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Your Guide to Propeller Terminology

Propeller Size
The size of a prop is described using two sets of numbers. These correspond to the diameter and pitch. The pitch always follows the diameter when describing a propeller.

Diameter
The first number listed in a propeller size. Diameter is defined as two times the distance from the center of the hub to the tip of the blade. It can also be looked at as the distance across the circle that the prop would make when working.

Pitch
The last number listed in a propeller size. Technically speaking, pitch is the theoretical distance a prop moves forward in one revolution - assuming there is no “slippage” between the prop blade and the water. In the real world, there is some slippage and therefore the distance advanced is less than the design pitch. Pitch can be visualized as the tightness or looseness of the blades as they swirl around the prop hub. If the blades appear tightly wound and angled sharply inward toward the hub, the pitch is high. If the blades appear loosely wound and angled outward from the hub (that is, they appear flatter), the pitch is low.

Cupping
Many of today’s propellers incorporate a cup at the trailing edge of the propeller blade. This curved lip on the propeller allows it to get a better bite on the water. This results in reduced ventilation, slipping, and allows for a better hole shot in many cases. A cupped propeller also works very well where the motor can be trimmed so that the propeller is near the surface of the water. The cup will typically result in better performance, and higher top end speed on one of these applications.

Ventilation
Air from the water surface or exhaust gases from the exhaust outlet being drawn into the prop blades causes ventilation. When this situation occurs, boat speed is lost and engine RPM climbs rapidly. This occurs most often with high transom mounting, over-trimming the engine, and sharp turns.

Cavitation
Cavitation (which is often confused with ventilation), is a phenomena of water vaporizing or “boiling” due to the extreme reduction of pressure on the back of the propeller blade. Many propellers partially cavitate during normal operation, but excessive cavitation can result in metal erosion or “cavitation burn” to the prop’s blade surface. There are numerous causes of cavitation such as incorrect matching of propeller style to application, incorrect pitch, physical damage to the blade edges, etc.

Rake
Rake is the degree that the blades slant forward or backwards in relation to the hub. Rake can affect the flow of water through the propeller, and has implications with respect to boat performance. Aft rake helps to trim the bow of the boat upwards, which often results in less wetted surface area and therefore higher top end speed. Aft rake propellers also typically “bite” better on ventilating type applications. Forward, or negative rake, helps hold the bow of the boat down. This is more common in work boat type applications.

Selecting the Right Propeller For Your Boat and Engine
The best propeller size for your boat and engine combination is based on the recommended operating range at wide open throttle (w.o.t.) for your engine, which you will find in your operator’s manual. This will be expressed in terms of a certain horsepower at a certain RPM (revolutions per minute).

The goal in prop selection is to determine what propeller style and size will maximize performance for your boat, while allowing your engine to operate in the recommended RPM range. The correct propeller will prevent the engine from over-revving, yet allow it to reach the minimum RPM where maximum horsepower is produced.

Run the boat/motor at w.o.t. under normal operating load to determine the maximum RPM you are able to obtain. A tachometer is necessary for this test. Adjust the motor trim angle for the optimum performance. If during this test, you begin to exceed the maximum rated RPM of the engine, reduce throttle setting to a position where maximum RPM is not exceeded.

If your test results in your being able to over-rev the engine, you need to increase the pitch of the propeller. Increasing the pitch increment by 1” will result in approximately a 200 RPM drop. If your testing shows, however, that you are only able to obtain a RPM somewhat lower than the maximum rating given by your engine manufacturer, you would need to decrease pitch. Decreasing pitch would increase your RPM.

Example:

Operating Range = 5000-5600 RPM
Top End of Operating Range = 5600 RPM
Tachometer Reading = 4800 RPM

Difference = 800 RPM


For every 1” of pitch size, the effect will be approximately 200 RPM. Knowing this, take the difference in the above example at 800 and divide it by 200. The result is 4. The prop to use will be 4” in pitch less than the prop that was used.


Switching from an uncupped to a cupped propeller will also reduce your RPM. The cupped propeller of the same pitch and diameter will typically reduce your RPM by approximately 200.

