DISCUSSION

A propeller or prop is the final piece of the engine and its drive train. It is the part of
the boat that transfers the engine horsepower to the water. The transfer is termed as thrust.
Thrust is created as the propeller pulls water into the front of it, (the boat side) and pushes it
out on the back side. This momentum change is caused by a pull push affect of the blades and
the pressure differential from low to high and is the basis for the creation of thrust. All
propellers have the same basic parts. However, there are many variables within those basic
parts.
A propeller with one blade would be the fastest and most efficient propeller if it
werent for the fact that the vibration could not be contained. The reason for its great speed
would be the lack of blade drag caused by metal in the water. As blades are added to propeller
hubs, the drag is increased. However, the ability to grab more water and decrease the time
frame between load and unload is shortened. This means the propeller will feel smoother as
it grabs water or loads the blades. The number of blades does many other things to the
performance and control of a vessel. Performance type hulls tend to show the greatest
response from adding and subtracting blades. Propellers typically come with 2 to 6 blades.
The propellers toward increased numbers of blades to improve midrange efficiency and to
reduce engine- and shaft-related vibration and noise.
One blade

: Ideal, it does not have other blades disturbing the water flow ahead of it.
Unfortunately, it will be unbalanced.

Two blades

: It requires very large diameter to get the blade area required for
effective Thrust (force).

Three / Four blades : it has been proven to be the best compromise between balance, blade
area and efficiency.
Five - Eight blades : extra blades create more total blade area with the same or less
Diameter. Accordingly, more thrust is produced. However, efficiency
decreases due to additional turbulence
In general, at a given shaft speed (RPM), the fewer blades a propeller has, the better.
However the trade-off is that, with fewer blades, each one carries more load. This can lead to
a lot of vibration (particularly with a two-bladed propeller) and contribute to cavitation.
When the diameter of the propeller is limited by the size of the aperture, it may often be
better to keep shaft speed low and absorb the power through the use of more blades.

Blade area. A propeller with narrow blades (of low blade area ratio, see Figure 8) is more
efficient than one with broad blades. However, propellers with low blade area ratios are more
prone to cavitation as the thrust that the propeller is delivering is distributed over a smaller
blade surface area.
3-Blade and 4-Blade Props (or multi-blade props) offer advantages for high
horsepower outboards. mounted high on the transom, the prop runs closer to the surface,
providing additional bite and stability at higher speed. They can also improve out-of-the-hole
acceleration, while maintaining plane with fewer engine rpm's. Because there is more drag ,
multi-blade props reduce top-end speed. A high-end five-eight-blade prop usually runs a few
cm per minute fasted per minute faster that the same pitched multipleblade design. A fourblade is going to give the most efficiency, but a five-blade is going to be smoother.

Four-blade props usually have a lower pitch to keep the rpms the same as a 3blade.

The increased blade area afforded by the addition of the fourth blade can provide
increased water displacement capability, lift, and grip, as compared to the comparable 3-blade
propeller. In terms of actual boat performance, these characteristics can combine to enhance
handling, hole shot, low-speed planning ability, cruise efficiency, fuel efficiency, loadcarrying performance, big seas performance, following seas/down current performance,
ventilation/cavitation resistance, motor elevation capability, etc. In short, a 4-blade propeller
can improve all those characteristics that make for practical, all-around boat performance.

A propeller with narrow blades (of low blade area ratio) is more efficient than one
with broad blades. However, propellers with low blade area ratios are more prone to
cavitation as the thrust that the propeller is delivering is distributed over a smaller blade
surface area. The thickness of a propeller blade has little effect on efficiency, within the

norms required to maintain sufficient blade strength. However, like the blade area ratio, the
section thickness can affect cavitation - thicker propellers induce larger suction and are more
prone to cavitation. The only solution to cavitation is a change of propeller. One with more
blades, a higher blade area ratio or a larger diameter should be considered.
In the beginning, the idea that few-blades were slower than more-blades was true to a
certain extent, but that is because many of those more-blades were not designed with speed in
mind. Instead, the few designs that were available were intended to cure handling issues such
as ventilation, cornering blowout, motor elevation requirements, and hole shot issues.
Without many options in blade design, and very few of them truly intended to be particularly
fast, the 4-blade got branded as slow, while their other performance benefits were largely
dismissed.
By contrast, todays 4-blade propeller designs have evolved into both all-purpose and highly
specialized geometries. These propellers can be tailored to not only address those traditional
handling issues, but can also be tailored to improve a boats performance envelope, which
can, in some cases, even include speed.

differentials between the 3-blade and the 4.

In the beginning, the idea that 4-blades were slower than 3-blades was true to a certain extent,
but that is because many of those 4-blades were not designed with speed in mind. Instead, the
few designs that were available were intended to cure handling issues such as ventilation,
cornering blowout, motor elevation requirements, and hole shot issues. Without many options
in blade design, and very few of them truly intended to be particularly fast, the 4-blade got

branded as slow, while their other performance benefits were largely dismissed.
By contrast, todays 4-blade propeller designs have evolved into both all-purpose and highly
specialized geometries. These propellers can be tailored to not only address those traditional
handling issues, but can also be tailored to improve a boats performance envelope, which
can, in some cases, even include speed.