Evaluating Prop Condition

[BassCatKev]

I got stuck on a few clay/sand bars at Barkley last weekend (Happened while fishing up front on trolling motor NOT running gas engine). I used my big engine once sparingly to get myself off one of them. Since I've had my boat, the prop that came with it has been PRISTINE. By that I mean if you ran your finger along all the edges, it was perfectly smooth with no roughness at all. Now that same prop feels rough along all these edges. Now I'm not talking about any big chunks of metal missing or any ears being bent. Just roughness along the edges. Is this type of condition worth having the prop reworked by a pro? I have not noticed a change in performance to speak of.

It's a stainless steel prop I'm referring to.

[Fishysam]

No performance loss no problem you have ran it 2 years based on your signature who knows what happens next month. Keep in mind the motor may be working a bit more efficiently in cooler air as of late.

[high 2]

I’d go broke trying to keep a perfect prop on my boat. When I go to Lake Fork I have a “stump prop” that I put on. Since I started running a fat shaft Merc I have had to replace a prop shaft. If you use your boat for hand to hand combat, you’re going to ding them. How is the new motor Kev?

[Dan21XRS]

If it were me, I'd wait until winter and send it off to Mark Croxton and have him shine it back up... Dan

[BassCatKev]

I’d go broke trying to keep a perfect prop on my boat. When I go to Lake Fork I have a “stump prop” that I put on. Since I started running a fat shaft Merc I have had to replace a prop shaft. If you use your boat for hand to hand combat, you’re going to ding them. How is the new motor Kev?

Thanks for asking. It's been reliable. I just fished a 2 day tournament and practiced 2 days before that. It ran fine all week. No silly alarms and shutdowns. I don't push it to it's limits at all. But it gets up and goes when I want it too. I have a brand new Zuke and plan to treat it well and for it to reward me for a long long time. Truly enjoying fishing this fall and don't ever take it for granted anymore.

[dstep0]

It is perfectly fine. Normal for me since I fish those lakes and run over some of those and into silted in creeks. A slightly rough edge will not diminish any performance until you start getting dings or it's bent. I've ran them like that before. Personally, I say save the money and put it towards next year's expenses, getting a prop worked or cleaned up is not cheap.

[Bassmeister]

Small dings such as you're talking about I will slide a file over the edges to smooth them out some.....obvious dings or dents I'll have a pro look at it...Glad the new engine is working as it should for you.....

[JR19]

Based on your description it sounds as if the prop is still in good shape...Out of curiosity how many hours on the prop. I have found that mine starts to show signs of wear after about 300 or so hours of runtime. Mark Croxten will put everything back into factory specifications and with shipping both ways it set you back around 200 bones.

[BassCatKev]

Based on your description it sounds as if the prop is still in good shape...Out of curiosity how many hours on the prop. I have found that mine starts to show signs of wear after about 300 or so hours of runtime. Mark Croxten will put everything back into factory specifications and with shipping both ways it set you back around 200 bones.

Well I'm assuming the guy before me used that same prop his entire year of having a boat but that may not even be the case since I got a 3 blade with the boat as well. The old engine had about 250 to 260 hours (It was 220 when I got the boat) and I know they switched the same prop over to my new engine last summer after all that go resolved. But that's just hours. A lot of that was just the engine sitting there being turned on. I have 35 hours on the new one.
Can it show signs of wear even if it didn't touch anything?

And thanks for the info about Croxton. I hear his name all the time on here and know he's the prop man but didn't know the ballpark prices. That seems fair considering shipping.

[jarhead175]

Yes props show wear with normal use over time the edge will dull and they will flatten out. Personally I think a prop should be reworked every couple of years no matter if it has been damaged or not just because of wear. Keeping a prop true and balanced will help minimize wear on your lower unit.

[JR19]

Yes props show wear with normal use over time the edge will dull and they will flatten out. Personally I think a prop should be reworked every couple of years no matter if it has been damaged or not just because of wear. Keeping a prop true and balanced will help minimize wear on your lower unit.

true...think of it like this. Water has resistance. When the prop is "cutting" through the water it's natural for the prop to get dull over a period of time. I once ran a prop about 400 or more hours and it lost a small amount of performance on top end even though it looked normal. My prop guy said the prop had normal wear in the cup due to usage. He refurbished the prop and everything returned back to normal.

[digthemup]

If it were me, I'd wait until winter and send it off to Mark Croxton and have him shine it back up... Dan

Blueprint and balance. Feel the difference.