For those who have been through this...I'm leaning towards replacing my Fury prop for next season. Mine is nicked and frayed on the edges of all three blades. Still a good prop, but looking for something better.
So.....is it better to just pony up $700-$800 for a new one from a dealer, or to search online for a good used one? If I go with used, where's the best places to go looking? E-bay, Amazon, Bass Boat Central, Texas Fishing Forum, etc?
BBC usually has a good list of used props being sold and you might look at online stores like Overtons for some non Mercury brands for a much more reasonably priced alternative. I ran a Stiletto stainless prop on my old Tracker and it was a great prop.
If it's just nicked and dinged up I'd take it to a prop shop and have them clean it up and re-balance the prop. I've never used Baumann, but I've heard good things about them. Also Mike Hood has a good reputation here in the Houston area. Several dealers in the area are "drop off" locations for his service so you don't have to drive down to Telephone Road and risk your life and limb down in that area. If you are looking to address certain issues like hole shot, top end, bow lift, etc, these shops can add extra cup/ pitch to the blades to address those issues for a lot less than a new or used prop.
If it's just nicked and dinged up I'd take it to a prop shop and have them clean it up and re-balance the prop. I've never used Baumann, but I've heard good things about them. Also Mike Hood has a good reputation here in the Houston area. Several dealers in the area are "drop off" locations for his service so you don't have to drive down to Telephone Road and risk your life and limb down in that area. If you are looking to address certain issues like hole shot, top end, bow lift, etc, these shops can add extra cup/ pitch to the blades to address those issues for a lot less than a new or used prop.
Baumann has some drop off locations around Lake Conroe also if you want to do that. If you give them a call they can get you to one of their dealers. I delivered mine direct to them just to avoid any markup that a shop might add for the service. It is a pain though getting to their location and a pretty sketchy area in Houston.
Not sure how to measure pitch... a prop shop may have to do that for you. If the pitch is not marked on the prop, then my guess is that the prop has probably already been reworked and if the pitch was marked, it may not be the pitch anymore.
Pitch (as best I can explain it) is the theoretical distance the prop can travel in one full revolution. So a 23 pitch prop could, in theory, travel forward 23 inches in one full revolution of the prop.