How fussy are props

[bowhunternw]

I have a prop on a 75 mercury and one of the blades is dinged and dented a little on one blade. Was thinking of straightening out the edge and filing the rough edge. However I was reading that they spin at a pretty high rate and they should be balanced. Should I just replace it?

[gregg52]

mine is dinged and sloghtly bent

cant really notice it

but i'm no expert on props

somebody's going to come on here and tell you...you are losing all kinds of power and going to ruin your motor

i dont believe all the hype around props

but i'm just a fisherman

not a prop expert

[harvey lee]

Not a prop expert either but if I have one that needs repair, it goes in to get repaired. Why take any chances with a ding or bend that could damage the motor in some way maybe? I had one that was bent a bit and I could feel it vibrate in the boat. I am sure that is not good for the motor.

[CAMAN]

Somebodies "little ding" is somebody else's large ding, without seeing it, it is hard to diagnose if it is bad to run. But as a rule of thumb, if you feel any different vibration in the boat while running you are damaging your lower-unit bearings, and replacing those isn't as cheap as getting that prop looked at and repaired/balanced.

[bowhunternw]

Where do you guys get therm repaired at and roughly what is the cost? A new one runs from $100 to $400 from what I have seen. Suppose I better do it right.

[boatfixer]

I agree, its hard to say without seeing it. I've seen "little" knicks to some, that to me are chunks.

Standard aluminum props obviously have to be within a tolerance as determined by the manufacture of the prop but I have yet to see counter weights or precision machining to achieve absolute perfection. My point being is that small knicks (no vibration felt as mentioned by CAMAN ) probably wont cause any damage.

[harvey lee]

Where do you guys get therm repaired at and roughly what is the cost? A new one runs from $100 to $400 from what I have seen. Suppose I better do it right.

Jay Soderbloom has always repaired mine. Typically it costs me about $35 for shipping and repairs and it comes back repainted and looking like new. Jay does a great job.

[dan z]

Find a local prop shop and have them fix it. the local guy here does it. Farely fast and is priced right. Have had him do a couple repairs on different props. Heck they may even have a coule props laying around that people forgot about.... you never know ask around good luck

[Tom7227]

I bought a replacement and had the old one repaired by Jay Soderbloom up on 210 and 53. That way I was able to use the boat all the time. After only 5 or 6 years I even learned where the rocks are on the lake where I live.

[bASS_BLASTER]

Blueprint and Lab finish = balanced props is only for guys with big motors and running very high speeds 80mph+. If you have small dings or chips and you're not running these numbers, I wouldn't worry about it. Reason why is b/c these little dings will throw you off balance, causing bad torque steer at high speeds. And at high speeds, they will bend and split causing blowouts from loosing a blade. If you're not running these speeds, I wouldn't worry. However, if you're at WOT open throttle and you feel a lot of vibration, I would recommend replacing it or having it repaired. There's a couple good guys in Wyoming, MN who does a great job at welding.

[marine_man]

If it were me, I'd get it fixed, or fix it myself depending on the severity and be done talking about it.. until it happens again

marine_man

[Sonicrunch]

Blueprint and Lab finish = balanced props is only for guys with big motors and running very high speeds 80mph+. If you have small dings or chips and you're not running these numbers, I wouldn't worry about it. Reason why is b/c these little dings will throw you off balance, causing bad torque steer at high speeds. And at high speeds, they will bend and split causing blowouts from loosing a blade. If you're not running these speeds, I wouldn't worry. However, if you're at WOT open throttle and you feel a lot of vibration, I would recommend replacing it or having it repaired. There's a couple good guys in Wyoming, MN who does a great job at welding.

yep, for us fishing guys, we do not gain much from a perfect prop. But I sure love a pretty prop!!