Lets say a boat runs 105 with 34p mec lab finish.
How much top end speed will you lose with 30p herring 6 bladed

Rick OSG

Would lose maybe 1 or 2.Some boats dont lose at all.

What he said... Hole shot, mid-range and handling should more than make up for it though...

Depends on the boat.

The more blades the slower the boat. Period.

The rest of it is handling and longivity (breaking drives)

You will never run faster than with a 3 blade, you just have to
make the prop and drive last.

CM

I will have to disagree with that. You can try any 3 blade on any high performance boat and it will not work the way a 4blade bravo or a 5 blade herring will work.
The best 4 blade on the market, labbed will not get the same speed as a 5 blade herring, I guarantee.

So if we all switch to two blades we'll all haul azz????

You might want to qualify your statement Y.

What about a "one" blade with some type of counterbalancer??????

I'll take two of the two blades please!!

I was under the impression that a three bladed prop was easier on drives than a four blade.

Herring's do not always provide the gauranteed speed increase youi are looking for and there are too many variables to say that a 4blade will be slower than a five blade, that would be innacurrate. totally depends on the hull drive height weight dist. etc. etc. etc. I have had good luck with the merc five blades though. they settled the boat down over 100 MPH making it a lot more driver friendly than the four blades and that allowed it to go faster, they did drop the over all slip as well but the boat had horrible numbers to start with so of course it would lower the slip.

Good thread! I have 4 blade bravos on mine, have a great hole shot, seems to me in theory, 4 blades spinning is like a taller gear in a rearend, more bite hence more torque, a 3 blade would have a higher top end as more slippage out of the hole. What is the difference? and aside from the obvious looks, what makes cleavers better or worse?How much difference does a lab finish make?