[Rivercat09]

I would like to get people’s opinions about stainless versus aluminum props.

I’ve been using a stainless steel propeller for the last 4 years since I’ve owned my boat. The boat came with an aluminum propeller, and I switched it to a stainless one from the get go.

I was told that stainless props give much better gas mileage and eventually would pay for themselves over time, and that you would get a couple more miles per hour out of a stainless prop. The reasoning behind this was that aluminum props flex much more than stainless props.

Everything was ok until July of last year when I blew out the rubber prop hub on my stainless prop, and had to be towed back to the ramp. I didn’t hit anything, I was just going down the Magothy at 35 miles per hour when the hub blew and my engine whined in protest due to the higher RPM’s.

I got the stainless prop re-hubbed, and I was on my way and thought I was good to go for a while. However, I blew out the hub of my stainless prop again last Friday. Like the first time, I don’t remember hitting anything on Friday, but we did strike long 3 to 4 inch diameter log in the mouth of the South River late last summer. I was able to swap in my spare prop on Friday and salvaged the day.

Someone mentioned that stainless props are more susceptible to blowing hubs than are aluminum ones. Is this true? If this is the case, should I go back to using an aluminum prop? I would appreciate any positive feedback on this.