3 blade or 4 blade prop?

[jasonfish320]

Okay, I've finally broken down and am ready to buy a new prop..currently I have a 23P 3 blade tempest on my 20' Nitro Savage w/200HP merc. and I've been trying to dial it in but am ending up around 62mph and tachin 6-7000, which I know is too high....LASER recommended a 25P prop...well I found 2 props, one is a 3 blade and the other is a 4, they are both 25Pitch SS props..is the 4 blade worth the extra dough..?

[zooker]

3 blade definatly the 4 blade will only give you a better hole shot..

zooker

[3dkicker]

Better hole shot with 4 blade and probably better top end speed with the 3. Which is more important to you?

[Bender]

I have noticed also a lot better handling with the 4 blade. It feels like the rear end is planted a lot better in the water. With a 4 blade you should probably go one pitch lower than with a 3 blade to maintain the same RPM, maybe even 2 lower.

[Jackl]

JASON,
For what it's worth, I am pulling a 26 pitch 4 blade Merc. Tempest on my 200 HP Optimax with a 6 inch jackplate and run up against the rev limiter at 6750 RPM's.
JackL

[Bob Smith]

I run a 4 blade Trophy Plus on my Astro. With the jackplate set at about 2 3/4" nose to pad, I tach about 5800 RPM and run mid to upper 60s with a full load and full tank of gas and livewells. The hole shot is a little better, but the mid range performance is a lot better, including turning and maneuvering in creek channels and winding boat lanes. I hear that you may gain another 1-2 mph on top with a 3 blade Tempest or Fury, and you may get better bow lift with those props (which is another ingredient for improved top end), which is not much when you think about it. I like the overall performance of my 4 blade.

[1FASTLASER]

The Nitro Savage hull isnt one of those light weight hulls that benefits really well from a 3 blade prop. With todays technology that is used in prop manufacturing the 4 blade props loose very little and have at times been better as far as topend speed is concerned. I know of several boats that actually run better with a 4 blade vs a 3 blade and the Nitro Savage is one of them. My buddy has a 896 Savage hull and he is running a 25p Trophy Plus with the medium sized plugs in it. He launchs outta the hole like a rocket and the boat handles like its on rails. He also has a 25p Tempest. The difference between the 2 props are very evident. The boat does ok on holeshot but looses some as far as handling and only 2 mph difference on the topend. So to sum it all up my recommendation would be w 25p Trophy plus...........and then after you dial in the engine height I would send the prop to a GOOD prop guy and have it balanced and blueprinted for YOUR hull to maximize its efficently. Trust me you will benefit from this procedure and the extra 150-200 dollars spent on the bal/blueprint will come back to you in the fuel savings. Also you will have a much longer life on the lower unit and engine as everything will be working together insted of against each other. After I got my buddies engine height set at 2 3/4"s below pad and sent his prop off to my prop guy he gained an additional 5mph on the topend. He is getting on plane in under 5 seconds running at 72 mph GPS tourney loaded with 2 people and full tanks (50gals of fuel). I dont care what anyone says ..........a boat that heavy and tourney loaded and being able to run like that in ANY water conditions is VERY VERY respectable.

[Jackl]

JASON
I re-read what I posted about the props. MAN, I must have had too much scotch and not enought water!!! What I meant to say was my 4 blade TROPHY (My 3 blade is a Tempest) bumps the rev limiter at 5750 (Not 6750, although I wish it could)
JackL

[Bob Smith]

Forgot to mention that my Trophy is a 25P on 200 Mariner Mag EFI pushing a 20' Astro.