Ordering New Stainless Prop

W

Writer_Ron

New member
I's about to order a stainless prop for my C-Dory 25 (Honda BF150 outboard). I don't have the facilities to do an elaborate test, so I've "averaged" various recommendations and zeroed-in on a 14-3/8 X 15 Michigan Wheel Apollo.

Is this a fairly "vanilla" prop for this boat/engine combination? Or are there really better general-purpose props?
 
If you are sticking with a single density altitude pond for your boating and you are not exploring where there are rocks, then stainless is a pretty good way to go as they are supposedly more efficient. But in my case we are everywhere from sea level to 7000 feet, and running shallows frequently, so I carry three sets of aluminum props, including the ones on the motors with different pitches. Also aluminum can be straightened and restored if there are dings. Can't beat the beauty of a nice stainless prop though.
 
Writer-Ron,
I am pretty sure that is the same size stainless prop I run on my Honda 150 up here in NY and it seems to serve us just fine. I also carry an aluminum spare.
Rich
 
Actually I'm the opposite. We run aluminum props with SS as backups. The boat came from Florida with the SS props but there are so many logs and rocks where we boat that we wanted to protect the lower unit if we hit something so we switched out to aluminum.
 
I have been very happy with PowerTech prop's, and they have a good "prop worksheet" at:

http://www.ptprop.com/index.php?option= ... &Itemid=60

I met "Bill" from PowerTech at the Miami Boat Show (FEB2012) and he was very informative and helpful. I've been thinking about a different prop for Lake Powell (possibly even a four-bladed prop) so when I got out to AZ I completed their worksheet and they gave me a very nice diagnosis. ...the only problem is that I may have entered some of the data (e.g. boat weight and WOT RPM's) so I may have to do it again.

Best,
Casey
 
I use a 4-bladed Apollo prop on Journey On (a 25 with a Honda 150,) and I'd recommend it. I use a 16" pitch, which works well, gets it up to speed and is good for hull speeds (~6 knts.) Note that Journey On is usually heavily loaded and used for cruising. 4 blades are supposed to be good for cruising, 3 blades out of the hole. Your choice.

One word of caution. The Apollo (and most aftermarket propellers,) use a plastic insert for the hub.. Tighten that sucker down hard, so the plastic doesn't work back and forth. And carry a spare, they're cheap.

We also have a Honda aluminum prop as a backup. That's a 15" pitch, and has a rubber cushion in the hub. If you use one of those, don't goose the engine off the line, bring it up gently.

Whatever you do don't get a plastic prop. They break up on impact and you're dead in the water.

Boris
 
I have always liked Solas aluminum and stainless props and today run a 4 blade stainless 15 pitch with an aluminum backup on my Yamaha 150. After experimenting with 4 different props that was the one that worked the best for all round performance.

Boris, are you sure it is 16 pitch? Those are hard props to find. I thought only PowerTech made a 16 pitch prop with 4 blades.
 
Tom,

Not only is it a 16' pitch but it's LH rotation. When I had it repaired, I had the guy check it and he verified it was 16".

Here's their catalog: Apollo Props If you want a 16" pitch you get a 4 blade, if you want a 15" you get a 3 blade.

Good prop.

Boris
 
Tom and Boris,
What size (in addition to pitch) are you running on your 25?

The SS Honda prop that was installed with my Honda BF150 is a 3-blade 15.5x15. At WOT and sea level, the motor RPMs are in the middle of Honda's 5000-6000 range.

I'm also thinking about a 4-blade SS like Powertech's that would also work at higher altitudes. IIRC Powertech recommended their OFS 4 stainless 15.25 x 14.

- Les
 
Les,

I have had a couple of PowerTech props and they always seemed to be about an inch or two steeper in pitch than their number indicated in a side by side comparison of a Solas propeller of the same pitch. The motor couldn't turn them as fast so to get comparable performance I had to drop one to two inches in pitch.

The Solas I am using is the HR Titan 4, 14.5 in diameter, 15 pitch. I am in the WOT RPM range so don't think I could go up to a 16 pitch prop. The boat starts porpoising at about 5400 rpm (typically 31-32 mph) and I still have some throttle left. When compared to the Solas aluminum four blade in 15 pitch the differences between stainless and aluminum are readily apparent. Most noticable was around a 7% improvement in fuel economy which improves to 10-12% at higher throttle settings.
 
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