How much does a dinged prop hurt perfomance?

  • Thread starter Timothy Hanford
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Timothy Hanford

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I have a 1995 Tracker Pro 17 with a 25 Merc. A while back I accidentally buried the prop in some rocks and bent over all 3 blades of the propeller. I got them back into shape by using a hammer and a block of wood but I am sure the blades are not the correct pitch now. Should I get the prop reworked or can I run this without damage to the motor?
 
Hello Tim, I don't know much and boats yet, but I do know that a prop is like a fan blade. It has to be balanced. Bending the propellers causing vibration which can damage the motor.
 
Tim,

Think of how your truck drives when your tires aren't balanced. The whole front end shakes and adds extra forces and stress to components that shouldn't be there.

An unbalanced prop can do some pretty bad things to a motor. I would recommend having it professionally reworked (if it can be) or just get a new one and keep this one for a spare in case you REALLY break one and need this just to get you home.

tight lines,

Marke
 
One other thing Tim, at least yours may be fixable. The one I broke today is total junk.....LOL

Marke
 
Tim,
Running with a damaged prop can destroy your lower unit. It can cause all the seals to go and therefor allow water into the gear case. It will also cause excessive wear on the gears and clutch. In short, it is much cheaper to have the prop repaired or replaced. To have one repaired will run less than $100 and a new one depends on what you have. Worse case is a 4 blade SS which will run about $400, still cheaper than a new $1200 lower unit. Get it fixed man.
Rob
PS make sure that you didn't bend the shaft, it should spin nice and straight.
 
Thanks guys. It spins nice and straight. I called a local boat dealer and they can fix it for 60 bucks. I think for that price I might as well spend the extra 30 and get a new aluminum prop form Bass Pro. Appreciate the advice.
 
Tim if that's your decisicion, hang to the old one and get it fixed in a few weeks or when ever can you spare the extra $60. Then you'll have spare.

I called my dealer today, the one I broke will cost $165 to replace. I won't be out this weekend :eek:(

Marke
 
Marke,...don't let a minor technicality keep you off the water,...go to a smaller lake and use your trolling motor!!
Besides,...you'll spend more time fishin' that way instead of running around at full throttle with a big ol' grin on your face like we do with the 200's!!! LOL...
Fish on man!!!
Mac
 
Thanks for the encouragement Mac, but this was supposed to be my big Stiper fishing weekend. I need the big motor to fight the current in the River. The Stripers only come up hot-n-heavy a few weeks out of the summer. The peak is right now, to not have a prop is a little depressing. I'm sure I'll still get out somewhere small like you said.

Thanks again,

Marke
 

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