I have been upgrading parts and pieces of my daycruiser. I am now to the prop and I am looking for some experiences from you guys that had 3 blade nibril props and switched to steel 3 blades. What sort of changed did the boat have and what size 3 blade do you use? Currently, I have a 21ft Howard with a slightly stepped up 454 and an Ace/Champion v-drive. I need a little motivation to spring for the cost.
Has nothing to do with the cruiser but we just got a prop from Kindsvater for my Dad's 18' Aqua Craft. Now, I have been around this sport all my life. This prop feels like nothing we have ever owned. It made the boat bark and it's smooth and puts a smile on your face everytime you drive it. I'm not endorsing the prop builder, I am simply stating that these new props and the technology has really come a long way...
We have a 21' Schiada River Cruiser built for ski racing. It came with a steel two bladed prop that worked quite well but I found by switching to a Menkens 3 bladed stainless steel prop that I picked up a little bite on the bottom as well as top speed. That's quite a bonus in my book and the best part is that the vibrations one would experience at high speed (40% gears at 6000 RPM) was substantially subdued. There are a bunch of folks out there who will make a prop so do your homework and custom fit one to your individual application.
The Doctor failed to mention an experience he had with two Hallett flats years ago. He and a friend had two identical Hallett flat that they would go to the lake together with. The one would run great while the other handled terribly and would not produce a MPH that the combo potentially should. They switched props (which just happened to be the same size and dimensions) one day and the two boats swapped personalities completely. After selling the ill-handling boat, the new buyers called back after playing with props and informed us they were thrilled with the engine and boat and could not be happier with how it performed. That little experience told me just how important a good prop was.
I have to say for a cruiser I would try to go with a stainless prop so you don't have to do any more work than necessary. As far as size goes, I would look for an 11 1/2 - 15 for a basic setup (not knowing the particulars of your boat it would be hard to know just what size to go with). Anyway, that is just some basic info from some moron, so take it for what it is worth (which is not much).
Paul
I have cruiser props that haul the mail. I stock all of RB's props . We have even run three blade cleavers that will totally drill the hell out of any cruiser mouse ear, the down fall to this is you pick up 1000 rpms over our standard12.5 round ear. I am working on 4 blades for cruisers, but this is going to take some time. There is no one person that can tell you what prop is best for your boat. what they stamp on them doesn't mean anything. Shaft angle determines true pitch. I run one RB's big ear, big diameter, big pitch on my cruiser, which is a 23.5 Eliminator eagle,step bottom v-drive. Remember, more prop, and less gear always works better. Steel or Stainless is much better than any Nibril prop. You are going to get a bunch of opinions, but I stand behind our prop knowledge and test them personally. The prop manufacturers out there are all good. Go with who ever you are the most comfortable with. Get rid of the nibril. Joe...
Thanks everyone. I talked to Dallas at Menkens the other day and he is going to give me a prop or two to try out. Testing a prop is a perfect fit for my current situation. I am trying to get my race motors back together for San Diego, or at the latest, the World Finals. While replacing 2 blocks (one a hemi), a crank, 16 pistons, 16 rods, blower restraints, valves and etc is a bit pricey already. I just dont want to spend the $ for a new prop without a little experience from those who have felt the change from one to the other. The last thing I want is to replace a prop with a very expensive prop and not notice a difference.
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