Prop for Bravo I

[jcoyrochny]

The tech that winterized my boat this year told me that I should have a SS prop on my Bravo I OD, he indicated that the prop that I currently have on is just too light for the OD, is he giving me the correct advise?

 

[KC_Sundancer]

Never heard that before - "too light"

Stainless would be a good upgrade but I don't think a necessity.
In reality as long as you are not breaking blades and running in the optimum RPM range your good to go.

The key thing is to have your engine running in the proper RPM range at full throttle and trimmed out. Preferably near the top of the range.
If I remember correctly from my 330 (7.4L 454 ci) in our Pachanga, the range was from 4,400 to 4,800 RPM (usually shown on the valve cover decal).

We raced offshore powerboats for years with the Bravo's and always ran the stainless. The stainless provides better performance because the blades are much stronger and do not "flex" as much. They can also be machined thinner than aluminum. Weight was not the issue.

The only down-side to stainless is if you hit something they usually do more damage to the outdrive.

We now own a 270 sundancer with twin v6's connected to alpha's and are happily using stainless props - (5) blade "high fives". Great performance all around.

Hope this helps !