Finding the Best Prop Setup for Bowfishing Boats

[justinduke]

Hi everybody I'm new to the site and figured you all could help me out. I have a boat that I use for bowfishing and on the back I have a swivel setup with a 24hp Honda horizontal shaft engine turning a 4-blade 48" prop at 8 degrees(have to double check that). Anyways the prop, or fan as I call it, is used to push the boat through very shallow water. How would I go about finding the best prop setup for me that would create the most thrust? What I need to know is if say a 3-blade prop with more pitch would perform better for me? Any help would be appreciated. Here is a link to a video of a boat similar to mine just so you can get the idea of what I am talking about.
http://www.arbowfishingboatfab.com/videos/arbowfishingboatmod1.wmv

 

[Danger]

There are a couple of other threads around here dealing with props, so you might find what you want by just reading through the last week or so of Engineering posts. One thing that will help, even with your current equipment, is to enshroud the prop in a plastic or sheet-metal tube to create what is known as a 'ducted fan'.

 

[justinduke]

Ok thanks. Yeah I put sheet metal around the outer ring of the shroud when I first built it.