Prop damage - should I just file it and repaint?

[Carmageddon]

Hello, I was going in a little shallow lake, hit the ground (thankfully, appears not stones just ground!)

There are some dull and bent edges only.

This is a 14ft 50HP Johnson, to be used for water sports.

What do you suggest I do, to mitigate this damage?
Bench grinder or buy manual file? balancing using something?

How important is it to repair this damage?
What about that little wing below / behind the prop, which was bent a while ago? should I try to straighten it out? How much/what effect does it have? on what?
Should I aim to make it as sharp edge as possible, to make cutting through the water as easy as possible? or try to make more round like it originally was?


Thanks!

 

[jimmbo]

Take it to a Prop rebuilder, or get a new prop. The Skeg, can, with a couple of big Hammers(one to be placed behind the bend, the other to massage it back to the first hammer), be gently coerced back to being straight. Don't waste your time trying to file it, it will likely never be properly balanced

 

[Carmageddon]

We don't have any rebuilder shop in Halifax..
closest one I see in a us association website is in another province (Charlottown, PEI - 3.5 hours driving away).

So either find something not online, DIY repair, or buy new for 200 bucks again.

What is The Skeg you mentioned?
How many work hours a shop would need to fix it? Trying to compare vs price of new...

If new, which one should I aim for water sports performance purpose

 

[WesNewell]

Happy with your current 15P prop? Get the same pitch. You can get a new aluminum for under $100 US. Skeg is fin at bottom of engine, Goggle it. 3 minutes with a big cresent wrench could straighten it pretty good.

 

[Sea Rider]

Being happy with a prop doesn't say much about current prop performance as there's no wot rpm numbers posted to know if at least said motor runs middle to max wot rpm range factory stated as currently loaded. A bad idea to replace damaged prop for same new one without wot numbers data, nada bueno to dump money into the deep blue.

Those injuries seen around the blade edges are nothing. My current prop went that same scenario, the Admiral forgot to rise the anchor, when the combo was on its way out the anchor's chain swung into the prop blades and damaged more deeply the blade's edges than the OP's ones.

With a Dremel tool filed both sides of each blade to be even with the rest of the blade, repainted the prop, there's no prop vibration at full hammer down whatsoever, it's just a blade edge issue more of a cosmetic thing than a partial or fully bent blade issue. The skeg should be OK as the prop damage is bare minimum.


Happy Boating

 

[Texasmark]

Back when I ran alum on my 125 Johnson, I came home with that kind of dinging up every Sunday. Monday after work, out came the file, tuned it up and ready for the next outing. Now if you had a bent blade, or a chunk missing, like happens on rebuilt alum props then I'd get another....but not for what I see. Just remove enough to smooth it out. You will have some cavitation occur from the dissimilarities around the circumference of the blade due to the irregularity but it would take hours and hours to eat away at the prop.

 

[Faztbullet]

The skeg is not OK...…...it is bent and will cause added steering torque. Also prop needs attention but not by DIY standards.

 

[Sea Rider]

Touche, was a visual moment, the skeg is bent, will need to have it repaired to its original condition. This prop had deeper damage at front and blade sides than OP's ones.



A DIY Dremelization work and extreme patience did the restoration work, no prop vibration nor lower seals damage whatsoever running at 6K wot revs. If going per a DIY work, sending it to a prop shop or installing a new one, it's entirely up to the OP.



Happy Boating