www.iFourWinns.com

Just was wondering if you guys exchanged the Factory prop that comes with the boat from Four Winns with a SS one?
I'm not going to do it this split second but have heard that the SS are a little better at getting out of the hole and a little better at handling tubes and skiers...

Any input would be great!
Starting my Christmas list early

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2007 200 Horizon- 4.3GXi/SX 225hp
2007 Tahoe LT

The stock prop is good for all around use. Now the SS props: 3 blade - Improved performance from the stock - Slightly better hole shot and slightly better top end. 4 blade - Much better hole shot, better holding in the corners, planes at a lower speed still but you loose a bit of the top end. 5 blade - Even better hole shot, great holding, lower planing speed, little less on the top end.

This is as far as I understand it...

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Rob
2007 Four Winns 180 Horizon

Thanks for the info. Now I thought it wasn't good to go from a Three to a Four blade. It was my understanding, very limited, that changing the specific specs of the prop could cause bad RPMs...and such other things.

So I had thought of just going with a three same specs as the one on there just to SS.

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2007 200 Horizon- 4.3GXi/SX 225hp
2007 Tahoe LT

When you go from 3 to 4 blade or 5, drop a pitch or 2 and keep the rpm's up to where they need to be. Check out Mercury's site or talk to a dealer/Fourwinns. Generally they should be able to tell you what prop to get and size/pitch.

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Rob
2007 Four Winns 180 Horizon

Rob has got it. Even if you stick with a 3-blade for 3-blade exchange and are just switching over to SS, you should still go down about 2 in pitch. The stainless steel flexes a lot less under strain than the aluminum prop, so the drop in pitch reflects what the actual pitch of the aluminum is closer to while flexing under strain while pushing/pulling water.

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Paul
2007 Four Winns Horizon 220
Mercruiser 350 Mag MPI w/ Bravo III Drive
2004 Ford Explorer Limited (V8-AWD)
Pomme de Terre Lake (Southwest Missouri)

Cool....thanks everyone.

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2007 200 Horizon- 4.3GXi/SX 225hp
2007 Tahoe LT

Every discussion on this topic I've read also includes mention of the disadvantages of SS versus AL which I'll summarize. If you hit something with an AL prop, the soft metal will bend or break effectively absorbing most of the force behind the impact. If you hit something with a SS prop, the hard metal will transfer the impact up the drivetrain, possibly damaging other components. Having said that, there may be 'impact spin' elements to the SS hub designed to avoid this kind of damage, but I have not heard how effective they are.

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2007 Horizon 200
4.3L GXi/ SX 225 HP

In addition to what Jim just said, consider the waters in which you boat. Some lakes & rivers contain many more hazards than others. If its likely that you're going to hit something with any frequency, I'd recommend aluminum just for its more "sacrificial" properties. If your lakes are considered pretty clean and a strike would be very rare, then you could very well benefit from SS. SS is much stronger and will more likely survive an *occasional* light strike without damage, but as said it's also more likely to transfer impact forces to other components. And if a SS prop has to be repaired, it's usually more expensive than a comparable aluminum one.

Everything considered, I'd always prefer SS as long as I considered my waters "safe."

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Mike
2005 Four Winns 230/240
VP 5.7GXi/DP
1998 F-150 XLT
Boat Pic

I would cosider the Lake pretty clean of all items...you will see a few logs here and there but a lot of boaters try to some good and pick these up.
I just didn't know if it was worth the money to get a SS...

Will have to see how this season goes and if that will just be put on a "would be nice list" for a future buying.

Thanks for the advice and information...think I'll be sticking with the stock as of now.

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2007 200 Horizon- 4.3GXi/SX 225hp
2007 Tahoe LT

I put a SS prop on my "Nice to have" list too... Then got one for Fathers Day!

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2004 180 4.3GL

Did you notice any big differences?

Not a dad, so can't hope for Fathers day, but maybe I can convince the wife that dogs count as kids?

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2007 200 Horizon- 4.3GXi/SX 225hp
2007 Tahoe LT