How To Maintain Your Boat Propeller?

Your propeller is a key factor in your boats’ performance, and your satisfaction; so don’t overlook it. Maintain it for peak power, performance and efficiency.

Before every outing, we emphatically advocate that you thoroughly inspect your propeller. Look for obvious damage, particularly on the blade tips and leading edges. Nicks, dents, and dings are signs that the propeller hit something, possibly bending or cracking the blade. Remove the beat-up wheel, and install a known good prop to use while you have the sick propeller examined or repaired by a professional.

Check the prop nut to ensure that it’s tight to the engine manufacturer’s specs (and the cotter pin is secure). Prop nuts can loosen up during the course of a season; the last thing you need is for the propeller to zing off into the briny deep when you’re miles offshore.

If you’ve noticed a decrease in your boat’s performance, but your outboard checks out fine, you’d do well to suspect your prop. Suspended grit, sand and silt in the water slowly eat away at your propeller’s edges. When this happens, your prop may look perfect, but the worn edges can seriously degrade performance.

Depending on how you treat your propeller, the paint on an aluminum propeller may wear off. If the propeller is in good shape, you can take off wheel, and repaint it with the original color paint – or any color you like – it’s your boat, after all.

Boating in brackish, polluted, or saltwater can cause polished stainless propellers to lose their luster over time. Try using a bathroom cleaner (the kind for soap scum) to scrub residue off of the prop; believe it or not, it usually does a pretty good job.

Speaking of stainless wheels, they’re not stain-proof – they’re stain-less. If you boat in salty, polluted or icky contaminated water, rinse the propeller with fresh water after you’re done for the day, to stave off the development of red iron oxide and prevent the accumulation of an unidentifiable non-aesthetic film from forming on the prop.

If conditions warrant, you might consider “000” steel wool, penetrating oil, and plenty of elbow grease to eradicate any rust that may appear on your stainless steel propeller.