Ive been driving on the damaged prop, but I havnt notice any of the
vibrations that everyone talks about. My speed is definitly decreased but
its still as smooth as when it wasnt damaged.

Hitting the rocks was my own careless error. Hopefully wont happen too
often. Id like to get a new one so that if i broke it all up I would have
the damamged one as a spare to get me home.

Can I take the prop off with just a regular socket wrench?

--C

"William G. Andersen" wrote in message
news:hFNoc.40839$6L3.7910@fed1read05...
Over a hundred sounds high, but it's mostly labor, so prices vary
depending
on where you live. The least expensive places for prop repair are those
run
by individuals - I found one run by a guy who's retired but goes to the
shop
several days a week to pick up a few bucks. Since it's no longer his main
source of income, he's pretty cheap; and since he did it for many years,
he's pretty good.
If you're going to boat in an area where it's likely you'll damage the
prop
again, don't just get it repaired. Consider getting a spare prop, maybe a
different size for better performance. People who repaair props usually
have
some to sell, can help you select what's best for your kind of boating,
and
will let you try it for a couple of days.
If you have a spare and a wrench, you won't have to cut a weekend or
vacation short to get a dinged prop repaired. While you can finish up a
day
with a damaged prop, the vibration can cause more damage to the outdrive
if
you continue to boat with it for an extended period.

"Ree-Yees" wrote in message
...
So top quality boat driving skills I have managed to hit my prop on some
rocks. One prop is chipped and one is bent about .5 inch on the end.
Boat
doesnt have any extra vibrations but top speed has gone from about 40 to
30mph.

I called around to some boat shops asking about repairing the prop and I
got
prices ranging from $100 to $140. For that price I would assume I can
just
get a new one and keep this one for a spare.

Question is what kind of propeller do I get? My boat is a 1987 sea ray
19foot with a 1987 165hp mercruiser inboard/outboard engine. The
current
propeller has 3 blades. Besides that I dont know much about the
propeller.

Hopefully there is some guide out there that tells you what size/pitch
prop
to get. I would like one that is suited better for top speed than for
acceleration.

Thanks for any advice!
--C