Choosing the best boat accessories involves considering the engine RPM at WOT, cost, material, and operating conditions. The best accessory allows the engine to reach but not exceed the maximum factory RPM. The number of blades is a negligible factor.
Choosing the best boat accessories, or boat propellers, involves a number of key factors. The most important factor is the engine revolutions per minute (RPM) at wide open throttle (WOT) while the boat is carrying the normal load. In other words, the best boat accessories will allow a boat carrying a normal load of passengers, full tanks of fuel, and necessary cargo to run at maximum, factory-rated WOT RPM regardless of boat speed. Always check with the engine manufacturer to find the factory RPM for a particular engine when choosing boat accessories.
There is a common misconception that a ship at full speed, or WOT, is going as fast as possible, but this is not the case. It is possible for a boat to be in WOT but not move as fast as the boat. For example, if a small boat towed another vessel at WOT and made 8 knots (4.1 meters per second), then the towline was cut, the WOT would not change, but the speed of the boat would increase dramatically.
The best boat accessory is the one that allows the boat engine to reach but not exceed the maximum factory RPM, while all other engine parameters, especially temperature, remain normal. Boat accessories that are too large in diameter or excessively raked will cause the engine to not reach full factory RPM. Excessive RPM, which can result in total and catastrophic engine failure, indicates that an increase in the pitch or diameter of the boat’s strut is needed.
Other important factors in choosing the best boat accessories include cost, material, and operating conditions. Boat accessories are typically made of aluminum, composite materials, stainless steel, or bronze. Aluminum and composite boat accessories are the least expensive and are usually the choice for outboard motors. Composite boat accessories have the advantage of having replaceable blades, so if one is damaged, you don’t need to change the entire accessory. Stainless steel boat fittings are used on both internal and external boat engines and are more expensive than aluminum; Bronze boat fittings are for larger commercial vessels such as cargo ships or fishing boats.
An important consideration when choosing the best boat accessory is the environment in which the boat operates. Rocky conditions, reefs, and sandbars are notorious for damaging boat stanchions, so aluminum or composite stanchions are the best choice in such environments because such materials will give or even break, while steel stainless steel will transfer the damage to the gearbox. It is cheaper to replace the accessory than the gearbox. Stainless steel boat fittings are better in deeper water where there is less chance of hitting an object. Stainless steel accessories are more durable than aluminum.
Boat accessories may vary in the number of blades. Whether you have two, three, four or more blades, propeller pitch and diameter are still the deciding factor in making the best choice. The number of blades in a boat’s strut makes only a negligible difference in engine performance and is a choice based solely on the boat owner’s taste.
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