Prop and ski wake?

[Matt Glenn]

Do you guys Know if the prop changes the ski wake any or just the hole shot. Just wondering beacuse when I bought my boat the guys talked me in up grading my prop to a 3 blade, I could not tell you what the prop is called ( 2006 outback) I'm just wondering now if the wake could be any better with a different prop, now I look back and I those guys I bought the boat from don't even ski

[kaneboats]

I would give Eric at OJ a call and give him all your specs. He'll help you pick the right one for what you do and usually exchange it if it's not what you want. Good luck!

[maxpower220]

A 3 blade and a 4 blade can (and usually will) change your wake. Holeshot can also change. However, there are many factors to that, size, cup, and pitch of either. IMO, it is best to speak to a maker (OJ or Acme) about what will be best for your application. "Best" wake for slalom will be rider dependent, some prefer 3 blade, some 4 blade. Also remember that just because a MC boat has a "better" wake with a 4 blade, doesn't mean that your boat (or any other) will.

[jasonwm]

Although a prop swap can profoundly impact a number of performance characteristics, unfortunately wake size and/or quality will not be impacted enough to tell a difference. It's possible in a direct back-to-back comparison you could determine a difference in the wake quality between two (appropriate) props on the same boat, but outside of those strict conditions you'll never be able to tell a difference from the end of the line.

[zabooda]

Three blade has a less prop wash and higher top end speed but a worse hole shot. There are discussions in years past. I would like to go to a three blade the next time I need to replace a prop. Knock on wood as I've gone nine years without a mark on my prop.

[kaneboats]

Although a prop swap can profoundly impact a number of performance characteristics, unfortunately wake size and/or quality will not be impacted enough to tell a difference. It's possible in a direct back-to-back comparison you could determine a difference in the wake quality between two (appropriate) props on the same boat, but outside of those strict conditions you'll never be able to tell a difference from the end of the line.

You can see a big difference in your surf wake just from changing props. Not so sure about the characteristics at 80 ft and with full ballast, but at surf speed there's a noticeable difference.

[cmtaylor777]

Talking strictly surf wake......Would it be worth it to switch from a 3 blade to a 4 blade to incease wake hight or to clean up the wave?

[kaneboats]

I don't know enough about your boat or setup to have an opinion. zegm might be a good person to ask as he went from 3 blade to 4 for skiing but they also surf so he might have noticed something there.

[jasonwm]

Three blade has a less prop wash and higher top end speed but a worse hole shot. There are discussions in years past. I would like to go to a three blade the next time I need to replace a prop. Knock on wood as I've gone nine years without a mark on my prop.

Unfortunately with all of the variables that can change from one prop to a next there is no way you can make a blanket statement about a three blade versus a four blade. That goes for performance, fuel economy, speed holding and any changes to wake size or shape. There's just too many factors at play to isolate the impact on one particular category. And how do you determine what a comparable three blade and four blade prop are? Are they identical in terms of the major measurements (never mind that those only tell a portion of the actual geometry of the prop), or is based on the props that are most similar performance wise?

My point is that you just can't make a blanket statement like that, just like you can't say a car with an eight cylinder engine will be faster, or have worse fuel economy than a car with a six cylinder car. Sure, there are situations where that's correct, but there are also some six cylinder engines with more than 100HP/cylinder that in a light car will have very impressive acceleration.

The same is true for props, so spending $350+ just to eek out a very minor improvement in the quality of the wake really strikes me as a waste of money. Instead, buy the prop for the performance you need, whether that's hole-shot for surfing and wakeboarding, or top speed for skiing and barefooting. That's where different props are designed to show an improvement, and whatever resulting wake changes that come along with it will be incredibly minor.

You can see a big difference in your surf wake just from changing props. Not so sure about the characteristics at 80 ft and with full ballast, but at surf speed there's a noticeable difference.

All of our experience has shown us the opposite is true. Sure, there's a chance you may get a perceived benefit from a particular prop, but how do you actually measure that, and what happens if it's not the right prop for maximizing the performance of the boat (which is the props real purpose)?

Talking strictly surf wake......Would it be worth it to switch from a 3 blade to a 4 blade to incease wake hight or to clean up the wave?

Absolutely 100%, unequivocally, without a doubt no. There's just no way to guarantee that, and what happens if you did happen to find a prop that made a significant difference in the wake quality, but the performance of the boat was much worse? If you're using your boat for surfing or wakeboarding almost exclusively then there is a performance improvement to be had from a prop upgrade, but buying a prop just to improve the appearance or perceived quality of the wake is throwing good money after bad IMHO. Spend that money on something we know will make a difference (ie: additional ballast).

All of the above is just my humble opinion, but we've sold thousands of props and done hundreds of tests in different makes and models of boats to determine what works best, so it's based on a pretty big sample size.

[Laz]

Search for my comments on switching props for an Outback.