Three blade or four blade?

[09 290 Coastal]

I have a 09' 290 wellcraft walkaround with twin 250 4 stroke yamaha's with 3 blade props.
The guy right next to me at the dock has a 07' 3006 sailfish walkaround with twin 250 4 stroke yamaha's with 4 blade props.

Pretty similiar boats, same exact motors why different props?

Is there any benefit of going with 4 blade props?

Thanks?

 

[junior1113]

Re: Three blade or four blade?

4 has better hole shot, better mid range economy ,also stay on plane at lower speed, hold up agaist rough seas a lot better will lose a little top end will have to go down 1-2 pitch size to compensate for more blades and to keep wot rpms within range overall better than 3 unless you want all the speed

 

[Dhadley]

Re: Three blade or four blade?

Losing a little top end with a 4 blade may have been true - may have been - many years ago but that's sure not so with todays 4 blade props. There are so many to choose from. Make sure you pick one for your application and you'll be surprised. And there's nothing saying a Wellcraft and a Sailfish have the same hull design and weight distribution. Not to mention set up differences.

 

[09 290 Coastal]

Re: Three blade or four blade?

So is it worth roughly $1200 in new props to change from 3 blade to 4 blade?
Who decided to put 3 blade props on? The dealer, yamaha, wellcraft?
Was price an issue? Someone though 3 blades would be better then 4

 

[steelespike]

Re: Three blade or four blade?

I guess the first thing you have to ask is how does your boat perform with your present props.I would guess that 90% of boats are running 3 blade props for a reason.They perform well over a broad range of performabnce needs.What speed to you cruise at?some want to get from here to there guickly with the best economy as the 4 blade speed increases you start to lose its benefits. If you have trim tabs you have less need for the 4 blade.
properly selected 3 blade prop will perform close to the 4 blade.and over a broader range of speed.I'm guessing here but if you tend to run at 4,000 or less most of the time
then 4 blades may be for you. If your looking for a cost savings with a $1200
investment I think it will be a long time.
You certainly can't compare to different hull brands without detailed design specs.There are just too many variables.