plastic inserts in laser II SS prop

can someone explain what the three plastic inserts do on my laser II prop and if they are causing a slight cavation at take off. i think they can be removed and replaced with a different size? thanks tom f…….

Tom: As I understand it, the inserts can be sized to allow a specific amount of air (exhaust) to escape the prop housing. This changes the “grip” the prop has on the water and is supposed to help fine tune performance. Bigger holes allow more air which lessens the “grip” and permit the engine’s RPM to increase faster. A larger engine size that produces greater torque relative to the weight of the boat might permit smaller holes resulting in a greater “grip” on the water. It’s all about matching the prop’s performance to the rest of the components.

Those are the prop vents. There are plugs that are solid and plugs that have various size holes in them. Their purpose is to let air vent over the blade of the prop. When air vents over the surface of the blade it allows the blade to spin without hooking up to the water. This allows the motor to run up the rpm’s and develop horse power. As the blade starts to “grab water” at the higher rpm’s, it allows for a better holeshot.

If the plug you have is not tight to the hole, you can pop it out and replace it. The plugs are sold in packs of 5 of about $5 at any Merc dealer.

My experience playing with different plugs always brings me back to a solid (No hole) plug.

Good Luck.

Funny, looks like we posted at the same time – lol…..

thanks for the info. i don’t think that i am going to mess with it until spring. still have to add three batteries, trolling motor and all my other gear. i think that will make a difference weight wise.