Once your wide open throttle RPM falls within the recommended range of the engine manufacturer, you have a propeller that is suited correctly for your boat with respect to RPM. If you use your boat for fishing, cruising and skiing, one prop probably won’t do all three things equally well. It is best in circumstances like this to have two propellers. One to accommodate one set of circumstances and the other to perform best under the different load. It could, in fact, be that more than one propeller would be suitable for your boat and motor combination depending on your usage. It is imperative, however, that the wide open throttle RPM fall within the range specified by your engine manufacturer

Choosing the Right Propeller

To some, choosing the right boat propeller can seem like a job for a marine service center. Anything that has to do with the backend of the boat can be a scary thing.  Despite popular belief, choosing the correct propeller for a particular boat and motor is actually a fairly simple thing to do, once you understand what a propeller really is.
First think of a propeller as a gear, whether it be on a car or even a bicycle. The lower the gear, faster hole shot, more power, but revolutions are much faster so at a point you can only turn that gear so fast until you over rev the engine (or you legs). Now think of your car stuck in only 5th or 6th gear, very slow out of the hole, little torque, but eventually it will catch up with itself so you can cruise to a good speed.
 
The same basic concept applies to propellers, except with a prop you are committed to only one "gear". So what to do now?  Find the prop size that will give the best overall performance. Sound difficult? It's really not.
 
Your engine has a recommended wide open throttle rpm range. Let's take an example of an 18' boat with a 125 hp engine with a rpm range of 4500-5500. In most cases you purchase a boat with some sort of propeller on it. Let's say this motor has a 21 pitch prop on it and at wide open throttle under a normal boat load, the engine turns 4900 rpms. Well it's in the range so it's the correct prop, right? Well yes and no. For the health and longevity of the engine it's okay, but for overall performance, you want to run a propeller near the top of the range. Well how do you change the size to get that?
 
Remember this rule of thumb: For every 2" of propeller pitch, rpm's will change approximately 400 rpm's. As you drop in pitch, rpm's increase, and as you go up in pitch, rpm's decrease. So if we want to raise our rpm's we should choose a lower pitch prop. Following the rule, going down to a 19 pitch should raise our rpm's to about 5300. That would help the hole shot and also gain us some more speed.
 
As you follow the rule of thumb, remember that sometimes rules are meant to be broken. This is not an iron clad rule, sometimes varying 2" of pitch will only change rpm's by 200. Switching prop brands or manufacturer, it can sometimes throw off the rule too.
 
At this point the most important thing to understand is that less pitch means more rpm's, more pitch means less rpms. For your boat to perform at its peak, you need to run at the upper end of your engine's recommended rpm range. That's it. Once you're there and still want more speed, handling, lift, etc, that's when choosing the right propeller brand comes into play.
 
Here's a simple adjustment you can make to improve performance under varying boatloads: If you normally run with one other person on board, use that boatload as your measurement when determining your wide open throttle rpm's. But if you sometimes load the boat with 2-5 more people or try pulling a water skier or tube, get another prop 2" of pitch lower than your normal prop. It will compensate for added weight and drag and make a huge improvement on performance in these circumstances. But remember to keep an eye on you rpm's when running a lower pitch for these circumstances.
 
Most props have the size marked somewhere on the prop, either on the barrel, on the blades, or in the front or back of the propeller. Use that pitch that you're currently running as your starting point. If it's already running correctly then that pitch is your pitch.
 
Aluminum vs. Stainless Steel
The decision between purchasing an aluminum or stainless steel propeller can be difficult. However if you fully understand the differences between them, your decision can be much easier.
 
The most common understanding of the difference is that stainless steel propellers perform better than aluminum propellers. This is only half true. Material (Stainless vs Aluminum) only accounts for approximately 10% of the actual performance of the propeller. The other 90% of performance is in the blade design.
 
Well designed aluminum propellers will out perform an average stainless steel propeller. So it's important to research a propeller's performance before your purchase. It is also important to try different pitches and brands to get your boat dialed in to the best possible propeller.
The advantage of a stainless steel propeller over aluminum is durability. Stainless props can withstand more of the damage caused by small rocks, sand, or other loose objects in the water.
 
