On Thu, 02 Dec 2004 16:09:39 -0600, Don Foreman
wrote:

===Aluminum props are best in rocky waters. Stainless props don't
===resist rocks much better than aluminum does, are 4X more expensive to
===replace or repair, and they're more likely to damage the engine when
===they hit something.
===
===So why don't I just stay away from the rocks? Because rocks are
===everywhere on northern MN lakes like Vermillion. Rockpiles suddenly
===appear in what looks like mid-lake with the sonar saying 30 feet.
===It would take years to "learn" that lake (40,000 acres, 24 miles long,
===313 miles of shoreline) and I only visit there once or twice a year.
===
===On Thu, 2 Dec 2004 14:12:53 -0600, "Ken Davey"
wrote:
===
===
===The AL (pot metal?) props are useless - I had one fold up hitting a rotton 2
===X 4.
===Regards.
===Ken (30 years on the water).


Its a big misconception that SS props are bullet proff like a lot
think.....They do get bent, and are much costlier to repair. I prefer
alum props, even though I could buy any prop wholesale or fix my own,
I still went with alum. Most work on lower units that got damaged used
SS props, and while they ay not break, like a cast alum one will
sometimes they impart quite a bit of shock to the lower unit parts.
A lot of foks thik the rubber hub is there to slip if you hit
something, its not, its there for a shock absorber for shifting
between forward and reverse, and if it slips just a hair its
inevitable its gonna continue slipping once its initial set is broke
free..........

Early Merc props were cast alum, OMC Johnson and Evinrudes are mainly
die cast and were always a problem welding up.........Volve were the
best due to their alloy of aluminum they used.......Michigan wheel and
Propco were the most forgiving in regards to welding and repair as
they are all sandcast.........

The new rage now is composite props that have sockets or dovetails
that each blade can be relaced indiividually by the owner if it gets
damaged...
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