Upgrade Your Trolling Motor for $4 [Airplane Prop on a Trolling Motor]

Want to support this channel and gain access to exclusive material. Consider becoming a patron of Spilt Milt Productions: / spiltmilt
Don't forget to subscribe by clicking here: bit.ly/3eADeto
I came across a video from Duc Tran ( • Upgraded the prop on m... ) where he was able to gain some speed on his ‪@OldTownCanoeKayak‬ AutoPilot kayak by replacing the original stock trolling motor prop with an airplane propeller. I decided to try this out for myself and do a proper and more in depth exploration of this $4 upgrade.
Upgrade Supplies:
- Prop featured in this video: www.apcprop.com/product/10x4p...
- Qty 2: 3/8" stainless steel flat washers
- Qty 1: 3/8" lock washer
Let me know what you think!

[@Dasato123]

A towel draped across the opening in the hull would be good insurance against dropping a nut into the water.

[@sdbrantley9065]

More thorough than most of the videos I've seen regarding prop swaps. Like the data & graphs you provided. You may have saved me a lot of time & effort on my canoe setup.

[@tonyrogers5809]

Hey, Tyler, love the video! Great stuff. I am both an engineer and model airplane pilot, so will hit a couple questions you raise.

[@walleyweez488]

more thrust is produced at the tips as they have a higher speed (longer prop = higher tip speed), less pitch = higher rpm = more thrust at higher speeds. More pitch produces more torque hence faster acceleration (probably not necessary in a kayak, unless adverse wind/ current or heavier load). Hope that helps.

[@jimmied2838]

Props for aircraft have a higher pitch do to air being thinner than water. At low speed I don't think you're going to have any problems but at higher speeds you're going to run into a few. Idk the math but you're definitely putting more stress on the motor because of the higher pitch u get more resistance. Another is in water cavitation is a factor u have to consider. A prop made for the water is designed to minimize cavitation a prop designed for aircraft doesn't have to worry as much about it

[@great0789]

I just ordered the ACP prop for my trolling motor. They had an entire category on their website for trolling motor props. Several options and styles to choose from.

[@brian1204]

The airplane prop is more efficient, but trolling motor props are also designed to go through weeds without getting them all caught up in the prop.

[@sailfishoneday2145]

Well that was a " proper " test sir haha , just got my 3 rc props in the mail today . I'm exited about that mid range as most of my use is mid range power levels. One thing to note for anyone reading this is these rc props feel very sturdy / strong in ur hand , when u look at a pic or a vid they look very flimsy / cheap but after getting mine today I can assure u they feel strong / great in person . They feel like a 15 dollar prop in ur hand not a 4 dollar prop if that makes sense. Thanks for the vid man , big " props " to all ur effort haha

[@sdbassin1143]

Great info.

[@markskibo5159]

Just a note from a RC airplane nut, Get a cheap prop balancer when you trim the prop.

[@Clockeman]

This might be a better fit for transom or bow mount motors. I saw the same video you are replicating and it's really good to have the verification. The airplane blade is NOT at all weed free, and it's probably smart to carry your original prop in case of a problem. Thanks man!

[@craigsmithx]

Holy crap, that's an amazing kayak setup.

[@AddictedFishing]

We need to link up so you can show us some tricks for setting ours up! We’re excited to get into some kayak fishing.

[@jelly_fishing]

Great test and discussion

[@sanibel2008]

It works better than stock. But get clogged very easy with weeds etc

[@MarkoAbo]

Great job Tyler!

[@stinkopants]

This is cool! For that price I gotta try it. Ordered the prop

[@rkygriz]

I just finished installing one of these props on my Minn Kota Endura 55 Max(it weighs 26lbs).

[@kenpickett9317]

The aircraft prop has a higher aspect ratio than the boat prop, making it more efficient. (Think high performance glider versus a biplane) . This is due to less energy being lost to tip vortices with the higher aspect design. More simply, the boat prop is working like a screw and the airplane prop more like a wing. It has absolutely nothing to do with weight or rotational momentum. The limiting factor for the aero design will ultimately be cavitation on the upper surface of the blade, but for low speed operation like this it probably should be fine.

[@brenthawkins204]

Just ordered my props. Also tried a 10-8 LH prop. Thanks