Thanks Dave for the helpful advice. I am envious of your an board sensor😁. Also thanks for the heads up on the Prop Shop as I will look them up and change my plastic prop on my tug to a brass one

Hi Len
I agree the pitch is an important consideration when choosing a prop. Ideally the prop will be matched to the motor and model to achieve its designed speed. Easily said but not so easily calculated or as you indicate by trial and error.
Too coarse a pitch will overload the motor, Esc and battery, generate lots of heat and disappoint with lack of performance. Ideally and especially with brushless motors you should use an amp/wattmeter to measure the power being taken at full speed whilst you hold the model stationery in the water. This should be below (50/75%) the max for your motor/Esc and battery. Adjusting the prop pitch, number of blades and size will allow you to keep within these limits.
If you are a competition entrant then I would expect the equipment being used would support much higher specs so my comments are not intended for such situations.
This will indicate the max size and prop pitch for your setup, allowing you to then test various combinations on the water to see which suits your model. I have an on board sensor that reports individual cell voltages back to my tx. I used this method with my brushless Sea Queen and obtained good results. Treated myself to a 3 blade brass prop from Prop Shop and the performance improved even more as well as using less power.
Weight can also have a marked effect on performance and just like my planes from my flying days, the lighter the better.
dave976

the info on 2 vs 3 blade props is helpful but what about the pitch of the prop? How is that figured or is it just trial and error.

Thanks have changed the prop to a two bade one that helped a lot

Hi StephenT
The type of prop fitted to your model is usually concerning the speed you wish to achieve.
In the past when brushed motors were the norm most racing boats used two bladed props with a large motor and used high voltages resulting in fast performance over a short period of time.
Three bladed plastic props were fitted to more sedate scale craft but were not that efficient so many users changed to two bladed racing props to liven up the performance.
Nowadays we have brushless motors and a good supply of brass props and three blades are suitable for most non speed racing models.

In respect of reverse performance I agree with previous comments regarding some ESCs having a reduced reverse output as well as the settings on your FlySky Tx. Some models are not good at reversing due to the shape of the transom and some plastic props are almost useless in reverse. You may have to try a different prop if the Tx and ESC changes are not the problem. There is an art to reversing and in my experience slow speed and use of the rudder can work to your advantage.
dave976

If the motor in question is brushed, your problem with the motor turning faster in one direction than the other might be attributed to offset in the brushes. This is to make the motor run more efficient because many applications it runs only in one direction. (Similar to the spark plug firing before TDC in a vehicle engine.)

Lew

Three bladed props generally suit slower revving motors whilst two bladed ones are best with faster motors. Two bladed props are available as 'standard', or 'X'. The blades on the 'X' models are much larger and will 'scoop up' or propel more water per revolution than the standard prop. Plastic preops are cheap enough that you could buy a few and experiment.
Regards your power experience. Have you checked the 'end points' for the motor channel on your Flysky ? You may find that forward is set to 75% whilst reverse is set to 100%. These values can be changed. After changing the values remember to 'save'
Good luck😉

Hello just to muddy the water a bit when my son was in his mid teens. We used to sail on a bit of fast flowing but small river. We had fast Bobbys about 20 inch long with 540's in.

If you have not tried it you have missed out on a bit of fun with a bit of danger to the boats, we did it with wellies on so in the water.
The bottom of the river was gravel. During one of our outings my boat suddenly started going faster, quite puzzled.

Brought her in and saw that the 2 bladed prop was now a single blade prop! These were small 30 mm thin bladed ones so the loss of a plastic blade did not cause much inbalance.

Ran for the rest of the batteries and then replaced te prop.

Another case of if we had asked if we could sail there the answer would have been No! We would have batteries charged up waiting for some heavy rain then it was across to the park and the river (Gade).
Roy

There isn’t much for info on this whole set up business Unless you buy a kit. Not to add more questions to your inquiry

BUT….. motor size, # of turns…. Brushed / brushless…. And as previously mentioned, # of blades & pitch….
Only tidbit of advice from being down this road before like many others. MAKE IT EASY TO CHANGE OUT components of your drive line.
Trial & error rules

Hi

It really depends on what hull and purpose the boat has
Props come in so many pitches, sizes etc it all comes down to what you're requiring. A standard plastic 2-3 blade prop will have similar outcomes as you'll find a standard 2 blade has more pitch than the 3 so they work out similar

When it comes to faster boats thats when different props and pitches become more apparent

In terms of you having more power in reverse than forward I'd switch you're wires around so its the other way round. A few of my esc's have forward 100% and 75% reverse pre programmed in. In you're case it's likely you've accidentally wired it round the wrong way. Swap wires and reverse that channel and you will have 100% forward

I could go into much more on props as I enjoy experimenting with multi blades though will depend on what boat you have

Kindest Regards
Scott