Pondering props today
 

Not that I really care all that much but I was wondering why wake props are all bronze and outboard and inboard/outboard props are either stainless or cast alluminum

Just a guess, but with a direct drive / V-drive there is no play if you strike the prop. This can make for a very expensive repair if the prop does not give. It’s better to repair a damaged prop ($150) then shaft, V-drive, etc. I ran a stainless in my old outboard and loved it. If I struck the prop, the motor could pop up to absorb some of the impact. I have heard of guys running stainless props on wakeboats, but they are braver than me.

I used to run a stainless and I loved it. Same prop, no dings for 9 years. It pickeed up some gravel and chucked it into the bottom of my boat. Left 3 nice little holes in the boat, but the prop was fine. The only problem with stainless is the prop mfg's don't make very many sizes. I'd buy another one in a heartbeat if they made a 14.5 x 14.25.

And Shooter's argument has a point. But if you hit something hard enough to wreck your nibril prop, your going to wreck everything else anyway.

I used to see about 10-15 totaled props to every one bent rudder or strut. And maybe 1 of 20 has bent shaft. The question is, how many of those 10-15 totaled props would have survived the incident as a stainless prop and how many would have caused major shaft or tranny damage?