When should you have your prop reworked ?

Bigwrench · January 03, 2016, 10:35:00 AM

When should you have your prop reworked?

To go along with Mikes questions I thought I'd ask how many dings are too many ? At what point should I have my prop reworked ? I know that a dinged prop blade affects ,balance and performance but do you send your prop off every time you get a ding ?
Here's a photo of my three blades on my 25 pitch Tempest with one serious ding and another blade that is questionable .... I've been thinking my last few trips out that my performance has been lacking and should I attribute that to this ?

I wanted to know what your criteria is for repairing your props because obviously it could get expensive if you run in shallow water a lot ?
Do you just keep a spare prop on hand all the time and rotate them out as they need fixing ?

Bud Kennedy · January 03, 2016, 11:01:28 AM

Holy Cow Rick. This picture could be used as the poster child for when a prop needs reworked.

Pferox · January 03, 2016, 11:01:37 AM

Back when I had my boat, the guy that had it gave me an extra prop and told me that when I looked at the prop from a distance and said to myself "Man that prop looks like poop" it was time to swap and get the one reworked.

That is probably not the right way to look at it, but it did work for me. I also had aluminum props and they always looked chewed up more than dinged. If I saw that big ding on my prop it would be off and gone to the prop guy. Same way with big chips, but the chewed up areas I wouldn't worry about until I noticed that the shape looked a little off. I averaged swapping a prop once every year or two, but I was notorious for running through shell beds and sandbars.

Hope that makes sense.

Bigwrench · January 03, 2016, 11:04:49 AM

Quote from: Bud Kennedy on January 03, 2016, 11:01:28 AM
Holy Cow Rick. This picture could be used as the poster child for when a prop needs reworked.

Lol I know I been slacking this last year and the Ranger took back seat to so many other things that took up time and money

I am 110% positive my prop needs work lol but cash flow is gonna be tight for a couple more months and then it's game on ! I'll probably just buy another prop first and then send this one off because it has seen better days.

Bud Kennedy · January 03, 2016, 11:51:22 AM

My 4 blade has a few nicks as well. I do have a 3 blade that is perfect and will put it on when I send the 4 blade somewhere for service. Mine certainly is not as bad as yours but I am sure it will cost a few bucks to get done anyway. Like most of us, not a lot of extra money laying around this time (or any time for that matter) of the year. I don't have to deal too much with rocks in my neck of the woods but stumps did take some toll at Santee as well as some very skinny water from time to time.

Mike Cork · January 03, 2016, 01:05:17 PM

Quote from: Bud Kennedy on January 03, 2016, 11:01:28 AM
Holy Cow Rick. This picture could be used as the poster child for when a prop needs reworked.

In my part of the country that prop has only seen the water two or three times

We do a lot of "ding"ing.... But the big one on that prop is going to have some serious impact on performance.

Bigwrench · January 03, 2016, 01:36:17 PM

Quote from: Mike Cork on January 03, 2016, 01:05:17 PM
In my part of the country that prop has only seen the water two or three times

We do a lot of "ding"ing.... But the big one on that prop is going to have some serious impact on performance.

That's what I was wondering was how you guys deal with it . From reading some posts from our southern membership this is a common occurrence and was just thinking a man could go broke getting his prop fixed every other month lol

Mike Cork · January 03, 2016, 02:01:13 PM

To be honest, it boils down to not being scared of it. You have straightened metal before right $:-\$ Get after the big dings and clean them up best you can until you can afford a professional reshape.

Lots of guys here bend, bang, and shape their props back to as close as they can get it. No sense in a professional job when you know you have 5 more trips to the same lake in the next month. They won't do any high speed running but if you're damaging your prop that much you probably should be taking it easy anyway LOL

I know several guys that will take a four by four after a bent prop shaft because they are to expensive to replace. Just don't get in a hurry until you can get things back to normal.

DISCLAIMER: this is just what we do, it doesn't make it right, but it works for us. I recommend a professional job when the vibrations get noticeable.

Oldfart9999 · January 03, 2016, 04:33:22 PM

Rick, you should be able to fix that prop to get you by, easy with the hammer and a lite touch with a file and you're good to go.
Rodney

HOLESHOTPROPELLER · January 03, 2016, 04:44:18 PM

You COULD fix the ding and clean it up yourself but it definently needs some attention when you don't keep the edges clean it can lead to cracks then that cost a little more to fix than a tune-up

Mike Cork · January 03, 2016, 05:02:45 PM

Something I forgot about, HOLESHOT makes a good point... We see a lot of cracks after guys beat on them a while.

HOLESHOTPROPELLER · January 03, 2016, 05:20:20 PM

If somebody sends me one with a bad bend in it they sometimes crack when i straighten it and has to be welded...it's best to keep the edges clean as possible but but even on my own boat that's hard to do down here