4 blades -vs- 5 blades
 

Alright it's me again with another newbie question.
One of my buddies tells me I'll pick up some cruising speed but put more load on the drives with the same pitch and lose some top end while another says drop an inch of pitch and you'll get better fuel consumption at the same cruising speed and top end speed will remain about the same. I would think it would take more rpm's to keep the same speed with less pitch and you would lose speed or hit the same at a higher rpm.
I'm curious as to who runs 5 blades and what your experiences have been with them, and do bigger boats favor more blades?

See ya,
Kelly

You will get the best top speed with the least blades. You will get the best cruise speed with more blades.
If you run a high X then you need more blades to get on plane and to get back the cruise speed you lost from raising the drive. More blades will be less eficient but the slip will go down.

more blades:more stress on the drives

not always correct..konrad drives like to stay loaded as to stop gear chatter ,but if you have high horespower and low hp drives keeping them un loaded can help keep them alive...

You really don't have the power or the high x dimension to turn a five blade. Plus they increase stern lift. To get the rpm you need to turn the 5 blades would be very low pitch. In perf boats a 5 blade is good if you are close to or are surfacing. Your Baja's x dim is not that high so you would run them submerged. Your whole shot would be insane but top speed would be horrible.

5 vs 4
 

I have had good results changing from Bravo 1 4-blades to Maximus 5-blades. Ask yourself this question, "Where do you spend the majority of your throttle time, WOT or cruising?" If you are a WOT guy stick with your best 4-blade. If you are spending the majority of your time in the "cruise" mode, the 5-blades will be helpful. I picked up 4 mph at 3500 rpm using the 5-blades. That translates to higher mpg and fuel savings to me. I always throttle up gently as you can feel the 5-blades "bite" firmly as the boat comes on plane. I did loose 3 mph on top end, but that is ok with me. If I choose to run fast, I will temporarly install the 4-blades for the day.

But don't forget you have a stepped hull which loves stern lift. Well to a point(: the bajas do not especially with deeper drives. They prefer good bow lift.

The Hydromotive PX-5's have less flare on the diffuser ring to eliminate stern lift.
Stepped hull boats were designed to run flat and the 5 blade over 4 blade props work very well. Stepped hulls do not like stern lift as the already run flat....
I have run both 4 blade Bravo1's and the 5 blade Hydro's and prefer the 5 blade Hydro's. Easier to plane and better cruise speed/rpm.

The px5 is a bow lifting prop like the merc max5. the p5 a stern lifting prop. thats what I am using next, since I have to much bow lift with my ext box, EVEN the b1 is to much lift for my set up. with the 18 X. prop at 3'' or 4'' didn't matter. the baja's are best with the merc rev 4 or mirage plus. there about a 14 to 15'' X. or propshaft height of 7 to 7 5/8'' deep. my boat gets on plane at 2500rpms lol. well I'll be posting what happens with the P5 in a few weeks. fountains do like p5s and 6 blades. thats wear my p5 is coming from. later Art

Art, keep us posted!