in is reasons NOT to go to a 4 blade. There are all kinds of posts praising the 4 blade switch and if I look at pretty much any help section about the 4 blades, they all say the same thing better hole shot, better midrange cruise , better time to plane, smoother, etc etc. the only downside generally mentioned is lower top speed. For most general boating needs, outside of wide open throttle runs, it seems like a 4 blade would be superior, yet I almost always see 3 blades used most of the time. But I also read conflicting posts about whether to use them on sterndrives vs outboards based on drive depth, heavy vs light boats, high vs low HP etc. One local dealer I talk to recomneds 3 blade cause blades are larger, another says 4 blade cause even though its smaller blades its more blade area.
FYI
my application is a 21' bowrider 5.7 Alpha 1, we do mostly watersports and normal cruising aroudn the lakes. The only time we ever even open it up WOT is testing a new prop for a short blast. Otherwise water is usually too rough to run much faster than midrange rpm anyway. I am looking at getting a new prop, but cant get a solid feel on whether a 4 blade would be any solid benefit.
FYI
my application is a 21' bowrider 5.7 Alpha 1, we do mostly watersports and normal cruising aroudn the lakes. The only time we ever even open it up WOT is testing a new prop for a short blast. Otherwise water is usually too rough to run much faster than midrange rpm anyway. I am looking at getting a new prop, but cant get a solid feel on whether a 4 blade would be any solid benefit.