Aluminum or Stainless

[Mark Christianson]

Alright, what the heck do I do?

I did a quick check for topics related(didnt look real hard). If I missed it, just gimme a link to the topic.

Aluminum prop repair number 4 or 5 in 8 years coming my way.

Stainless scares me. Am I going to do damage to the motor if I hit something? Damage thats going to be more than the cost of repairing an aluminum?

I am frustrated. I dont know what the heck to do. But this constant repair is not the right answer either by the looks of it.

And dont start on the "learn how to drive your boat" stuff. I hit a dang log on the Rainy this weekend that was in over 12 feet of water, and no sign it was there until it made that beautiful sound we all love. Thunk!

Low water sux. But it aint gonna stop me from fishin'.

[PerchJerker]

Stay with aluminum. With your size motor you'll get minimal if any performance benefits out of stainless, especially since you're not a troller. Stainless costs more than aluminum so that will set you back, and if you hit stuff with stainless you're probably spinning hubs (maybe damaging gears) so you still have repairs to pay for. It would probably be better to repair your aluminum prop or go with a new aluminum prop.

If that doesn't work, why don't you just learn how to drive? Or maybe get a steering wheel, most bass guys seem to like them

[Valv]

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If that doesn't work, why don't you just learn how to drive? Or maybe get a steering wheel, most bass guys seem to like them

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Yeah, that's right, I would say same thing why don't you learn to drive

See, us walleye guys have most of the boat keel in the water, we "move" objects away from prop, bass people are always flying, only the lower unit is underwater and that's why logs are getting you, they are attracted by that fast spinning prop they can't resist to check it out.

In any case, if you damage aluminum this much don't go SS, you'll destroy your gearcase, and that's big $$$$$$$

Get a spare alum and keep it on boat, just in case, and don't make the mistake to go plastic.

[Whoaru99]

Sounds like prop repair is a cost of doing business, so to speak, in certain waters.

I'd stay with aluminum, unless you wanted to get the ComProps and just replace the whole thing for ~$80 when it gets whacked up. You'd definitely want a spare along with those though. A good hit might just take of the better part of one or more blades.

[Mark Christianson]

One thing to add to this.

I am not tearing off the skeg in the cases listed above. Up to this point its been "minor" afflictions.

This past weekend was a log that I glanced over. Last year was a shallow area with the motor tilted, and the prop glanced off a rock at low RPM. Another year was at a launch loading the boat. My buddy thought it wasnt necessary to tilt the motor up when he drove the boat on the trailer.

Oh yea, there was that rock bar on the Miss I tried to move with the lower unit..... The rock bar won.

Part of me says that if the big guns are running stainless, I sure should be able to. I am just afraid of what could happen with SS. Are the hubs good enough that they will spin out before damage could occur in the motor, or is that just a fallacy?

PS - this is a Honda 75hp tiller.

[Valv]

Aluminum is softer, it will nick before stainless does, if you scrape some gravel with your prop it will probably damage, with SS you won't have any problem.

It's the hard hits that will damage the lower unit, a rock, a reef, a log, etc. The blade will not give as much and you'll bend propshaft.

You will get better performance from stainless but price is a lot higher. You could switch for better perfomance, but then don't be shy using your tilt more.

I spend summer vacation on a lake where docks are in 2 ft of water and sandy bottom, I have to trip motor up a lot to the point of having prop almost out of water.

Also at landing tilt the motor up to load boat, when it goes on trailer it will tip bow up and drop motor down, if you are not tilted you will hit bottom.

[Deitz Dittrich]

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Also at landing tilt the motor up to load boat, when it goes on trailer it will tip bow up and drop motor down, if you are not tilted you will hit bottom.

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ARGH!!!!, yup... even though I know that, I shot a bunch of rock into a lake last year.. Lost a couple of MPH on my top end.

[ChuckN]

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Aluminum prop repair number 4 or 5 in 8 years coming my way.

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Stick with aluminum at that rate..

With your boat combo, stainless really will not benefit you IMO, especially if you hit something. There is no give with a stainless prop, however from experience, contact with a something hard at no speed (big waves, concrete underwater ramp and motor in reverse) with an aluminum prop can bend a prop shaft, bust gears, blow seals, bend skag...not good. If you haven't damaged the entire lower unit for a bill of $1600, be grateful it's only a prop.

I was able to bend the skag back to normal, no problem.

[tashit]

Just throwing it out there...I don't know what your boat setup is, but we had a 16' Starcraft fish n ski that we had aluminum for awhile. They kept getting nicked up and we fixed them pretty frequently and finally went to stainless. We ran the stainless for years without any problems. If it is just the little bends and nicks I would personally go stainless. We have aluminum again now and it keeps getting those nicks and bends and I'm going to switch to a stainless soon. We never hit anything big, I actually usually never even know when/what we hit, and I know the waters I travel well so I'm not worried.