However, the disadvantage to a stainless propeller is that there is "minimal give" to the blades, so if you hit an object hard enough, there is a possibility of causing major damage to your lower unit is increased greatly. With aluminum props, the blades will most likely sacrifice themselves before any damage is caused to your lower unit.
If you run in deep or familiar waters, or in salt/brackish water, a stainless steel propeller can be a good choice. But it is important to always carry a spare propeller on board, and a spare aluminum is an inexpensive choice.
 
Why not run a damaged propeller?
Continuing to use a damaged propeller can cause damage to the gearcase and ultimately the power head of your motor. When a propeller has sustained damage, it will not spin true, thus creating excessive vibrations that will transfer all the way into your motor.
A damaged propeller will also not perform as well as a new propeller because the damaged parts of the blade can degrade hydrodynamic efficiency.
 
What is pitch?
Propeller pitch is the theoretical forward movement of a propeller for one revolution, assuming that there is no prop slip. For example, a 21 pitch propeller will theoretically move 21 inches for every revolution. Propeller slip occurs with every propeller, but the amount of slip varies depending on propeller design. More aggressively and efficiently designed propellers will slip less.
 
When selecting a propeller pitch for your boat, it is important that the propeller runs at the upper end of your engines wide-open-throttle RPM range. If you want your RPM's to increase, go down in pitch. To decrease RPM's, go up in pitch. As a general guide, for every 2" of pitch, RPM's will change approximately 400 RPM's.
 
For water sports or extra people on board, you should generally drop 2" of pitch to help compensate for the added weight and drag on your boat. It makes a noticeable difference in your boat's hole shot, fuel efficiency, RPM's, and overall performance. You should ALWAYS carry a spare propeller on board, and if you're into water sports or occasionally load the boat with extra people, a spare prop with a lesser pitch is a good idea. When thinking a propeller pitch, compare it to a gear on car - lower gear, higher RPM's.
 
The same pitch from different manufacturers will run slightly different RPM's due to a difference in blade design. Speed differences among the same pitch from various manufacturers will vary even more. For example a 17 pitch from one brand could run up to 7 mph faster than a 17 pitch from another brand.
 
Pitch is the 2nd two digits that are listed in a propeller item description (14-1/4 x 19, 19 is the pitch, 14-1/4 is the diameter)
 
What is diameter?
Propeller diameter is distance across the imaginary circle that a spinning propeller makes. It can be easily determined by measuring the distance from the center of the hub to the tip of one of the blades and multiplying that number by 2.
 
Diameters between different propeller manufacturers may vary slightly. For example for a V6 outboard application, Turning Point uses a 14-1/4" diameter where a different manufacturer may use a 14-1/2" diameter. This small variance does not affect your performance as much as the pitch and overall design. However, larger diameter propellers - 15" or 16" diameter - are designed for larger boat applications - 23 ft +, and are not ideal for 15" - 22" foot run-a-bouts. These larger boats need more blade area to push more water.
 
What is rake?
Propeller rake is the degree that a propeller blade is angled in relation to the hub. Props with higher rake typically have better speeds and greater lift. The better performing propellers typically have between 20 - 30 degree rake angles.
 
What is cupping?
Propeller cupping is the curved lip at the trailing edge and/or tip of the propeller. Cupping helps the propeller to get a better grip in the water for better holding at higher trim and on turns. Cupping also increases the efficiency of a propeller and can result in higher top end speeds when properly designed.

What are vent holes?
Vent holes are holes behind each blade designed to aid in the hole shot of a propeller. When accelerating from neutral, these holes allow some exhaust bubbles to flow through and flood the blades. The prop is then spinning through more turbulent water, thus gaining RPM's and speed more quickly. After approximately 1000 RPM's, the exhaust flows rapidly enough that is will bypass the holes and flow through the hub, eliminating any further slippage from the holes.
 
This performance feature can only be found in stainless steel propellers. However Turning Point is the only one to offer this feature in aluminum propellers as well.