SS aluminum or plastic prop help

[Guest buick14]

Hey there,

 

I have a merc highfive stainless prop for my boat which is a little dinged up and was thinking about having it sent in somewhere to have it fixed up....

 

Now, my mechanic said to stay away from them and stick with aluminum because they are heavy when they clunk in and out of the gears, which is hard on the shaft and lower......He also said it isnt forgiving, which I do understand......

 

Seeing as plastic stays harder than aluminum on takeoff etc, but is not heavy like the stainless, would this be the best route for me? If i hit something, would the plastic almost be forgiving as the aluminum, or would it be the same consequence as SS?

 

I have also come across aluminum props that claim to offer almost comparible performance...??

 

I also dont want to over rev this thing either......

 

I could stand for a little extra top end, but dont want to loose to much acceleration and handling............my boat is 16'5 ft ranger with a 115hp

 

Is my mechanic correct?

Is plastic decent yet forgiving?

should i stick with aluminum?

 

thank you!

[Fisherman]

You may want to check at Comprop, they are plastic composite, maybe they have a model for you. If I rememeber corrrectly, Cabelas has props with replaceable blades, also composite.

[Billy Bob]

All props have their pro's and con's.....but I would stick to either SS or Aluminum for a prop..... I have always had aluminum but when you get up there on HP you should be switching to SS for more performance which also means better gas mileage and with today's prices that's a good thing.

 

With your HP (115hp) I would stay away from any non metal prop and that includes any composition prop.

 

Cost wise it would be best to have your prop redone and be done with that..........

 

Bob