prop advice

[juandesooka]

My kicker prop is gone ... either fell off or was stolen. So I need to buy a new one, and I know nothing about them about than they turn around make my boat go. Looking for some advice.

It is an 8hp yamaha, 4-stroke, 2001.

Looking up specs online, seems yamaha default is 6.5" or 7" pitch. I see some online that are up to 9" pitch...what is preferred for a kicker? Go with standard or any performance advantage going higher?

Can get the Yamaha one for about $90 online, or $120 here in Sooke. I can get a Solas one online for $50 plus shipping. Is there much of an advantage with staying with Yamaha, or is one aluminum prop just as good as any other?

 

[scott craven]

Go with the best price, no need to stay with Yamaha
as they don't make their own props, it's a buy/sell.
Boats.net has some good price online, however you have to pay freight, duty etc.

 

[juandesooka]

Thanks Scott, that's super. Best price seems to be either ebay or iboats.net. I have a maildrop company I use in Point Roberts, so that helps with shipping/duty.

 

[bigredsnapper]

Hey Juan, on advice from someone else on this forum I used getaprop.com. Have a look, they were great to me and if you have a US address it's way cheaper. Get a lower pitch prop for a kicker like a 9 or 10. BRS

 

[juandesooka]

thanks BRS. When you say "lower pitch", I assume you mean 9 or 10 vs the default 7, correct? Can you tell me the advantage ... why do you recommend this?

 

[TenMile]

Is your Yamaha an 8hp High Thrust aka T8 or just a regular 8? If it's a T8 they swing a much larger prop than the standard 8hp units. Don't want to put a small prop on the T8 as you'd be losing all the benefits of the higher thrust configuration.

 

[juandesooka]

Hi TenMile...it's an F8, not T8.

It's been interesting researching this today, learning lots, but as usual, on a $/hour basis I should have just paid the $120 locally and been done with it, would have been further ahead. Ah, my ongoing struggles with the false economies in chasing "the deal". Ha, kind of reminds me of fishing, I could probably have bought it at the store for a lot cheaper than what I've spent over the years. But then I wouldn't have had the fun of chasing it, whether fishing, gear shopping, or travel planning.

 

[spring time]

I have used www.dansdiscountprops.com on my 150 yamaha and he was great, and good prices to