does anybody run a Piranha prop?

[maxxpower]

Thinking about hooking up with one for my Bayliner 175 with the 3.0 liter stern drive.I often run in shallow water and like the idea of being able to change single blades. If anyone has had any experience I would love to hear from you

 

[rogerwa]

Re: does anybody run a Piranha prop?

I have a similar sized boat and also have to navigate a shallow river to get to my cabin.. I dinged up two props last year. I am debating this myself.. Everything I have read says this may be a very good compromise.<br /><br />What part of WI do you boat??

 

[bass3859]

Re: does anybody run a Piranha prop?

I ran a 3 blade prop on a 50 HP Suzuki, and absolutely loved it. May have lost about 2-3 mph from the aluminum prop it replaced, but not enough for me to be concerned with. The best thing is the ability to replace single blades at bout $20 a pop, instead of who knows how much just to repair an aluminum, and even more so for a SS one. If you are seriously considering it, I would highly recommend one, especially if you will be running in shallow water often. Also, if you aren't aware, they have the option for you to send the blades you have back to them and they will send you a different pitch, and you only pay the shipping costs, if the blades you have are in such condition that they can sell them again.<br /><br />If you want, you can order directly from them as well. They should have a customer service # on their website. Just call them and order what you want. That is what I did.

 

[Snowdrggn]

Re: does anybody run a Piranha prop?

For what it's worth......<br />I run a Pirhana prop on my small inflatable and find it far out performs an aluminum prop. I have less ventilation than the OEM props and a better hole shot. I have a few friends that run the Pirhana props on 100+ hp outboards on runabouts and they prefer them to aluminum also, but say they are not as good as a stainless prop. The attraction to the Pirhana is the immediate repair at a reasonable price as opposed to sending the prop to a shop and waiting for its return. The other advantage is the quick and inexpensive pitch changes. The other advantage to me is that I can carry 2 or 3 sets of extra baldes with me when I run in remote areas without the issues and cost of "normal" props as I have limited onboard storage for extra gear.<br /><br />Cheers,<br /> Snow.

 

[maxxpower]

Re: does anybody run a Piranha prop?

Thanks for the responses! I have also heard that they equal or out perform aluminum props. I also agree with Snowdrggn that it would be nice to carry extra blades for the remote areas. As far as losing any top end speed I'm not concerned because most of the lakes have speed limits anyway. Rogerwa, I typically boat in southeastern WI. Thanks

 

[This_lil_fishy]

Re: does anybody run a Piranha prop?

Um...any thought on how much damage an aluminum or SS prop would have done with that 'bump' of yours? Keeping in mind the piranha would have softened the impact due to it's design. I've not used one, probably never will bother...but your problem seems odd to me.

Ian

 

[jal]

Re: does anybody run a Piranha prop?

I have run the same piranha prop for ten years. I have spare blades for it but have not needed them. I have two setups one for 8 to 9 thousand elevation and one for four thousand. They work great.

If you buy the spare blades with the prop you will never need them. It you do not you will need them within a month

 

[Bifflefan]

Re: does anybody run a Piranha prop?

In fact, not only did I break off a blade, but I even had one blade EJECT from the hub. The folks at "tech support" for Piranha said "we have never had that happen to a prop of that size." You would think they would be interested in seeing and learning from this "anomaly", you are wrong. I felt the "it has never happened before therefore it didn't happen" message being sent very early in my communication with them.

Bumped bottom many times, the prop is dinged and a little rough but NEVER had there been a problem like this.

I see a few "nevers" in here.
Altho i havent hit anything with a plactic prop (really havent owned one), I looks like you have "never" hit anything hard enough with a alum prop to do any damage to the drive.
I would have to think that if you hit the same rock the same way with the alum prop you would be buying a new lower unit.

As for the composite props I also have looked at them and think they would be a good option, but i havent tried one.