prop shopping

I have a 87 ski centurion with a 351 I seem to lose alot of grip with my stock 3 blade prop..I want to switch up to a four blade.. anyone have any sugestions??

Contact ACME prop company. They will fit you into the correct prop.

Second ACME. Buy at www.propellersonline.com best price.

With the new props it isn't necessary to go with a 4 blade. Not that they are bad though. I switched out an OJ 4 blade to an ACME 3 blade on my 2002 Tige 20v and I'm stoked on the results. Nice and smooth with a great holeshot.

I also have heard many good things about the ACME 3-blades, that they out perform their 4's in many instances. Mostly because there is more surface area on the 3. I have an ACME 4 and love it. When I broke the first one I missed it dearly.

Got to say that my best retail experience (outside of certain Vegas trips) has been at Discount Inboard Marine.

Please consider going with www.skidim.com. They've got tons of inboard goodies and are super professional and friendly.

I have a Supra Comp TS6M (PCM 351) and replaced an older 3 blade with a new ACME 3 blade. What a difference. Well worth it. I purchased from propellersonline as well. Either ACME or propellersonline will tell you what you need.

SKIDIM is great as well - have ordered from them. Superior service. I didn't price the prop there though.

Kevin

I also think ACME is a great prop,, I bent my 4 blade and my dealer hooked me up with a loner 3 blade OJ it was night and day I couldn't wait to get the new one back on the boat...

I also love my ACME 4 blade on our Tige 23V. Big difference from the four blade OJ we had. Have a ding on the ACME and need to get it fixed. Going to miss it while it is being fixed. I assume I need to send it back to ACME unless they refer me to someone local. Bronson hill repair my OJ but not sure if they can do repairs on an ACME

Are you comparing apples to apples or what? I have been running a OJ prop for years, never a problem. I see some post's here that are talking two to four pitches, 12" to 14" diameters difference. Most of these props were designed and built, tested, by the manufacture especially for their particular product. Maybe the prop that you have been running was not factory equipped.

I'm running an OJ SS 4-blade on my v-drive. Same diameter and pitch as the stock OJ 3-blade.

Feels different, has a different vibe to it, but it looks really bling when on the trailer ;-)

I will say that the CNC props seem to make a ton more sense. Today's craftsman should be behind a CAD machine, not in the shop. Now a CNC'd stainless prop would be the kindest.

There is a difference of 4 blade against a 3 blade, besides physcial looks. However the physical properties, deminsions rake, etc will change. A difference of half pitches, half sizes, half diameters. So if we are comparing equal, exact. physcial properties, than ther would be a true comparison. OJ makes them all, CNC, forged, Bronze, SS 3 & 4 blade. Spometimes a educated consumer is best at making prop changes for different situations. EX. a cupped prop normaly will turn harder than a non cupped blade, like almost adding more pitch. A cupped blade that been repaired and puts the cup up around the tip of the blade will add more rake. It actually changes the physical orignal effectness for what it was intended, goo or bad. Compare props equally to characterise the benefits, putting everone on a level playing field.

I just spoke with a guy at acme and he recommended a 3 blade acme. Model 540. I have an 86 Ski Nauti 2001. Can anyone confirm this or have any comments??

Can't confirm directly on the specific application + prop but the people at ACME know their stuff. I would get whatever they say to get. I did was was very satisfied.

I will say I got a lower price at propellersonline then what ACME quoted me.

That's interesting Mac, they recommended for my '86 MC PS190 with 2000lb of ballast, a 4-blade, 13.5" x 16": model 537. So for a CC I guess it would be RH rotation model 536. I even called back a week later and talked to a different guy to ask a different question and he recommended the 4-blade 537 as well. When you spoke to them did you specify that you were running a lot of ballast weight? I wonder why the difference in recommendation. He said if you ran 3000lb of ballast there was an 800-series prop he'd recommend, but only if you ran that much ballast every time.
http://www.propellersonline.com/Acme.php

FL SurfLover (flsurflover) Who did you talk too? I talked to a guy from the ACME company. I told him what boat I had, that I ran 2000 pounds, and I wanted better wakeboard performance.

Garrett - Bronson will work on Acme but they have an upcharge over their regular rates, due to the thin blades. Joel described it to me as working with a wet piece of paper. You cannot beat the Acme though. It totally changed my boat and it even made my engine sound better!

FL SurfLover (flsurflover)I just spoke with my local Nauti dealer which I just learned is an acme prop dealer. He also contacted Acme for me to talk more about what prop I should get. He just called me back and said the 542 would suit my needs. I went ahead and had him order it. So if your interest I will let you know how it works out for me.