Posted by on Feb 18, 2017 in Boat Propellers | 3 comments

Outboard motors and sterndrives primarily use three blade and four blade boat propellers both in aluminum and stainless steel. Some of the real small outboards use two bladed props and some composite propellers have five blades, Mercury has a stainless steel five blade prop. But by far most boats have a three or four blade boat props.

Three blade Boat Propellers

The advantages of three blade props are they generally have faster top end speeds with good take off and power performance. Three blade propellers cost less to buy and repair costs are less. They are available in both aluminum and stainless steel from a variety of high end manufacturers and available at Dan’s Discount Props website.

Four blade Boat Propellers

The advantages of four blade boat propellers are they get your boat up on plane quicker than a three blade prop. For heavier boats, heavily loaded boats and for larger boats they will push the boat better with less slippage. Cruise speed gas mileage is usually better again because of less slippage. Disadvantages are they cost more to buy and to get repaired. Top end speeds are generally a little slower that a three blade propeller. Available as well from a variety of manufacturers from Dan’s Discount Boat Propellers website.

How to choose a proper boat prop for your needs

So when choosing a boat prop you need to decide which is more important to you as far as performance is concerned. For light loads and if you are interested more in going fast use a three blade boat propeller. If you are going to use your boat to tow the kids around on towables or water skis mostly, use a four blade prop for better bite on the water.

If you would like to get a professional recommendation on what kind of boat propellers would best for you please call us at 1-800-573-5533