The Holy Propeller – a quest for improving boat performance

If you love your boat(s!) as much as I do, you probably want them to go faster. Or get up on plane faster. Well, that funny-looking thing stuck on the bottom of your motor is pretty important to how your boat operates. So important, you could write books about it. Well, people already have- my ‘go to’ favorite is “The Propeller Handbook: The Complete Reference for Choosing, Installing, and Understanding Boat Propellers” by Dave Gerr. I just finished my most recent boat construction project- a 13′ 7″ twin-sponson wooden hydroplane from a design penned in the 1960’s. On the back is a 45hp Mercury Classic Fifty (chosen not only for low weight, but also because it’s block is shared with the 44xs motor used in Class D hydro racing- a motor I dream about owning for this boat). I was in the quest for a 45+mph top speed and I…Keep Reading