Home Forums Fishing Freshwater Getting the right prop

Several times we have discussed the possibility of a boat having the wrong prop and performing less than optimally. I'm in the throes of trying to get a prop that will allow my new 115 Optimax to run within the high end rpm range. I need a lower pitch prop and am the five blade prop I have is not made in a lower pitch. My dealer will find the ideal prop by taking 5 or 6 props to a lake and testing each on the boat. And they want 2 weeks and $250 to do it!

And of course they won't take back props that have been used. . To their credit, they suggested a site - bblades.com - which rents props for $45 each for 10 days and you can try them on your boat and keep the one which works best.

That is an interesting concept, but still a bit rich for my taste, especially for a boat which is used only for carrying fishermen and a few dogs. I ordered a prop from e-bay and am anxiously waiting for it to appear.

Anyway, hope this helps anyone who has to pull skiers and float fisherman.

Call a prop shop, tell them the boat you have the weight you carry and the motor and they will be able to tell you what it needs to run what rpm. There are charts also. I just put a prop on my boat 3 days ago. It ran fine in the rpm range but I wanted a 4 blade so it wouldn't blow out when cornering. Tunnel hull boats are a mystery.