Re: Stainless steel or Aluminium prop?
Stainless will exacerbate motor component corrosion (I always wanted to use that word
). At least the bare metal ones will. They make great grounding electrodes in the water and can multiply an existing corrosion problem by many times. You can clear-cloat it, but nothing sticks to polished stainless. They perform better and withstand hitting obstructions better, which can transmit the shock to the gears which may fail instead. They add strain to the drive gears and shifting mechanism with their added mass. They reduce strain on the powerhead by slicing thru the water with thinner blades.<br /><br />Might you consider a composite prop? They have fairly thin blades that slice thru the water very nicely, come in 4-blade configurations, the plastic completely eliminates the prop as a corrosion component, you can destroy them on a rock pile without damaging grearcase internals. I had one on a 15' tri-hull with a 60 triple Evinrude and I loved it. The blades flex which gives you sort of a gear-reduction on acceleration, then straighten out at speed. But you can't repair them.
(I've never seen one on a sterndrive. Don't know if they'll take it.)
