Stainless steel prop brands

[Bigskyboat]

I'm looking to get s stainless steel prop. I have a 3.0 Volvo penta. What kind of difference will I see in the SOLAS HR TITAN prop (which is 321$) VS. the Volvo Penta prop (519$) both are 14-3/4x17. Any input is appreciated. Thank you.

 

[jimmbo]

Mercury is one of the best prop makers around. They offer over 13 different stainless lines. I have a Volvo Penta, and have been running a Mercury Enertia for 11 years now. It has been a great prop, very good holeshot, and top speed. Rarely ventilates in turns, even when trimmed out. For my purposes, it is the best prop I have run. YMMV

As for the Solas vs. VP SS, I have no experience with any Solas Prop. I have seen the VP SS, it isn't much different than their AL props.

 

[Bigskyboat]

I guess for my purposes. Mostly fishing. I'm getting a stainless steel because they hold up better. I've read all the pros and cons on aluminum VS. stainless. I'm thinking about just going with the cheaper stainless one, after all it's just a four cylinder and I'm not going to get break neck speed no matter what prop I use. Just wanted to hear from you guys to see if I could be talked into the more expensive one.

 

[jimmbo]

Well they are stronger. Here's is my SS after a few gentle caresses with a rock pile. Bent the prop shaft too

 

[QBhoy]

Bigskyboat

Suppose it depends on what boat you have the 3.0 in.
If it's in an 18-20ft open now or light sports boat, a decent stainless can make a pretty big difference.
Totally agree with Jiimbo on the mercury range. Great props for all different purposes.
I've had superb result with a laser 2 over the years on all different sports boats. Outboards and inboards alike.

 

[89retta]

Jimmbo was that damage done at Alberta beach ?

 

[jimmbo]

Jimmbo was that damage done at Alberta beach ?

16 km south at Wabamun Lake. If you are boating on Lac St. Anne, stay away from the islands, just north of Alberta Beach. There is an old road between the islands and the shore that is only about 30 cm below the surface. It's a great place to walk, all kinds of gears, bearings, propshafts, and skegs scattered there.

 

[QBhoy]

Ouch. Cringing at the thought of that Jimmbo

 

[Bigskyboat]

The 3.0 is in a 1997 crestliner 1750 sportfish. If I could gain a few mph I think it would be worth the extra $.

 

[jimmbo]

A Stainless prop is not an automatic increase in speed. Cheapest way to increase performance. Get rid of unnecessary ballast, no wife, no kids, no mother-in-law permitted aboard, ever! Mistresses and Girlfriends, are still allowed on board.

 

[Bigskyboat]

Ha ha ha. Yeah ok, like I said I'm not getting a stainless for speed, im getting it for the durability, I just didn't know if it would be worth it to spend the money on the more expensive prop.

 

[89retta]

16 km south at Wabamun Lake. If you are boating on Lac St. Anne, stay away from the islands, just north of Alberta Beach. There is an old road between the islands and the shore that is only about 30 cm below the surface. It's a great place to walk, all kinds of gears, bearings, propshafts, and skegs scattered there.

​So I take it you did that by the plant on the south side of Wabamun. And yes I know where you are talking about . Lots of people hit those sunken rocks at AB. Should be marked as it was the town that put them there. They had planed on making a walkway out to Rock island . Maybe we can meet up this summer.

 

[Chris1956]

The only experience I had where a SS prop was essential, was on a shallow bay with a sand and muck bottom. My sterndrive would dig a lot when getting on plane, running the prop thru the bottom. As such, an aluminum prop would last 1 season. A ss prop on the same boat, in the same bay, lasted forever.

The moral of the story is that, as long as I don't drag the prop thru the bottom material, the Aluminum props hold up for many seasons.

As you saw and heard from Jimmbo, bad things happen if you hit rocks. SS has the potential to bend the propshaft and/or damage the gearcase, if you hit rocks, which Al props will not do.

There are high performance aluminum props, which give nearly the performance of SS They are about 1/3 the cost of SS or less.

 

[jimmbo]

Yesterday at the Edmonton Boat Show I saw a Drive by Volvo, that would be excellent in deep water, but not so good in shallow water

 

[jimmbo]

​So I take it you did that by the plant on the south side of Wabamun. And yes I know where you are talking about . Lots of people hit those sunken rocks at AB. Should be marked as it was the town that put them there. They had planed on making a walkway out to Rock island . Maybe we can meet up this summer.

X marks the location of impact

 

[89retta]

That's a bad spot as well as just south of there

 

[jimmbo]

I stay out of that area. I know what the charts say about the area, I thought I was in 12 - 15 ft of water, suddenly my depth reader was reading 5 ft, 4 ft, 3 ft, 2 ft, Bang boom, boom.
I actually got the boat up on plane with the blades bent and torn. Terrible vibration