Cost / Benefit Analysis Stainless Prop.

[Yuley]

I have a Yamaha 4-stroke 80HP fitted with the standard ally prop.

I'm considering switching to a Stainless Prop but would appreciate the
pros & cons list of making the switch prior to speng £300+

[Nick Hearne]

Why would you need to spend £300+, I bought a new Lazier II for £270, could have got a second hand one for £150!
They do look the doges dangley bits

[hard1]

Better out of the hole, better top speed, just better really. Be careful of the shallow bits with a SS though, if you hit something with it, you may take out the 'box. With an ally prop, you would probably just break or bend a blade (which can be cheaply repaired).

Laser II is a good prop, most boats I know run it.

[Richard B]

Hi Scott,
As you have a Yamaha engine, you are slightly more limited in prop choice - It's possible that Quicksilver Laser II props won't fit "out of the box" although the spline size is the same as Yam, the fixing method is different from the mercury/Mariner engines which they are designed for.

Whether you get a performance increase is going to depend on whether your current prop is correctly matched to your boat/engine configuration. If your current setup is close to optimal, I don't think you will see a considerable increase in performance. However, if your setup is in need to some "tuning" (ie prop not optimum size) then there may find some benefit, as long as you fit the correct size prop!

Beware that some non-oem props are not as well designed as oem props. Yamaha supply a good prop with their engines.

HTH!

[pmorgan]

I was chatting to one of the marine engineers in Poole as to what I should use as a spare prop for our rib which has a Yamaha engine. I asked if it would be possible to use an aluminium mercury prop I had as a spare from a previous boat, he said yes a sold me an rubber / plastic insert made my mercury to fit their props to Yamahas. However, I have not tried it yet.

[Richard B]

Pete - is your Mercury prop one of the later types? AFAIK there's two types of hub, the later type using the (user) replaceable flow torque hub.