Best prop for 2005 Honda bf50
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Terry
- Admiral
- Posts: 1487
- Joined: Thu Feb 19, 2004 2:35 pm
- Sailboat: MacGregor 26M
- Location: Vancouver, B.C. Canada. '03 26M - New Yamaha 70
Best Prop
What's best is more of a personal opinion depending on individual needs/wants. You can go for a three blade or a four blade with aluminum being the economical material. A three blade prop will give you a higher top speed and four blade will have slightly lower top speed as the increased surface area creates more drag but also pushes a larger volume of water. Many folks like the three blade and I have one as a spare. Some folks advocate the largest diameter prop your engine can swing with some engines in the 50-60hp range being able to swing a 14" prop. The Macs are big heavy boats and require a prop for a houseboat in order to get the maximum efficiency. A 12" diameter is about as large a diameter you can put on a Honda (dealer uses 3x12x10.25) so if you wish to move more water go for a four blade prop. In my experience I have found the four blades provide much better low speed control both forward and reverse around the marinas, they also provide higher speeds at the mid-range say 3-4000 rpm, but seem to lack slightly at top end. For tube pulling or other water sports the four blade will have more pulling power as it moves more water. As you can see I am a proponent of four blades, personal preference, I have no need for the extra 1-2 mph a three blade may or may not provide but I do like the extra power at lower cruising speeds and the extra bit of control at docking speeds I get from four blades. I have no stake in any particular brand but I do like the Solas I have.Check their site:
http://www.solas.com/products/propeller/propeller.htm
I first chose the 4 X 11.4 X 10 Solas Alcup 4, it was a tad low in rpm's so I had it pitched down which made it too high in rpm's so pitched back up a bit, now I am at about 9.5 pitch. In retrospect I think the 4 X 11.8 X 9 would have been good right out of the box with no adjustments necsessary so that is what I will recommend in the Solas Alcup 4. If you have the bucks SS might be nice. I think anyone would be happy with the Solas Alcup 4, it is a decent prop at a good price.
I also still have the dealers 3 blade Hustler which started out being 3 X 10.75 X 11 or 12 can't remember, but I had it re-pitched up to 13 so now it is 3 X 10.75 X 13 and it will not get me any more speed than my 4 blade prop because of the smaller diameter. Even though the pitch is 13 and it should theoretically have a higher speed it suffers too much slippage due to the smaller diameter pushing a huge boat which is why some folks recommend the largest possible diameter. or barring that an extra blade to move a larger volume of water to compensate for the MacBarge.
There is one more detail to keep in mind when selecting a prop, especially for the Honda. There are several who are complaining about prop ventilation which occurrs when the prop gets too close to the surface and pulls air down into the wash causing the prop to over rev. A 12" prop is only one quarter inch below the anti-cavitation plate which puts it very close to the water surface at higher speeds thus exposing it to potential ventilation problems, especially in turns. I do not experience it like others and I will venture to guess it is because my Solas is 11.4 inches in diameter giving more clearance to the anti-cavitation plate and less tendency to break the water surface. Still I would go for the 11.8 diameter Solas if I could go back, it still gives you 1/2 inch of clearance to the plate, there is 6.25 inches radius to the plate from the shaft, I have measured it carefully.
If you really search around the Solas site you should find a page, this one
http://www.solas.com/products/propeller/aluminum.asp
that sold me on this brand, better aluminum and more horsepower gain. (could me marketing BS). Still Solas is a OEM for Honda so it should be a good match. Hope this helps. FWIW I have done a great deal of research on the topic of propellers in my quest to get the perfect match, there are many internet sites containing a pleathora of knowledge on propellers and propeller technologhy, I had no idea how important propeller choice was until I did some research.
http://www.solas.com/products/propeller/propeller.htm
I first chose the 4 X 11.4 X 10 Solas Alcup 4, it was a tad low in rpm's so I had it pitched down which made it too high in rpm's so pitched back up a bit, now I am at about 9.5 pitch. In retrospect I think the 4 X 11.8 X 9 would have been good right out of the box with no adjustments necsessary so that is what I will recommend in the Solas Alcup 4. If you have the bucks SS might be nice. I think anyone would be happy with the Solas Alcup 4, it is a decent prop at a good price.
I also still have the dealers 3 blade Hustler which started out being 3 X 10.75 X 11 or 12 can't remember, but I had it re-pitched up to 13 so now it is 3 X 10.75 X 13 and it will not get me any more speed than my 4 blade prop because of the smaller diameter. Even though the pitch is 13 and it should theoretically have a higher speed it suffers too much slippage due to the smaller diameter pushing a huge boat which is why some folks recommend the largest possible diameter. or barring that an extra blade to move a larger volume of water to compensate for the MacBarge.
There is one more detail to keep in mind when selecting a prop, especially for the Honda. There are several who are complaining about prop ventilation which occurrs when the prop gets too close to the surface and pulls air down into the wash causing the prop to over rev. A 12" prop is only one quarter inch below the anti-cavitation plate which puts it very close to the water surface at higher speeds thus exposing it to potential ventilation problems, especially in turns. I do not experience it like others and I will venture to guess it is because my Solas is 11.4 inches in diameter giving more clearance to the anti-cavitation plate and less tendency to break the water surface. Still I would go for the 11.8 diameter Solas if I could go back, it still gives you 1/2 inch of clearance to the plate, there is 6.25 inches radius to the plate from the shaft, I have measured it carefully.
If you really search around the Solas site you should find a page, this one
http://www.solas.com/products/propeller/aluminum.asp
that sold me on this brand, better aluminum and more horsepower gain. (could me marketing BS). Still Solas is a OEM for Honda so it should be a good match. Hope this helps. FWIW I have done a great deal of research on the topic of propellers in my quest to get the perfect match, there are many internet sites containing a pleathora of knowledge on propellers and propeller technologhy, I had no idea how important propeller choice was until I did some research.