prop maintenance?

[skipdog]

Is it a good idea to have your prop serviced every so often or only if there is an issue? I guess my questions is, I have been running my prop now for about 5 years or so, is it a bad idea to have Mark B&B it over the winter?

Thanks.

[ThomasD]

Years don't matter, hours of use and loss of performance does. If boat is still reaching the same speeds as when the prop was new then I wouldn't worry about it.

[Mike Stephens]

I agree with ThomasD, to a point. Performance changes over 5 years are a bit hard to notice and remember how it really was when new. If the blades have any cup to them, the cup degrades over time, reducing lift. You may have small nicks and dings on blade edges, or perhaps a "wow" where you hit rock or wood pretty hard, not enough for serious vibration. A good visual inspection, and running your hands over edges to feel for imperfections will tell you a lot. Keeping a log of performance parameters is a good idea along with a few pictures. If there is any doubt on it, send it in, pretty cheap insurance to maintain performance. If it is still running like you think it was, or don't find anything obvious, keep it on and run it. Create a log with reference to WOT rpm, time for hole shot and conditions, cruising rpm and speeds so you can track changes over time. I put about a 100 hours a year on my Ranger, and check prop over before every launch, pull and lube it twice a year, and put it on my work bench for a good looking over. So far, I had it worked brand new and now have 280 hours and still looks like the day I took it out of the box, and performance has not changed. My experience with bass boat props is as long as you don't hit something, it will go 5-600 hours. Unfortunately, I, in over 40 years of fishing, don't go that long without hitting something hard enough to at least knock a chip in one. I always keep a spare for just such occasions. Grew up in East Texas and lakes there were not well marked and were full of stumps, now in Alabama, better marking but still stuff down there, but rarely hit anything except at idle these days.
Keep a log and take pics, then you will have hard data on when to get it serviced.
Mark keeps talking about retiring, some of it is grumping, but he is getting closer to mid-60's, so he may do it, then we have to find another resource for prop assistance.