Does your RC boat have a propeller? …well, unless you have an RC sailboat, most RC boats do use propellers. The state of that prop determines how your boat runs. Were still assuming you’re working with a racing radio controlled boat. The last post we talked about blade cupping and how it works on your prop. All these “things” work together as well as the vents, rake, and balancing of your propeller to make your boat run fast or faster.
Vents, Rake And Cavitation Work Together On Your RC Boat
If you want a faster boat then you have to take into account all of these factors about your propeller. 
When you adjust pitch, make sure the cupping is correct, and have the right amount of vents, rake and the prop is balanced, your RC boat will be faster than a speeding bullet. Well, almost but it will definitely be faster than it is now.
Vents and rake go together on your RC boat for faster speed
The rake is the degree of the blade slant and the angle the prop sits from the hub. It’s used to correct cavitation. Cavitation is when bubbles form around the propeller. Cavitation is caused from air being drawn into the blades of the propeller. You can tell by a sudden increase in RPMs (over rev in motor) and loss of speed. It usually happens when you’re turning into a high plane or if the trim is too high. In other words, is really slows down your boat. That’s where vents and rake come in.
Rake gives your remote control boat more speed and greater lift from the water. A good performing prop has an angle of 20 to 30 degrees in rake. The rake is used to prevent cavitation. The vent helps push the water away or through the propeller to make your boat go faster. Of course, all of it works together to keep your prop working well and your boat fast. If any one of these (vents or rake, pitch, or balancing) are out of sync or damaged then you’re going to have speed problems. Not to mention the damage it can cause to your propeller and boat.
Cavitation is more damaging to your RC boat than you think
A little more about cavitation is in order here. It truly can damage your propeller more than you think. As the prop passes through the water, the pressure holding the water to the side of the propeller blade is lowered. If you’re running in warm water then water vapor or boiling as it’s called, is formed. The water actually heats up to boiling point (it’s in a small but important area). As the heated water passes through a high pressure area of the blade it collapses and releases enough energy to damage the surface of your propeller blade. This is called cavitation. The damaged to the prop is called cavitation burn.
The best way to prevent this is to have everything on your propeller set to near perfect conditions. That includes balancing, which we will cover next time, rake, vents, pitch, and also sharpening your propeller blade. They all work together to make your remote controlled boat run smooth and fast.
Well, I hope you’ve learned a few things you didn’t know about RC boat propellers. We’ll cover how to balance your propeller in the next post. Just remember all of these areas of the propeller work together to keep your RC boat the fastest running machine it can be. Until next time.
Do you have any suggestions about propellers that we haven’t covered yet? Leave a comment below and let us know.
Remember you can always ask any question at our Best RC boats blog and get a quick answer.
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